After much album-date release confusion and pandering to white girls on Twitter to revamp excitement, Houston-based rapper RiFF RAFF finally released “Neon Icon” on June 24.
This album is a mixture of new sounds and his traditional Versace rap game with the common themes of drugs, ballin’ and b*****s all throughout. “Neon Icon” stands out from his old work in one prominent way — his skit tracks. I have literally no idea what they are for because I listened to the album while sober.
He continues to bring his fan base (read: white girls) relatable songs to the table in the almost surf-rock sounding “Kokayne” with lyrics like “I brought out the rice / She was down to play / We were up all night on cocaine.” My personal favorite lyrics come from that song: “Now its 3 a.m., Taco Bell / I’m stacking up my cheese like a taco shell / I’m sliding through your city on a turtle shell.”
Riff Raff channels rap game Kid Cudi in his skit “3 Moons,” a talking piece reminiscent of “Indicud” that I imagined Riff Raff whispering to Selena Gomez if he actually played Alien in “Spring Breakers.” Some important lyrics: “This is the moon talking to you, it’s the actual moon / I want you to be nice to everybody you’re around”
“Tip Toe Wing In My Jawwdinz” is the first song on the album that brings back the authentic Jody Highroller sound — it’s really reminiscent of songs on “Rap Game Bon Jovi” with a slow, creeping beat and almost whispering vocals building up to the main verse that he delivers with his traditional enthusiastic emphasis on each syllable.
The album really changes it up with “Time,” a twangy, country-hip-hop hybrid. I know the idea sounds awful, but trust me when I say it’s pretty good. Riff Raff sings over the beat while an acoustic guitar strums in the background. It’s almost romantic, until the auto-tuned bridge.
The only song with a reprise, “How To Be the Man,” really is the best song on the album. Packing the lyrics “Show you how to be man, how to be the boss /How to buy the car, how to buy the house,” maybe UF should take a few notes and replace what is the good life with a class called how to be the man.
Overall, I give the album four-and-a-half stars out of five. I take half a star off because the second-to-last song, “VIP Pass to My Heart,” sounds like an over auto-tuned song from some Disney teeny-bopper with sexual undertones. Why would you try to end an album on that note?
[A version of this story ran on page 9 on 7/3/2014 under the headline "RiFF RAFF’s ‘Neon Icon’"]
