In his most recent releases as Ridd!k, The North Carolina artist reflects over the perpetual conflicts associated with a hot and cold relationship. Here, on Same Shit, the newest songs featuring a dynamic instrumental orchestration, finds Ridd!k's settlements with the past amidst his eloquently flow and leisurely succor in his approach. Contemplating the interiors surrounding his personal intimate life, he molds the tone and texture of this track, slathering it up as a formidable R&B taster.
Ridd!k dispatches the incantations of electric guitars that remain forward in the mix, as he supplies Same Shit with compelling R&B-soul infusing textures. The beat is stacked up like dominos, and Ridd!k moves across his verbals with a nonchalant, almost slurring method. "Why you fucking with me, said it's the same old, same shit," he repeats.
The slow-strutting tone speaks for itself, disclosing his business openly as Ridd!k permeates the atmosphere of this track with an amalgamation of soaring echos and delays. Most distinguishing is the fact that the production never takes too much concentration away from the noise of Ridd!k's psyche. Here, his slinking lyrical flow sublimely compliments the tone and minimalism of the production; moving adrift a tired-drunk state, bending the aesthetics to his own will for this song flawlessly.
"It's the same of the same shit, yeah," he declares over the addictive hook in the chorus. Alongside an upfront and a low-end that envelopes the room you're in, the North Carolina-based rapper Ridd!k, turns this melancholic topic into a self-reflection, laying out his grievances with a laid-back cantor as his saturated croons feel like they're second nature to him.
The song zooms in on Ridd!k's ability to take hold of his presentation and makes it work for his character, instead of the other way around. With a healthy mental, Ridd!k grapples over losing his partner over "the small things" and uses that emotion to envelop his persona with a more restrained edge.
This song runs quickly at a fast two minutes and thirty seconds. Was this something that happened naturally, or do you usually like to keep things short and more concise?
It happened so naturally that I didn't even pay attention to the time frame. The song was basically a freestyle with how the vibe went as soon as I heard those guitar chords, I wrote it so fast in the booth off the top of my head. That was just the vibe that I let take me over.
What gave you that final push you needed to fully commit to your solo career as an artist?
There were several producers I was working with as a songwriter, who kept mentioning to me that I should release my own music because I had something that people would love. There was one producer in particular who really believed in me just as much as I myself. His constant urging and confidence in me to do it really gave me that big push causing the leap.
Are there any influences you still feel like you source from today to recenter yourself with the aesthetic, persona, and textures surrounding your records?
Yes indeed! I feel the need to get better and challenge myself more every time I hear one of these new acts that have a crazy pen to them. Songs that really make me think like damn how did they even come up with that.
This being your first time as a solo act, can we still expect to see any collaboration from you for your next upcoming singles?
Shhh yes, there are some things in the works that I have up my sleeve and I've been getting contacted by some artists who wanted to do collabs with me as an artist. So yes it is on the way.
What has been keeping you inspired this year?
I've been inspired by the fact that this musical playing field has seemingly evened out for artists. It's given a chance for a lot of up and coming artists to be heard even more as everyone has been home sitting on their phones and computers all the time.