What’s poppin yall, in an era of rappers that were obsessed with making sad music RiFF
RAFF was the most recognizable making the exact opposite.
RiFF RAFF is an antidepressant when it comes to his rapping style; the only people who
can legitimately hate him with a straight face and not laugh at any of his bars are
people you don’t wanna be around.
When you hear the name riff raff if you’ve ever listened to his music what comes to your
mind is extravagance, designer brands, very bright and colorful neon lights and brands,
tall blonde and thin models, and A LOT of jewelry.
RiFF RAFF’s music not only has an aesthetic to it that’s memorable and unlike any other
but his persona and lyrics have just as memorable of a style as well.
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There were many different moments that led to people’s first introduction to riff raff;
for some it was the dj vlad interview where he’s sipping on the alcohol, for others
it may have been the even he went to as Katy Perry’s date, and for many it might have
even been the legendary vine (blow up act like i dont know nobody).
I still remember vividly when I had first been introduced to him it was some song with
soulja boy that I immediately clicked out of but it was later in 2012 a friend at the
time linked the music video for neon freedom.
I saw the ice and braids and was skeptical once I saw riff raff but what kept me from
clicking off in the first 15 seconds was the gorgeous blonde in the music video.
I thought the song was amazing helped by the instrumental and started to follow RiFF RAFF
music ever since.
There’s a recipe to a riff raff song; at least pre-2016 riff raff but it was always
unpredictable what he was going to say.
He had catch phrases like the white, whoever or rap game, whoever.
More than anything else I think it was the impeccable sports and movie references that
half the time I need to google who he’s talking about because I don’t know who half
of them are.
One of which went over almost everyone’s head was his verse on the song DR.
Pepper.
People clowned him for the skatin on thin ice anna kournikova because they likely didn’t
know who she was and when they googled saw she was a tennis player and figured RiFF RAFF
was just making rhymes up or confused her.
But Anna Kournikova back in the day was dating Pavel Bure an NHL player while she was still
in a relationship with his former teammate Sergei Federov so the skating on thin ice
line goes for both the regular saying and that situation.
RiFF RAFF’s peak of musical excellence, if you had to listen to one project by him
it would be Neon Icon.
This is a great album and a collection of everything that makes riff raff great as well
as a great album on its own without taking that into account.
Hilarious lines like “I’m the white gucci mane with a spray tan” and “She was grabbin
on my schlong doing handstands, Hey Julia Stiles save the last dance”.
You get an old school beat on introducing the icon, basically a rock song that is flames
on kokayne, and very unique… beats on songs like wetter than tsunami or on aquaberry dolphin
where he’s not joking when he says “I can freestyle to a dolphin and a tamborine”.
The skits both Jody 3 Moons where he’s having a conversation with himself and you the listener
as the moon itself and the bloomingdales at wilshire palace where
he takes on the accent and personality of an old upscale aristocratic family at a party
having forced interactions with all the other rich families.
Even in attempts to throw you some semblance of a serious message like in the song “Time”
reminding us how important it is as well as our close relationships he makes it a country
song.
And how can we forget the immaculate tip toewin in my jawdinz that was all over the internet
during the vine era as a meme.
NEON iCON as a debut album is an uplifting experience as a listener and anyone listening
with an open mind will finish it happier than when they started.
It was an invitation for the listener into the world of riff raff in all it’s glory
from all the different instrumentals, sports, movie, and designer references, funny skits,
and his unique rhyme schemes.
NEON iCON is the answer to anybody who has ever asked the question “I don’t understand
riff raff”.
Whether or not RiFF RAFF was an act he put on to rap or it was genuinely him was and
still is a question that has popped up again and again over the years.
While I never cared because I enjoyed the music and was entertained by the persona,
he never did anything that alluded to him being satirical or trying to parody rap.
His lyrics weren’t violent at all and besides some drug references on pretty much every
track he had much cleaner music than his contemporaries.
But RiFF RAFF isn’t an act; it’s genuinely what he’s like there are even videos and
pictures from him back in 2004 when nobody had any idea who he was and for somebody to
keep up an act like this for all these years without slipping up even once is nearly impossible.
He has shown his ability to act like his role Sharky Mcstevenson in the music video for
choppin blades as a used car salesman and he was asked to audition for a movie that
ended up being Spring Breakers which James Franco played the role of a character who
was clearly meant to be riff raff His image has helped him and along with Soulja Boy is
one of the best marketers in rap’s history; before 6ix9ine he was the first to really
have colorful hair, we’re talking BRIGHT neon colors; yellow, blue, pink, orange, and
always some different braiding pattern and wearing beads at the end of his braids when
nobody else was doing it.
Now he’s got like a quiff with a damn mullet, nobody got that or will likely get that anytime
soon.
Neon was his uniform both his merchandise he sold to fans and what he would wear was
attention grabbing; the sunglasses always colorful and oddly shaped like people who
dirtbike be wearing.
The shark tooth grills had to catch the most eyes because Katy Perry brought him to the
VMAs and what he was saying to paparazzi was everywhere.
His typing style capitalizing every letter but i, always being ahead of the wave and
collaborating with new rappers early; Chief Keef, Lil Yachty, Lil Pump, and Smokepurpp
just to name a few.
The comebacks he had on twitter to his haters were always guaranteed to make you laugh as
well as his instagram videos with his codeine castle and dogs kody and jody husky.
After flexing that he made over $4M dollars in a year and bought his Codeine Castle it
looked like riff raff stopped caring as much about music or his career in general.
