I once associated Cambridgshire (Riley's hometown) with a collective body of the "Cucumber sandwich brigade". That ignorant opinion (devoid of everything bar a basic knowledge of the areas rough geographical location) performed the proverbial flip-flop, when five months ago Riley sent me his debut release Hit It Off.
The song sampled some classic hip hop tracks such as Big L's MVP, forming a solid bedrock for a track saturated with lyrical prowess. He brought all the vibrancy a healthy youthful obsession with hip hop gives you, yet had the credentials in his songwriting to do it justice.
The eagerly anticipated release of his second drop by his some 4,000 followers on twitter has not held them waiting in vain. The track is the first to be mixed in a series of upcoming releases that Riley is planning for the summer.
When speaking of his debut release, Riley mentioned that key to his approach was never straying from the person he has always been. This is always great in theory, yet it must be admired that he has brought the practical implementation of his philosophy with him on the second drop.
While Sermons encompasses a rugged nature lyrics like My deprivation's run asunder evoke, a certain refinement in his tone this time around will surely send the track to imminent success.
His ability to change tempo and alter the theme of the track in quick succession grasps at a maturity that will only improve with age (though I do not mean to put years on him already).
The U.K grime scene, renowned for it's veracious (and not necessarily successful) nature, could take note of the uniquely mellow flow the beat for Sermons, produced by Vesta J, adds to Riley's astute lyrics. It conjures a certain Reggae vibe the likes of which Grime music has never seen before and may prove to be the unique selling point for Riley in the advancement of his career.
With such a sloven beat, the connoisseurs of rap would immediately flag concerns over it's juxtaposition with the velocity at which Grime rappers spit their bars. In reality it works quite well. Riley seems to possess the favourable quality of knowing when to slow things down or speed the lyrics up.
It is true that the U.K underground continues to strive, however the commercial scene seems to be a carriage dragged by a dead horse. With that in mind, perhaps it is time the "High Rollerz" paid heed towards the fresh approach artists such as Riley are giving to a hip hop scene slowly slumping into oblivion.
It does seem that he is destined to become better with age. The level of diversity between the initial Hit It Off and Sermons will vouch for this. An endless amount of possibilities lie waiting in the wings and with youth on his side, he is in perfect position to throw his name amongst the weightier reputations. It is with bated breath that most fans will await further releases this summer, hopefully allowing us a further insight into this talented rapper.
Don't let your procrastination get the better of you, check out the track for yourself right here: https://soundcloud.com/rileyatriley/riley-sermons-from-pt-1
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