Rittz – “S.O.S.” review

Rittz is a 41 year old MC from Gwinnett County, Georgia who made himself a household name in the underground a decade ago by dropping his only mixtape White Jesus under Yelawolf’s independently owned Slumerican Records. Eventually, this lead to him jumping ship to Strange Music for a 4-album contract with each one showing his fantastic growth both as an artist & as a person: The Life & Times of Jonny Valiant, Next to Nothing, Top of the Line & Last Call. Once the contract was fulfilled, Rittz formed his very own CNT Records & Put a Crown on It became the inaugural release on Black Friday a couple years back. But with the 1-year anniversary of Picture Perfect coming next month, he’s celebrating with an 8-track EP.

“Frozen Peas” is a ghostly opener detailing his lifestyle whereas “Dig Deeper” works in some keys & snares telling us he’s harder than ever. The atmospheric production “UFO” is perfect with Rittz comparing his whip to such just before “La Familia” gives us an energetic CNT ode.

Meanwhile on “Keep It Like That”, we have Rittz & Vinnie Paz on top of a signature boom bap instrumental from C-Lance going at fake motherfuckers leading into the short yet beautiful “Expert” declaring himself as such. The title track has a morbid trap beat pleading to be saved from his misery & “Sick of Suffering” ends the EP where the previous cut left off on all fronts.

Even though I was personally a bit indifferent towards Picture Perfect & Rittzmas, I can’t deny that S.O.S. is an improvement. I think the production choices have stepped up in comparison to those last couple projects & some of his most vulnerable lyrics pop up in effect.

Score: 3.5/5

Rittz – “Picture Perfect” review

This is the 6th full-length album from Gwinnett County, Georgia emcee Rittz. Rising to prominence in 2011 with his White Jesus mixtape, the acclaim of that 1 single project led to him signing to Strange Music & releasing a total of 4 albums on there with each one showing his growth both musically & personally: The Life & Times of Jonny Valiant, Next to Nothing, Top of the Line & Last Call. Rittz would go on to form his own label CNT Records & dropped his first album on there Put a Crown On It last year on Black Friday but now, he’s already back with Picture Perfect.

The opener “Picture This” sets the tone for the whole thing as Rittz comes through with a lengthy diatribe backed by a 2000’s Dr. Dre-type beat whereas the next song “‘Till the End” talks about his legacy over a trap beat with some funereal piano chords. The song “Ain’t I” talks about being the truth over a trap instrumental that almost has a Three 6 Mafia feel to it while the title track with Tech N9ne sees the 2 in their shit-talking bag over a rap rock beat.

“Jesus Blanco” could very well be one of Rittz’ worst songs yet as he & Nawf6od rap about nothing over a comatose instrumental, but “Fucked Up Day” is his own, mediocre rendition of Keith Murray‘s “Bad Day” produced by MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7. The song “Geek Monster” gets romantic as such over a moody beat & a cringey ass hook while the track “Hell & Back” with Doobie finds both of them discussing their trials & tribulations over a guitar, organ, whistles & some hi-hats.

The song “Friend Zone” is another love tune that’s just as tedious as “Geek Monster” while the track “Positive Vibe” with Twisted Insane sees the 2 talking about coming from the slums over a cavernous beat. The song “Pain Killers & Paint Colors” with Chris Webby talking about money over a slick instrumental while the penultimate track “Bring Me Down” with Merkules & Snak the Ripper sees the 3 downplaying any negativity over a grimy C-Lance beat. The album ends with “Saved My Life”, where Rittz talks about how music has helped him over a mellow instrumental.

Yeah, I’m pretty indifferent towards this new album at the end of the day. Rittz has definitely become one of my favorite southern spitters in recent memory, but I could’ve done without a couple of the features & the production choices for the most part are pretty weak in comparison to his previous efforts.

Score: 2.5/5

Rittz – “Put a Crown On It” review

Rittz is a 39 year old rapper from Gwinnett County, Georgia that rose to prominence with his 2011 mixtape White Jesus, which lead to Tech N9ne signing him to Strange Music. He released a total of 4 albums on the label with each one showing his fantastic growth both as an artist & as a person: The Life & Times of Jonny Valiant, Next to Nothing, Top of the Line & Last Call. Once the contract with Strange was up, Rittz formed his own label CNT Records & is making his independent debut with his 5th full-length album.