He did bulk up and gain 55lbs most of it being muscle, after being one of the skinniest rappers
in the game he became one of the biggest, a burly boy as he called himself.
But it looked like he took on a different character in his sophomore album Peach Panther.
He would always be wearing this peach tux everywhere with the glasses and the two blondes
wearing peach accompanying him and the album instrumentally was disappointing.
Every track seemed to have a similar beat or at least just beats you could recognize
from any other rapper at the time which wasn’t what we knew riff raff for, he was always
rapping on something different in neon icon.
I don’t think his rapping was particularly bad on this album but overall there was no
concept to the sound of the album.
The album itself had the peach aesthetic with riff raff as a don with songs like Carlos
Slim and in the music video where he beats this brolic mexican dude over the head with
a beer bottle but that wasn’t the riff raff the audience knew.
The riff raff the listeners knew hated wearing a suit unless it was some special event and
had a variety of different beats on his preceding album.
Maybe it was frustration with the struggle to release peach panther which he announced
it would be June 1, 2015 and it got pushed back multiple times until it was released
on June 24, of 2016.
He also started his own entertainment company Neon Nation which I’m not sure what it has
done as of yet.
But it’s looking like riff raff is focused again; he signed to blackbear’s record label
beartrap sound earlier this year for 500k and announced his album pink python slated
to release Fall 2018 which is most likely going to get pushed back like usual.
But riff raff’s instagram video teasing what might be a new song is really good and
brings the sound of what I expected to hear following his debut neon icon.
Riff raff’s rapping style is so memorable and I was always asking myself what is so
appealing to me about the way he structures his rap.
I’m sure if you listened to him even if you don’t like it you can’t get it out
of your head and it’s something he does that nobody else in rap right really takes
advantage of the way he does and that’s alliteration.
Alliteration is a literary device usually used in poetry where you have two or more
words that either immediately follow each other or are very close to each other that
have the same first letter or sound.
Like Butterscotch Barry Bonds, Syrup Sippin Scientist, Dr. Diploma, Peach Panther, White
West, and many more.
Or you remember that tongue twister “sally sells sea shells by the sea shore”.
But certain verses where he uses it like in rap game james franco with the line “Salisbury
steak sweater.
They figured I was kin to Chester, the way I chase cheddar.” or in his codeine counselors
verse there are multiple lines where this appears and you gotta listen to it because
he stresses the sounds.
“Got a aquaberry first, a ruby red rolex”, “It’s the white pat ewing, syrup sippin
wit ya sis”, “I broke out so many bricks, you coulda balled for the knicks”, and “sprinkle
snow in the swisher, yep im blowin preemo.”
But sometimes he has multiple rhymes and different words with alliteration in a line like from
his song Real Boyz, “Now I’m Doogie Howser with the polar bear fist/Diamonds dancing
on my wrist like Taylor Swift”.
Now we got doogie, diamonds, and dancing right but we also got the rhyming of fist wrist
swift that he puts strong emphasis on when you listen to his voice on the song.
This is everywhere if you really pay attention to riff raff’s music and while his metaphors,
references, and flow are all important parts of what keeps his listeners coming back I
firmly believe that the alliteration is what appealed to me subconsciously and many others
when we first listened to him.
But that wasn’t enough, there was still a sense of… familiarity that I felt when
listening to riff raff rap, it was like deja vu so I did a little more research.
Riff raff is from Houston, Texas and it’s clear that culture heavily influenced his
career from his image; the braids, jewelry, as well as love of syrup and the music; swishahouse.
Paul Wall and Slim Thug were on his how to be the man remix.
Now I hadn’t heard a swishahouse track since I was a little kid so I revisited them and
I finally solved where my familiarity was coming from.
Just listen to swishahouse “still tippin” and paul wall “sittin sidewayz” and if
you grew up in the same era you’ll understand too.
You can hear the phrases like choppin blades and candy painted.
Just a line from sittin sidewayz “It’s the people’s champ im something like a baller,
the candy paint drippin off the old school impala” or on still tippin “Pieced up
creased up stayin dressed to impress, big boss belt buckle under my mitchell and ness”.
If you’re anything like me you’re probably already hearing these lines in your head with
riff raff’s voice and flow.
Riff raff’s freestyles are an antidepressant that needs to be prescribed to anyone who
say they depressed.
Screw all that garbage these doctors be giving you, all you need is to listen to jodyhighroller
freestyles.
Even in interviews when riff raff is met not even uninvitingly but with animosity and hostility
like the hot 97 interview he doesn’t match it he just keeps positive energy and tries
to entertain, freestyle, and make the people laugh.
His freestyles are genuinely off the top and some of them have some gems if we’re being
honest (hot 97 freestyle tense/tents) but some of them are very questionable and crack
me up (insert sway freestyle ginuwine).
Understanding riff raff isn’t difficult; he isn’t some evil scientist trying to do
an experiment making fun of rappers or somebody taking on a fake persona all of these years.
He’s a guy from Houston, Texas with a very unique personality that likes jewelry, fine
females, his dogs, and his castle.
Does he exaggerate a bit on his personality on social media?
Of course everyone does a bit but it doesn’t mean he isn’t genuine.
Riff raff has never hurt nobody, he’s never tried to push beef with anybody he would always
try to squash conflicts, he doesn’t promote violence in his music, he makes good music
when he puts his mind to it, and he’s one hell of an entertainer.
I hope he can bounce back so I can listen to his new album out my hatchback.
Let me know what yall think about riff raff in the comments; does he make you laugh?
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peace.