Roddy Ricch – “The Big 3” review

Roddy Ricch is a 23 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from Compton, California who came up in the fall of 2017 off his debut mixtape Feed tha Streets. He would follow it up with a sequel almost a year later & signed to Atlantic Records shortly after, who put out his full-length debut Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial the year after that to moderate reception. His sophomore effort Live Live Fast came out this past winter & even though a lot of people found it to be a disappointment, I personally consider it to be his best work yet. So given that, I was curious to hear this debut EP of his ahead of his upcoming 3rd mixtape Feed tha Streets III.

“Real Talk” is a solid introduction to the EP with it’s twangy trap production from DJ Mustard on top of Roddy’s lyricism touching on loyalty & brotherhood, but the penultimate track “Tootsie’s” has to easily be my least favorite of the 3 with it’s nondescript instrumental & bland braggadocio. I do however find “No Mop” to be a sensual conclusion from the misty trap beat from London on da Track to Roddy’s raunchy pen-game.

I know I’m in the minority for liking Live Life Fast more than most people, but I really hope Feed tha Streets III is better than The Big 3 because it’s an average appetizer before the main course. You got a great way to start it off, but then you get a miss & a mid closer. Hopefully the tape will be a moment of redemption for Roddy.

Score: 3/5

Roddy Ricch – “Live Life Fast” review

This is the highly anticipated sophomore album from Compton, California rapper Roddy Ricch. Coming up in the fall of 2017 off his debut mixtape Feed tha Streets, he would follow it up with a sequel almost a year later & signed to Atlantic Records shortly after. His full-length debut Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial was a significant improvement over this early tapes & with the 2-year anniversary of that album passing by a couple weeks ago, Roddy is finally following it up with Live Life Fast.

After the titular intro, the first song “thailand” starts off the album excellently with a bassy instrumental from Southside & some catchy braggadocio whereas “all good” follows it up with a zestful Ronny J beat as well as Future tagging along to talk about everything being straight. “rollercoastin’” to me seems like a blatant Young Thug ripoff that goes over horribly, but then “hibachi” seems out of place since Roddy barely has any presence on it only handling the hook. Even though Kodak Black’s verse at the start is just vapid, 21 Savage manages to go off at the backend of it & I also like Wheezy’s twangy production.

Meanwhile on “paid my dues”, we have Roddy & Takeoff impressively going back & forth with each other on top of a spacious Boi-1da instrumental about earning everything they got just before “crash the party” follows it up with some keyboards & hi-hats pondering if this woman really loves him. “no way” follows it up by talking about how he can’t trust an ungrateful bitch on top of a tranquil Cardo beat & after the “slow it down” interlude, “man made” is a fantastic piano ballad about being proud of himself.

“murda 1” with Fivio Foreign has a more cloudier approach to it with the help of Kenny Beats as the 2 compliment each other well spitting that gangsta shit while “everything you need” comes off as a boring attempt at a moody, lovey dovey ballad. Lil Baby comes into the picture for “moved to miami” proclaiming themselves as champs with TM88 having the best instrumental on the album without question, but I can’t say the same for “don’t i” even though Roddy & Gunna both kill their verses.

After the “bibi’s interlude”, the song “more than a trend” reveals itself as a half baked attempt at being flirtatious down to the skeletal beat while the penultimate track “late at night” takes another jab at it except it’s MUCH much better from the DJ Mustard beat to the songwriting. “$25M” finishes it all off with a cavernous banger produced by Tarentino reflecting on a vow he made when he was younger to make more bread.

For the 2 year wait, I’d say Live Life Fast very much lived up to the hype & I’ll even go as far to say that it’s Roddy’s most impressive body of work yet. It’s more well-produced compared to his previous material & I appreciate that he’s showing a more vulnerable side to him lyrically

Score: 3.5/5

Roddy Ricch – “Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial” review

Roddy Ricch is a 21 year old rapper from Compton, California that came onto my radar last November due to the song “Splash Warning” off of Meek Mill’s last album Championships. He made it onto this year’s XXL Freshman Class list & now to keep the buzz going, he’s coming through with his debut album.

The intro finds Roddy celebrating his new life over a gorgeous set of piano chords with a cool switch up near the end while the next song “The Box” talks about how he’ll never sell his soul over a trap beat with some strings. The track “Start wit Me” with Gunna sees the 2 telling their hater to back off over a JetsonMade instrumental with a decent flute passage & rubbery bass while the song “Perfect Time” talks about groupies over a trap beat with some rich keyboards. The track “Moonwalkin'” with Lil Durk sees the 2 talking about sex over a dime a dozen acoustic trap instrumental.

The track “Big Stepper” talks about his success over a Western-inspired trap beat while the song “God’s Eyes” gets reflective over a gorgeous instrumental. The track “PETA” with Meek Mill sees the 2 flexing over an instrumental with this odd sample sticking out while the song “Boom Boom Room” continues to brag over another acoustic trap instrumental. After the “Elyse’s Skit”, the track “High Fashion” speaks for itself lyrically over a soothing DJ Mustard beat while the song “Bacc Seat” with Ty$ is a buttery love tune.

The track “Roll Dice” talks about being a star over a moody beat while the song “Prayers to the Trap God” reflects on his drug dealing days over a settle instrumental. The penultimate track “Tip Toe” with A Boogie wit da Hoodie sees the 2 recalling some personal experiences they’ve had over a bland instrumental & then the album ends with “War Baby”, where Roddy talks about where he came from over a gloomy instrumental.

For his debut album, this was just alright to me personally. Roddy definitely has potential, but he’s not really taking any risks on this one as the instrumental palate is just run of the mill & the features being hit or miss.

Score: 2.5/5