Rittz - White Jesus

The short version of my review of Rittz’s “White Jesus” album is you should immediately download it and remember this album at the end of the year when you’re putting together your top albums of 2011. The production is dope and incredibly creative and Rittz can rhyme circles around most pedestrian rappers. If you're impatient or bored with full album reviews, just go download the album over at DJBooth.



The first time I heard Rittz was his cameo on Yelawolf’s “Box Chevy” last November and then January rolled around and I got my hands on Rittz’s single “High Five” and I was hooked on his wild style - warp speed rhyming and comical wordplay. The production from DJ Burn One stood out too so to see both of them collaborating on a full street album had me ready for a whole damn bag of dope and they do not disappoint. “White Jesus” kicks off with a dramatic blend of the death march and thunder crackling in the background while some girl rambles something in a foreign language. I even spun that shit backwards to see if it was like those old Black Sabbath albums that had some warped message, but nope…sounded even more like gibberish. If you can be patient for literally one minute you’ll hear the rattle of Rittz slide in as his rhyme rides the beat at hi hats tempo. I am interested to hear who said he “disrespected the art form” because Rittz is elevating the rhyme game with every song he drops. When I heard the speed of the hi hats running on “Crazy” I was picturing QuestLove sweatin’ like a mu’fucka behind a drum kit while Rittz wears his stamina down with his warp speed lyrical assault. When you listen to the song pay attention to the hi hats and you’ll get the visual of a drummer’s arms just wearing out.

If you haven’t heard “High Five” yet you are late or lazy or literally ignorant. “High Five” went into rotation at Swurv Radio immediately the day I heard it. “High Five” has every element of a successful hit. The production is bangin’ and fits great for the clubs, the trunk of your whip, and radio at any level and hopefully any market. The only fallback to Rittz’s incredible rhyme patterns is you will probably miss more than half of his comical punch lines the first few times you listen. If Wii came out with game for rapping and a way to clock the speed of your lips moving with song lyrics, the majority of people would fail miserably. The only break you get is when he pauses with his Diddy rip of “Hello……Good morning”.

“Fulla Sh*t” is comical as hell and features another name buzzing heavy with Big K.R.I.T. appearing alongside Shady Records’ Yelawolf who has a big buzz of his own after recently appearing on the cover of XXL. “Blowin My Mind” is one of my favorites from the album. It has a real laid back vibe with DJ Burn One once again producing a dope track. For some reason the lyrics “Lookin like a white Dolemite” had me laughing like crazy and spinning it back trying to imagine Dolemite as a white dude getting’ his pimp game on. Don’t let the hazy flavor of the song make you miss the hilarious word play.

“Nowhere to Run” has the odd blend of an Al Green vibe with the Rhodes bleeding over the guitar loop running throughout the song. DJ Burn One deserves a lot of credit for being such a creative producer and constructing such a funky soundscape for Rittz to lace. Lyrically, “Nowhere to Run” is the most serious piece of writing on the album. Even though the credits say the entire album was recorded and mixed/mastered at the same studio with the same engineer, “Rattle Back” sticks out with an airy sound on the beat and the verses. If I had a complaint about the album it would be the mixdown of “Rattle Back” only because it doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the album; enough so that my entire focus shifted to the mix of the song more than any other element.

“Sleep at Night” is cool, but not a highlight. It could just be that my brain is running into fatigue from trying to keep up with the lyrical acrobatics Rittz keeps running. “Sextacy” slows down enough to allow you to catch your breath and really grasp the depth of Rittz’s storytelling skills. I was diggin’ the story until they start peeing on each other. I don’t get that R Kelly shit and damn sure ain’t trying to have no woman pee on me. The voicemail recording at the end of the song is hilarious as hell though! “Dixxxie Cup” has a sort of Outkast vibe so it stands out as a unique track and of course, again, is funny as hell with Rittz’s storytelling that is essentially centered around a “suck your dick song” as Rittz tells it. “No Friends” is a song a lot of people can identify with, especially anyone in the music industry that starts getting some buzz and a little loot coming in. The problem is the song is more than 5 minutes long which could have been trimmed with chopping out Shawty Fatt’s verse. Maybe they’re friends though. “Pie” is even longer, but as the final track of the album it’s a great closure song.

Get connected with Rittz on twitter @therealrittz