With all this time spent indoors and away from others, I’ve been enjoying my time by discovering newer artists that I’m relatively unfamiliar with for the most part. One of these artists is RetcH, a New Jersey-based rapper who I’ve heard on songs with Action Bronson and Top Dawg Entertainment stand-out Ab-Soul, but I’ve never really dived too deep into his own individual music. After doing a bit of a deep dive into his work, it seems as if he meshes West Coast and East Coast sounds together to form his own style, while his trouble with the law has given him some street cred that he goes heavily into detail about within his songs. He somewhat reminds me of 50 Cent if he grew up on the opposite side of the country in some songs to an extent, but also changes his voice in other unfamiliar ways as well.
On his latest single “Whip Out”, he brought along a frequent collaborator in Slayter to bring this song to new levels. Deep, muddy, reverberating 808s, a West Coast, tiptoeing piano melody, and crisp, rapid percussion lay a foundation for some destructive bars to be spit by both artists. On the hook, RetcH delivers a strong cadence full of aggressive overtones and insistent lyrics at certain times. His words pierce the beat, being spoken in such a way that he seems to cut through all of the instruments used and clarify his message to listeners. His flow comes out in what seems like three-round bursts, remaining choppy yet impactful as he speaks about violent actions, expensive things, and sexual situations he gets into with his girl. Slayter seems somewhat calm and ever so smooth during the second verse, which is a bit of a misnomer considering the more hostile things he’s rapping about. He finesses the beat impeccably as he pauses and gasps while the production cuts out and comes back in, offering good luck to those who try and come after him, utilizing musical references to past generations of Hip-Hop, and his experience trapping in the projects.
Considering I’m a massive fan of the West Coast style of Rap music along with the suave flows and interesting personas of the rappers that create it, I knew I’d be a fan of this song from the moment I heard the 808s within the first few seconds. RetcH’s style of music is interesting because although his lyrical content is clearly East Coast influenced, everything else about this track screams West Coast. Slayter is a great addition as well because his laid-back delivery mixed with the obviously evident fierceness of his lyrics is the perfect juxtaposition for this hit. I’m one hundred percent going to continue diving deeper into RetcH’s archives based on my enjoyment of this song alone, and I encourage any Rap fan reading this to do so as well. For now, get familiar with the New Jersey hit maker’s latest song entitled “Whip Out”.