Artist: Ripynt
Album: On Second Thought Vol. 1
Source: Twitter
Tracklisting:
- Looky Looky
- In My Dreams
- Best Of Me
- Get Addicted
- One Of These Nights
- I’m Back
- Hindsight (ft. Latin Rose)
Note:
These are the kinds of releases that make my day. Short. Intense. Dope. Ripynt is an artist that has dropped consistently dope material in the past and I have kept my ears peeled for some new material. He dropped A Mid-Summer’s Day Drive with Sinic in 2009 for free, in addition his first full length album, Re-Inventing Poetics, also dropped. Both of those releases have great replay value.
On Second Thought Vol. 1 is really a continuation from Ripynt’s previous releases. He delivers loads of clever lines and dope verses, but also the production, especially on a couple of tracks in particular, is impressive. This is the type of EP that takes no shorts. You don’t get a lot of music but what you do get is concentrated hip hop.
From the jump you know Ripynt is going to bring you a high energy release with the track Looky Looky. The piano riff and beat really make the head nod. It’s apparent that the premise of this track was inspired by Nas’, I Made You Look, as it is nuanced in both the lyrics and the beat, but the rhymes and production on the whole are entirely fresh and inspiring. Looky Looky forces the listener to pay attention. Ripynt dares you to disregard him with this track.
One of the more emotionally charged tracks is, In My Dreams. This tracks details the story of a boy who grows to a man by the name of Joe. Joe encounters numerous instances of loss around him. Close family members and friends die throughout the track. But more than just a depressing story that focuses on negativity, Ripynt leads the character to overcoming these obstacles and succeeding. The production takes a back seat as Ripynt tells this story until the sample croons “Hold me…In my dreams”. It’s all together very powerful music.
The joint, Best Of Me, is lyrically the strongest of the bunch. On this track you get the sense that Ripynt is pulling from somewhere deeply personal. He has got some thoughts to get off of his chest and convey to the listener. I thought his first few bars were very noteworthy of sharing so I thought I would jot them down for you:
It feels like the dark’s always above me / No sunlight, no heart to ever love me / I love Him but my God sometimes disgusts me / And still has the nerve to ask me to blindly trust He / He who doesn’t have a face / He who doesn’t show a trace / Of caring whether or note we get erased / But it’s He who gave me air in the first place / And it’s He who gave me the opportunity to be great…
Lyrically brilliant.
Ripynt embodies everything that is right about hip hop. He practices his craft not only with precision and skill but with heart and feeling. He is able to deliver rhymes that will shatter the competition but also embraces the opportunity to move the hearts and minds of his listeners. On Second Thought Vol. 1 does in seven tracks what 22-Track mixtapes often fail to do, none of which more important than impress.
Hip Hop Dependency 