The opener “Asian Fusion” flexes over a clever Chinese sample & then the next song “Feet Up” with Paul Wall talks about being made over a trunk-knocking beat. The track “Sound Check” with Jelly Roll talks about their haters over a tear-jerking instrumental while the song “Politically Correct” is a criticism of just that over a cavernous trap beat. The track “Toxic” talks about relationship issues over an acoustic-trap beat while the song “Wake Up Call” with Twista & Yelawolf sees the 3 talking about being underrated in hip hop over a rubbery instrumental.

The track “On the Line” talks about being alone & stoned over a gloomy instrumental while the song “Paranoid & High” with Dizzy Wright speaks for itself over an acoustic instrumental. The track “Fake Smile” talks about those frontin’ on him referencing WWE Hall of Famer Gorgeous George over a bassy beat while the song “Twin Lakes” talks about recovering from addiction over some somber piano chords. The penultimate track “Name Tattoo” with Big Hud & Too $hort sees the 3 getting raunchy over a hyphy instrumental & then then album finishes off with “Live It Up”, where Rittz & Futuristic talk about enjoying life over a tense trap beat.

Even though I personally enjoyed his last 2 albums a lot more, this is still a solid album. The production could’ve been better at some points, but Rittz definitely shows that he’s earned his spot as one of the new kings of the south as his lyricism is still as sharp as it was when he was on Strange.

Score: 3.5/5

Rittz – “Last Call” review

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A little over a year after the release of his last album Top of the Line, Georgia rapper Rittz is releasing his 4th full-length album & his last with Strange Music. The album opens with “Middle of Nowhere”, where Rittz is talking about on how far he’s came over an ambitious sounding instrumental from MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7. The next song “Press Rewind” sees him reflecting on his rough adolescence from getting in trouble at school to his father’s abuse towards him over a gloomy instrumental. The track “Indestructible” is an uplifting anthem about staying strong no matter what & the hook also does a great job of giving that vibe as does the instrumental. The song “Down for Mine” speaks on being just that & the rap rock instrumental from M. Stacks will make you get down to party.

The track “Shootin’ Star” gets charismatically braggadocious over a mellow instrumental & the Peso Piddy produced “Dork Rap” is an unapologetically abrasive shot at all the dork rappers out there (hence the title) along with bringing the hardcore back. The track “Crash & Burn” tells the story of his friend & his ex-girl having a kid over a wavy instrumental & the way he tells it is so vivid. The song “Reality Check” talks about getting your life together over a nice country/rap instrumental & the track “Different Breed” tells the haters that he’s like no other over a twangy guitar/trap beat from Matic Lee.

The song “Illumination” is another empowerment joint over a futuristic sounding instrumental & the auto-tune on here is an awesome throwback to the late great Roger Troutman. The track “Into the Sky” is another braggadocious tune & the bass on this thing is absolutely perfect for your whip. The song “Fuck Cancer” is a diss track towards cancer & the way he uses his experiences from seeing his wife’s friend & one of his closest friends successfully beating it was very personal. The track “Lose My Cool” starts with some nice piano keys & DJ scratches, but then some hard drums are incorporated as he’s delivering his frustrated bars. The song “So Long” is an endearing eulogy to a friend who had committed suicide along with another who was murdered & to his own grandpa over a somber instrumental from The Avengerz. The track “Victory Lap” is basically his farewell to Strange over a smooth instrumental & the standard edition closer “I’m Only Human” talks about all of his mistakes over a airy trap instrumental & the strings at the beginning & end are gorgeous.

The first bonus track “Live & You Learn” is about just that & the keyboard instrumental from Mista KA reminds me A LOT of Scott Storch. The next one “Win” with Hitman Shawty & Kane sees the 3 rapping about success over a laid-back instrumental from 7 & while Hitman Shawty & Kane are the only 2 featured MCs on here, their verses were just ok to me. The 3rd bonus track “Good Life” talks about living good over an intergalactic sounding instrumental & then the 4th one “Side Note” is about the current state of hip hop a bunch of creative name-dropping over a southern-tinged beat. The penultimate bonus track “Spiraling Outta Control” then vents about his deer of the world ending (especially with Donald Trump as our current president), but the beat is pretty uncharacteristic. The album then closes out with “Happy Ending”, which is Rittz ambitiously talking about his hopes of maintaining success despite leaving Strange Music.

Given the title, Rittz is walking away from Strange with his greatest work yet. The production is on point, the lyrics are passionate & the lack of features is very refreshing as well. Can’t wait to see what he’s gonna do in the future

Score: 4/5