Since I last wrote about Remi, he’s well and truly lived up to his potential. Working with some of the best producers in the underground, the London rapper has left a scorching trail of grime-tinged cyber-trap that has already proved to be revolutionary in an over-saturated, homogenous scene.
Following the release of the largely Bloodline Genesis-produced King of the Underground 2.0: Winter Souljuh, the MC started to hop on beats from a more diverse cast of producers. His ‘Ancient Swag Freestyle’ is a totally different beast to the original, murkier and yet more lyrically flagrant. This song among many others appeared on his Remi’s Revenge 2.5 EP, a collection of hard-hitting tracks that when arranged into a cohesive piece sound all the more impactful. Remi’s most valuable collaborator on this project is Jewish Reaper, a Russian born, extremely SpaceGhostPurrp-influenced producer who made a massive amount of noise in the underground last year. On their first link up ‘King of the Underground (Flawless)’ (which also acts as the EP’s finale) Remi’s snarl as potent over Reaper’s swirling synth nightmare. ‘Flawless’ recently received an impressively dynamic visual, which you can watch here.
Another Reaper-helmed banger, ‘Tottenham’s Finest’ is one of the rapper’s most focused lyrical efforts, there’s a massive focus on melody here as the thumping 808’s of ‘Flawless’ are nowhere to be found. ‘Speakin’ Facts’, meanwhile, is a scorching barrage in keeping with the sonic themes that fueled Winter Souljuh (he also referenced me in the song, which is always nice to hear). In the case that you were missing the unsurpassable chemistry between Remi and that tape’s executive producer, look no further than the explosive ‘Rath of a Souljuh’. Bloodline worked with the UK’s GYPTXVN on this beat, crafting one of the most intense productions that Remi has ever worked with. As well as being a meticulously crafted, ludicrously catchy track, ‘Rath’ is also the latest in a long line of disses that have attracted significant attention towards the artist and so far haven’t been responded to (at least in musical form).
Remi has all the right to be confident in this way. The aggressive delivery that the MC uses on this song returns on ‘Sewed Up’, a three way collaboration with Trippjones and Kli9se. After firing a few more lyrical shots off in his verse, Remi is matched by both MC’s and the end product is better than I could have ever anticipated. The beat, which is by the main man’s longtime friend and collaborator Sans, shifts on each rapper’s verse and culminates in an icy, dystopian outro that K9 commander Kli9se sounds in his element spitting over. As ‘Sewed Up’ is one of the only times that Remi has rapped alongside somebody else on a track, it’s also a great opportunity for the rapper to flex his abilities in direct competition with another artist.
In the last month or so, Remi has continued his frequent, high-quality drops. His latest offering, ‘Power’, is produced by recent BMB addition KRXXK and allows the rapper to conclude January with another ultra-grimy trap masterpiece. In my opinion, this song crafts a more unique experience over the KRXXK’s evil, all-enveloping beats than anyone has in quite a while. As 2020 continues, we will undoubtedly see much more from the rapper and considering his phenomenal work rate last year, I’ll be needing to catch up on his content again another year from now.
– Chris (@108mics)
108 MICS 