Album: Wiki93
Release Date: 2/11/2012
New York crew launch their rather incendiary assault on modern Hip Hop in a slightly brilliant debut
Having a persona and character is an absolutely crucial
ingredient in Hip Hop, and for the 19 year old Wiki Morales to realize this as
diligently as he does is quite remarkable. On paper Ratking are a New York
4-piece Hip Hop outfit, comprising of MCs Wiki and Hak and producers Sporting
Life and Ramon, but it’s Wiki’s frantic energy that sits at the core of
“Wiki93.”
Almost straight away on the opener “Retired Sports” he
sounds venomous and unhinged, churning out lines like “I’ve been through all my
shit” and “I’ll suffocate ya ‘til you very pale” to a backdrop of cacophonous
bleeps and noisy whooshes. “Comic” is furiously intense, a rumbling jungle-
esque bass line rolls throughout, accompanied by disorientating screams and
ear- piercing synth swells. “Piece of shit” is brutally self- deprecating, as
Wiki yelps “I’m a sucker for love/ made me a sucker for drugs,” getting more
and more irate as the song continues.
Even though “Wiki93” is only 7 tracks long, keeping this
level of intensity throughout its entirety proves to be a little too much for
the quartet. It would also be nice to hear more from Wiki’s co- frontman Hak,
who sounds pivotal when he does appear, however those occurrences are rare.
Nevertheless, Ratking’s fusion of concrete modernity and old school New York
Hip hop will most likely have both new and old fans of the genre enthused, and
Wiki is certainly a kid to pay attention to. A damn good start.
Download: 1) Piece of Shit, 2) Retired Sports, 3) Pretty Picture
7/10
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