djjeffresh.com

I dont listen to a ton of rap music anymore. Occasionally a Tyga or Juicy J or Das Racist track will jump out at me, but for the most part rap is pretty stale right now. Now this guy Riff Raff is the latest character that has caused me to care about rap once again. I first saw him on VH1′s terrible reality show From G’s to Gents mumbling his way through an episode or two before promptly being removed. I took interest for the same reason that many Americans took an interest in Paul Wall back in 2006: there is something inherently fascinating about a white rapper guy adopting black Houston culture through lingo, clothes, facial hair, regular hair, cadence, delivery, etc. A couple years ago I went through this phase where I watched all YouTube videos associated with Andy Milonakis and stumbled upon this one of him and Dirt Nasty picking up Riff Raff and driving around Los Angeles getting stoned and freestyling. Even though he was not the most talented lyricist, his references and style reminded me of my friends who relied on those same aesthetics when we would rhyme together. Also his version of swag was both charming and a little insane. I mean, look at what he is wearing in that picture. The guy tattooed the MTV, BET and WorldStar logos on his body. Not small tattoos, either. What a weirdo.

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A year or two ago, Lil B catapulted the swag movement and the make-a-video-everyday-and-put-it-on-WorldStar-movement. Riff Raff took note and started doing the same thing, but better and more stranger. Endless collaborations, increasingly advanced video shoots and very odd costume choices followed day after day on WorldStar. I noticed but did not care very much. Then at some point his creativity and genius began to outshine his lack of precision or focus. His beat choices got better over time and the video production quality improved enough to where his tracks became less of a sideshow and more something like valid entertainment. Here are a couple videos he put out around that time that stand out.

Around this same time he was signed or co-signed or in some way began an affiliation with Soulja Boi. That’s another tattoo. He shows it off in this video for his amazing Otis freestyle. Even though he looks and sounds silly and dumb, this kind of stream-of-consciousness rapping takes quick thinking and skill. It’s funny how they edited in images to go with his random associations. Riff Raff is a natural entertainer. Last year a bunch of folks started hollering at him for guest verses, which were necessary to pique my interest in their music. Save for Riff Raff, I would not care to check out an Action Bronson or Lil Debbie video. Yet I found myself watching these on repeat because they are so undeniably entertaining with Riff Raff’s involvement. He recently worked with Wiz Khalifa but I haven’t checked that out yet. Here are some of my favorite Riff Raff collabos.

Riff Raff just recently put out this neat video with him rapping next to a washing machine with Pringles stacked up on him, in case you doubted his resourcefulness in terms of comedy.

I keep hearing about possible collaborations with Mad Decent, including a whole album produced by Diplo. With those two you can never be sure. But I’ll be watching.