RYMNA

Right now….today, Houston feels like it’s getting stronger musically. The other day at the Free Press Summer Fest artist village, it felt like a typical Thursday at Avant Garden. For the first time in twenty years, the scene is coming together and it feels like our city has a true music future. In the world of hip hop, the same can be said about those coming up in the scene. While DJ Screw has been gone for over fifteen years, it felt like for a while that very few wanted that musical legacy he created to leave us as well. So far however, what I’m hearing from the newer class of hip hop artists in Houston, is that they’re on a completely different tip. One of those acts is Def Perception. Though they aren’t brand new, they aren’t veterans just yet either. Whenever you catch one of their shows, the mix of live instruments with record scratches makes you do a head turn as it reminds you of the past and clues you into what could be the future of the genre. Though this will be the fourth mixtape for Raymond A & DJ Baby Roo of the group, their latest titled “(The Unexpected…)” is something on a whole new level.

If you’ve ever seen either of these two guys, or Def Perception work before; then you know that they’re always up to something fresh and creative. The whole collective seems to be working on Def tracks, or side projects, or even mixtapes like this one. According to the duo, they usually take samples from films, interviews, and beats they like and put them together while Roo drops scratches and and they create something new from all of it together. The version here will also come later available in an edited version that DJs and producers who want to get creative with Raymond’s vocals. Though, all versions will be available in 24 bit/44.1 kHz lossless audio formats at raymonda.bandcamp.com.

The goal the two have in mind is to get back to the days of DJ and MC dynamic in hip hop, a sentiment I welcome with open arms. The pair is hoping that you’ll get the feeling of the days when an MC was dropping rhymes while the DJ slid the crossfade while he rifled through records. The track, “Crash Dummy” found here, is definitely one of those songs that rolls back the clock a bit.

While DJ Baby Roo drops scratches and samples that remind you of those EPMD days, Raymond drops rhymes at a pace that feels like a mix of the past that’s similar to the vein of LL Cool J while he adds his own mark on the vocals. The way in which the two mesh on the track is something of pure magic, and the record scratches add a sound that Houston doesn’t hear as often anymore of just a DJ and an MC. Though the song emanates a bit of a slow jam with its start, Raymond quickly takes the mic with ease and drops a flow that’s along the lines of early Too Short with a vocal timber that’s closer to that of Q-Tip. At under three minutes, it’s easily a song I can see pumping from a drop top or at least permeating the windows of every Houstonian’s ride as they thump down the street.

You can hear the entirety of the mixtape, “(The Unexpected…)” when Raymond A and DJ Baby Roo host a listening party this Thursday June 11th at The Safehouse. There will also be a live preview performance at the party. - David Garrick / Free Press Houston

“The Unexpected” Raymond A x DJ Baby Roo

How good is this album? I’m not a mixtape fan, yet I found myself jamming the advance for everyone who got in my car this year.
Representatives from record labels, energy drink companies, and other artists who I gave a ride to all got to jam this mixtape
while strolling with me. The rhyme flow from Raymond A is some of the best you’ll hear coming out of Houston, and DJ Baby Roo
drops real record scratches like it’s 1989. However, none of this release feels dated, and in fact it makes you reminisce about
old school hip hop while Raymond cuts through songs with his intense mic skills. The opener, “Intro” pops hard, the sweet snap
of “Crash Dummy” stays with you for weeks, and the bounce feel of “Thinking of Me” mixed with those record scratches is on a
whole new level. Since you can hear these two in Houston’s Def Perception, it makes you wonder what they’ll have in store for
2016. - David Garrick / Free Press Houston

Right now, Houston’s hip hop scene is on fire and lush with a new rapper ready to make a name for himself. The genre mixing and era hopping that some of Houston’s rappers have been doing as of late just proves that our city has moved far beyond the Screw era. If you’ve ever seen a set from Houston’s Def., then you’ve more than likely heard their charismatic lead MC, RYMNA. Last year, he and DJ Baby Roo dropped a mixtape that was one of the best I’d heard in a good while with The Unexpected. This year, while the MC works on finishing up his new EP, he decided to drop a mixtape that was recorded, mixed, and mastered in the span of 48 hours. Free Press Houston was more than happy to exclusively debut the mixtape in its entirety and share the strong skills of a Houston rapper who could easily become the next big thing.



RYMNA says the reason behind the experimental release was due to the fact that while working on his upcoming EP, he and a fellow labelmate started wondering about the sound of vocals outside of the studio. Looking through various resources like Airbnb and HomeAway, he quickly realized that the cost was almost higher than recording vocals in a studio’s vocal booth. Then while planning a getaway to Corpus, it all came together while realizing that he could just record in his grandmother’s home while on a mini-vacation in Corpus Christi. Chelsea Mariah, also tied to the Roologic Records family, suggested that he immediately record right next to the beach after he found backing tracks that were currently “hot” on the radio at the time.

The end result is UNDSTRBD, a twelve song mixtape that contains some of RYMNA’s best mic work atop jams that aren’t what you’ll find on most mixtapes. Tracks like the trippy and lit up “Panda,” the old school vibe of “Dark Sky (Feat. DJ Baby Roo),” and the darker sounding “Great Steal” all come off as relaxed from an artist ready to try new things in how they approach making a release. The speed and intensity that RYMNA utilized on The Unexpected is now more chill and contains more draw on each and every note he spits.

The entire release — as well as all who worked on it like Roo, Blaze, Brian and more — all feels like a fun distraction where everyone involved is almost on a small get away. The loose and light demeanor that comes across on each of the twelve tracks, offers up a whole new side to the usually intense style that the rapper has become known for employing. While you jam out these tracks, remember that you can catch RYMNA at Shrine of The Black Madonna on June 24 or at Nightingale Room on June 30. - Free Press Houston