RiotSquadGang Makes us Hungry for More on New Single "XCountry"
- BUZZ LA
- Apr 13, 2021
- 5 min read
Rap duo RiotSquadGang is comprised of Lil Swiss and RSG Yoppa. Hailing from the Northside of Calgary, Canada, both members have had their struggles throughout the years until meeting one another and enduring the life-changing essence that creating music brings.
Lil Swiss and RSG Yoppa are fresh off the release of their latest single, “XCountry.” Deriving from the authenticity and realism that Lil Swiss has encountered growing up, he showcases this single through a retrospective lens into his world and what it means to feel trapped in the chaos of the world yet continue to remain calm.
The anticipation residing in the instrumentation has us eagerly awaiting the approach that will be taken through the charismatic performances tackled by RiotSquadGang. Bringing forth a balanced appeal of hard-hitting meets melismatic. The hunger that sits in the tonal distinction of the two emcees is prevalent. Lil Swiss and RSG Yoppa sweep us under the rug with the buttery cadences utilized and the irrefutable wit that exists in the wordplay they exude. Dynamic and fully thriving in a world of genuine tenors, “XCountry,” has taken RiotSquadGang’s artistry to the next level as we sip on the melodic flairs that come overflowing from the undeniable swagger showcased.
Shining as individuals and as a duo, the versatility that Lil Swiss and RSG Yoppa have continued to offer us through each release in not only consistent with their journey but consistently surpassing their previous projects as they emphasize the growth within. Bask in “XCountry,” and don’t be afraid to turn up the volume.
Always a pleasure when we chat Lil Swiss and RSG Yoppa, welcome back to BuzzMusic, and congratulations on the release of, “XCountry.” Dabbling into such intimate lyrics and pairing them with witty quips is no easy feat. Job extremely well done! How did this songwriting process compare to the creation of other tracks you have previously released?
Thank yall for the opportunity and the love, love being back! Writing "XCountry" originally started as just running through beats and seeing what we felt, but this specific beat ending up vividly bringing us back to the old days when we were mobbing around late nights at Yoppa's old crib. This was during the rowdiest time that we had experienced together and the vibes of the track felt like we were writing back then. Writing "XCountry" and the creative process behind it stood out on this track due to the feelings and memories that we were experiencing when we would hear the beat. For many reasons this was a time of our lives that could have been make or break had things gone differently so to be able to use that energy to create a song together was a very unique process.
With RSG Yoppa being more methodical and Lil Swiss being more of a wild card, do you find that this makes the creative process easier or more difficult at times?
Depends on who you ask and when haha. The creative process is always changing due to having two members who are quite different in their approach. Sometimes it is more difficult as Swiss is very fast to get a feeling and roll out some fire on the spot, Yoppa on the other hand takes his time to work out how he wants to approach and write to each track specifically and focuses on every aspect. There are definitely positives to having two different mindsets. I won't lie sometimes being as different as we are in some aspects we get at each other's neck and piss each other off for real, but at the end of the day the experiences we have been through and the respect we have for each other it's always love. Both members are super happy with the roles they play, so sometimes it's just spending hours on hours working on tracks that can get tensions high. Maturing and growing as individuals has allowed us to refine our methods more and more, and a key part of making everything work is just communication. With this method, the music always remains consistent and versatile, and together we are the perfect team to make things happen, and honestly, when we put our two styles together we have written some of our hardest lines and songs.
What are you hoping that your listeners take away from the themes and messaging in “XCountry?"
The theme and message in "XCountry" are heavily related to us at our lowest point a few years back and reminds us of where we have been able to get since then. With lines like "don't tell my mama about what I'm doing I'm getting them racks, I had to pop me a xan to relax" delivered by swiss, for him brings back the feelings of always being on edge and using drugs to cope with having to hustle to get by and make sure our people are straight. As well as the lyrics "I lost my dad to the dope, mama stay worried that's all that I know" from yoppa, at this point in our lives it was all or nothing which put a lot of concern on our families, and even though they understood it, it was a definitely rough patch in the bigger picture that allowed us to live differently. This song for us just paints a picture of how those days felt as well as a reminder of what we do this for.
We love you both as a duo and as individuals. So we have to know if RiotSquadGang could collaborate with any artist of any genre, who would it be and why?
Riotsquadgang - Young Thug: This gonna be another throwback but definitely has to be Thugger. One of the G.O.A.T's without a doubt, I swear half of our memories from boxing in the trap till 5 am, to late nights making moves in the subie had Young Thug going off in the back. But for real he is one of the most consistent and versatile artists of our generation, alot of our mindset has changed from back in the day with getting smarter and growing up but we always fuck with thug and feel like he could murder any RSG track.
Lil Swiss: For me, it'd have to be Drake, a true Canda legend, and mogle in the industry, I look up to a lot of his business practices and of course his music. Love his versatility, love his consistency, and just been a straight-up fan for years. That's not something I can say about alot of artists, so for me doing a sort of smooth rnb type jaunt with drake would be a hit.
RSG Yoppa: Right now it's gonna be 049 Gus, been on his music for a minute now, and he's got something unique. I have been centered around this genre of rap mainly forever but it just got a different vibe with his jaunts. It's also the style I most like to write in so there's that too, but yeah regardless if Gus hits some crazy autotune shit or just some hard shit it's always a hitter so I know that would be wild.
What's next for you?
Swiss has undertaken a ton of solo projects with his abundance of free time and will be releasing those onto his new solo Instagram and Spotify accounts, so we're both really excited about these upcoming drops for him, including a music video on April 23rd. Riotsquadgang has a ton of music stockpiled and is going to be releasing constant hits all year, so if you're a fan now we're just getting started. If you want the most out of RiotSquadGang content, make sure to follow Swiss on his solo accounts!
