88rising,Rich Brian and NIKI-California(ft. Warren Hue)~Track Review
With the state of popular music and the quality of music these days in general, the space for innovation and fresh ideas seems to be decreasing by the day. I’m sure I’m not the only one tired of listening to the same repetitive beats and bland lyrics. This doesn’t mean all modern artists are bad, just that the ones receiving the most attention and ‘praise’ all sound the same. Of course you can have your own opinion and music taste but these are just my two cents. So as you can tell, I rarely listen to pop music. I prefer sticking to music from the 70s,80s,90s and early 2000’s, keeping my eyes peeled for a few select artists. A few of these artists include Joji, Rich Brian and the 88rising label as a whole. For those of you who have never heard of 88rising, it is a record label started by Sean Miyashiro and has been one of my favourite labels for quite some time now. Scrolling through apple music’s browse section, I noticed that 88rising had released a new song and was instantly excited for it. It is the best song I have heard this year and is certainly a breath of fresh air.
The guitar intro at the start of the song sets the tempo for the song and provides a good base for it. But the best part of the song is definitely the beat, as it is catchy, fresh and just boosts the song to new levels. 88rising songs are mixed and produced excellently, and this one is no different. Warren Hue is a name I haven’t heard, but he has an excellent verse in the song and I’ll be looking out for his projects in the future. But by far the star of the song is Rich Brian. After his song ‘Dat Stick’ went viral in 2016, he has matured as an artist and has recently started incorporating different styles of vocals in his music , as seen in his album ‘The Sailor’ and his recent ep 1999. He has certainly improved and his vocals in the chorus of the song are pretty good. But his verse in the song is spectacular, proving once again that he can rap and is a capable lyricist(unlike in Dat Stick, where everyone took him as a joke). Niki is one of the most talented and underrated artists of the late 2010’s. She has a beautiful voice and is extremely talented, and her verse in this track reinforces that statement. She had an interesting verse in this track, which progressed from her usual slow paced and melodious style to a faster, more upbeat style, which was quite interesting to hear.
To conclude, this song is another well produced 88rising project, featuring some unique styles, catchy beats and good vocal performances. It has a moderate tempo and is not too loud, making it perfect to listen to with headphones just to relax and vibe. So I highly recommend listening to this song even if you are not a big fan of modern music.
