Contemporary rap albums (and pop albums in general, for that matter) have become little more than electronically tweaked, synth-drenched (mostly thanks to ubiquitous French trash-producer-of-choice David Guetta) and ultimately brainless exercises in self-aggrandizing braggadocio and get-yo-ass-to-the-DANCE-FLOOR superficiality. Even Nicki Minaj, who incidentally is THE obvious point of comparison for Rye Rye, and who is by far the most thrilling rapper (and I mean this strictly in terms of rapping ability, because while rappers like Drake and post-Relapse Eminem are much more interesting as a whole, they are celebrated more for their artistry and lyrical subjects rather than for their flow) in pop music today, too often descends into cringe-inducing territory where she callz out dem haterz (“Bitches ain’t shit, and they can’t tell me nothin”, she says charismatically but stupidly on “Beez In The Trap”) or where she indulges the disillusioned urban youth of the world with the illusion of escape (“LEZ GO TO DA BEACH BEACH LEZ GO GEDAWAY”, she advises on “Starships”).
On her debut LP Go! Pop! Bang!, Rye Rye too is absolutely guilty of being trashy and brainless, but like trash-pop extraordinaire Ke$ha before her, she immediately stands out from the crowd with her charismatic delivery and the breathtakingly unapologetic authenticity of her persona. While others like Nicki keep busy by calling out their haterz while unconvincingly boasting of their teenage-y irreverence, Rye Rye is too busy not giving a fuck to do shit like dat — and that’s one of the most appealing qualities of the album. Her hooks are infinitely brainless (The hook on “Dance” is “Ya’ll know what I’m SAYN SAYN SAYN SAYN SAYN SAYN so you can DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE”, and that on “Holla” is a repetitive “Let the drum rip, HOLLA HOLLAAAA”) but her sincerity, her rapid flow and her energy is so infectious you don’t even care; but while often gloriously catchy and fantastically infectious, her material is, like Ke$ha’s, just too dumb to be taken seriously. Then again, much of pop music is dumb, and if one is just looking to have a good time, Rye Rye’s album is by far one of the funnest things in music today. Also, if anyone deserves to be famous and popular, it’s Rye Rye, who is refreshingly unpretentious, unflaggingly energetic and endlessly likeable.
M.I.A., minimalist-electronica-revolutionary-turned-perennial-controversy-courter-turned-beer-bottle-designer-and-Chris-Brown-collaborator who is famously Rye Rye’s mentor, features on 4 tracks here, and perhaps it is rather unfortunate for Rye Rye that 3 of these tracks (“Better Than You”, “Bang” and “Sunshine”) are the best tracks on the album, because it perhaps suggests that Rye Rye is best as an interlude on M.I.A. tracks. “Better Than You” is the most melodic track on the album, and features a disarmingly weird but immediately endearing sample of a 1940s Broadway track, and contains a reworked verse taken from M.I.A.’s Vicki Leekx Mixtape. The problem (which, really, is more a problem for Rye Rye than for anyone else) with this track is that the M.I.A. chorus line (“Saw you in the magazine wearing my shit/you look good but I do it better/Heard you singin songs that sounds like me/you do it good but I do it better”) immediately bestows it with an appealing sense of self-awareness and relevance that eclipses Rye Rye’s trite musings on her tennis shoes, because many artists really have rip-offed M.I.A.’s fashion sense and lo-fi artistry. The blunt truthfulness in M.I.A.’s lines instantly makes Rye Rye sound embarrassingly trivial. M.I.A.’s verse is also a fantastic meditation on pop celebrity, which again bestows it with an urgency and power that shifts the spotlight to her. If Rye Rye wants to establish herself as an artist independent of M.I.A.’s huge-ass shadow, she has to collaborate with people who aren’t nearly as engaging; this is also why “Never Will Be Mine” and “Crazy Bitch”, which feature Robyn and Akon respectively, work so well — Akon and Robyn’s parts are not nearly as brilliant as M.I.A.’s on “Better Than You”. “Bang” and “Sunshine”, both of which were released a looooong time ago, still sound gloriously fresh (a testament to Rye Rye’s undeniable staying power, btw lolz) with hardcore dont-fuck-with-diz beats on the former and a lazy, effortlessly infectious hook (M.I.A.: “dumdumdumdumdumdum”) on the latter.
But judging this album on the M.I.A. features alone would hardly be accurate, because Rye Rye as a solo artist is an extremely viable prospect; on the pre-album release promo single “New Thing”, Rye Rye’s flow is particularly indelible, and on the newest single “Boom Boom”, she proves she don’t need nobodehh (k except Vengaboys lolz) to explode into “Super Bass”-esque popularity. To take this album seriously, and to really gain the respect of critics (which isn’t something that really concerns her, I suppose, but still I must pontificate or else I will die) she needs better lyrics, more M.I.A. but only on the production work, and perhaps a little less Akon and a little more….dare I say, Santigold? Yeah. A Santigold/Rye Rye collab album will literally make me shit my pants. Numerous times. In a happy kind of way (They’re currently touring together).
Regardless, if you’re going to listen to a pop album, there are few ones more fun/hip than Go! Pop! Bang!, and like I said, few deserve mainstream success like she does. Also, fuck the inevitably tepid Pitchfork review; not everyone is fucking Neutral Milk Hotel.
BEST TRACKS: Better Than You, Sunshine, Bang, New Thing, Shake It To The Ground
WORST TRACKS: Rock Off Shake Off, Hotter, Get Up, DNA, Never Will Be Mine (R3hab Remix)
therein, Therin. 