VV Snipes started out as an impassioned graphics designer studying at Northwestern State University before the influences of Lil Wayne, Mike Dean, and all the associated Busta Rhymes leaks from his father's bootleg collection established their grasp over the young Lousiana-based Rapper's creative presentiments.
Fast forward to the present, this enigmatic lyricist embraces his ghostlike reverb and ammunition like flows in his music, creating a euphoric trap experience with a concise and definitive aim on his latest full-length cut, "Vvniverse." It plays like an unforgettable clandestine divulgence of potent toplines, trap textures and drippy tones for all his "KRVE."— a coined term for his fans.
Since his conception as a force of nature in the rap music game, he has always committed to dispatching the same altruistic message with each new release: stay humble and genuine to yourself, and you'll be able to accomplish anything.
VVSnipes recipe for this record is uncomplicated—a precise flow, a potent production, and memorable toplines—he uses these ingredients to render a rich, stimulating and thematic story, which provides a version of his subconscious that's tangible even to audiences who have never dabbled in the Lousianna rapper's enticing sonics and storytelling imagery. Here, the landscape VVSnipes designs are whimsical with an abundance of laid back, simmering trap-vibe hits, but they still extend into explosive depths when required.
“I’m feeling like I’m in my zone, universe taking me home, the way that I’m living my life I am so far gone.” he raps on "Dallas Heartthrob." It's like a short incantation before the intoxicating sounds of a lighter sparking up foreshadows the intoxicating fumes we're about to immerse ourselves into as we step into the hazed out track that oscillates and swells overtop a walloping backbone rhythm.
As we surf on the otherworldy vibes that shine reminiscent of Travis Scott's "ASTROWORLD," this song establishes the core ethos for this record: hit-heavy and satisfy endlessly. "Denim Fleece," twinkles as the bright samples give the upcoming sixteenth note scattering beat a passageway directly into a swerving sub-synth in a song about his own introspections. On this track, we're immersed in an inebriated redaction of the ambient reflective spaces between Snipe's thoughts about money and his own self-awareness amongst ambient synth and echoing whispers and a danceable hook.
As the record settles in, we're infatuated by the unique laid-back and vibey character of tracks like "Empathic," and "Topless Jeep," as they scamper with a hyped-up trap inducing swagger from the skittering hi-hats and potent reverb-drenched ad-libs. But the most highlighting impressions are left on tracks are the ones where VVSnipes uses his more aggressive fist-forward production approaches. Here, "400 Degrees" sits in the center of the record like the gooey core at the center of a jaw-stopper; developing flavor as each layer dissolves into the next until we're at its succulent center. Things are more fleshy, flows are slicing, and raw energy reflects off the coarse borders of the ominous-sounding samples playings off of VVSnipes's intoxicating unforgiving demeanor on this record highlight.
The next track continues on this trajectory with a low-end that thumps lopsided in the way it sounds like it's originating from a busted subwoofer. But this only effects to highlight the rawness and consciousness fatality in each lyric: "It is a feast, but I'm the preacher, they listen, we gotta eat, the way that your living got reasons." The entire record dissolves as it passes on from room to room of echoing ad-libs, audio effects, and unmuted drums that always hold onto its cohesive and stimulating ominous aesthetic.
A song like "Icetown" stands out on enamoring stanzas featuring a clear defining flow that divulges into a call and response natured mantra that becomes hard to shake off as we Milly Rock further, while "1 Kasket" feels like a reclining seat in the back of a phantom edition Rolls Royce as the low-end thuds shake the frames of the luxury cars exteriors, and the thirty-second note hi-hat riflings slip through the peeps of the tinted-windows. It starts to become clear that VVSnipes has a liking for utilizing atmosphere expanding effects like ghostly digital reverbs and meticulously saturated samples and altered subs to create a new tint with each predecessor song on "Gold Tanks," a song that draws effectiveness in its deep tonality. Here it's mainly attributed to the bouncing 808 blow as Snipes intermittently slays the chorus with a smooth flow that devastates like it's coming out of a shoulder strapped cannon.
One thing that is notable about this Rapper's creative intuition is his tendency to find a hook and embody it in his productions through clear and conscience mini-manipulations of the record; each track finds its own unique voice and becomes a single in its own right. "Elephants In The Room" and "Seaux London," glides on an enamoring display of twinkling samples that paint a picture like we're flying up into the atmosphere for the final spins of this record.
Here, VV Snipe settles us into a more R&B vibe, expressive as he croons in the hook and his breathy decays blend with automated harmonics on both tracks. It's impossible to not picture yourself dancing into your next DMV renewal appointment with a swagger in your step and an elevated mindset when listening to this cut from the imposing young topline lyricist. And based on the way every cut establishes an immediate familiarity after the first hook, it's not rocket science to think that that trap-inspired record like "Vvniverse" is VV Snipes bread and butter in the traditional sense; as a veteran painter to his brush or a masterwork guitarist to his strings.