Riff Raff is a pretty wild dude. Just look at him. Look at that album cover. How could I not put up a review on this guy? To be honest, I love Riff Raff. He is hilarious, entertaining, and best of all, he doesn't take himself too seriously. I was anticipating this album a lot and how, finally, Riff Raff has blessed us with his debut studio project, Neon Icon. What will Riff Raff do with this new album?
The production on this album was pretty interesting, and it can only be described as a completely mixed bag. When I first saw the tracklist, some of the production credits caught my eye first. Diplo, Harry Fraud, Mac Miller, and DJ Mustard are doing beats on this album, along with others. There were influences was all different genres on this project. I heard old-school boom bap, atmospheric stuff, country, and rock on this album. Right from the get go, the first track, Introducing the Icon, had a very simple, but absolutely awesome beat. This sounded like some late 80s West Coast stuff, and it just went so hard. There were a good amount of spacey, atmospheric beats on this album too. The instrumental for Versace Python was really dreamy and beautiful. This beat sounded epic. The beat Harry Fraud put together on Lava Glaciers was really dense, layered, and complex. I enjoyed that one as well. Mac Miller's production came on the song Aquaberry Dolphin, which he was also featured rapping on. This beat was led by some eerie piano keys, and occasionally, a sound clip of a dolphin noise. It was weird, but it really worked. Finally, the song How to Be the Man had the classic DJ Mustard sound, which you can never complain about. There were some lamer, more corny instrumentals here, though. Wetter than Tsunami's beat was really corny, and I just got more sick and tired of it as it went on. The country beat for the song Time got pretty old, as did the rock-inspired sound Diplo had on Kokayne. For the most part, though, these beats were imaginative and interesting. I enjoyed their variety.
As for Riff Raff, he was really entertaining on this album, for good and bad reasons. This guy's flow isn't complex at all, and he really is just joking around when he steps in the booth. On a lot of songs here, though, I am quite impressed with Riff Raff's bars. The first song, Introducing the Icon, featured one verse that went on through the whole song, and it was awesome. He had so much energy on this song, and his lyrics were unforgettable. I don't know how this guy thinks of some of these lines, but they are amazing. Riff Raff also puts together some solid hooks on this album. His hook on Tip Toe Wing in my Jawdinz was awesome and catchy, and I actually found his country-style hook on Time. It sounded hilarious and was great to listen to. The best hook on Neon Icon, though, was How to Be the Man. I've had this stuck in my head since I first heard it, and I can legitimately imagine this taking over the radio. On the other hand, some of these tracks are just unforgivably terrible. Kokayne was a ridiculous, corny, rock rip off, and I had no idea what he was going for. Maybe You Love Me was a totally boring radio song that came from a guy who is anything but boring.The last track, VIP Pass to My Heart, was an awful disco sounding song. It was repetitive, boring, and just really bad overall. The features on this album were pretty good, for the most part. I liked Childish Gambino's verse on Lava Glaciers, as it was nothing new for him: memorable punchlines and a great flow. Mac Miller sounded good on Aquaberry Dolphin, spitting over his own production and sounding very comfortable. There were two guest singers on this album for hooks, and one of them I loved, the other I absolutely hated. Amber Coleman provided a great hook on Cool It Down, and her singing sounded fantastic. Mike Posner on Maybe You Love Me, though, was another story. His hook sounded like any generic, lovey hook you can hear on the radio. I hated the way he was singing. Overall, Riff Raff was constant entertainment on Neon Icon, as he had hilarious lines all over the album and some great hooks. Even though some tracks were horrible, Riff Raff still succeeded on many fronts with this album.
NEON ICON WRAP UP
+Some seriously entertaining and memorable tracks
+Riff Raff was hilarious as a rapper
+A few of these hooks had me seriously bopping my head
+Solid production, a lot of variety
-Three absolutely awful, unforgivable songs
-Some of these song ideas made no sense
Best: Introducing the Icon, Aquaberry Dolphin, How to Be the Man
Worst: VIP Pass to my Heart
Riff Raff- Neon Icon
7.3/10
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