New York hip hop has a fiercely guarded history. From the genre’s inception in the early 1970s, to the breakthrough success of Grandmaster Flash and Run-D.M.C. in the ’80s, and the ’90s heyday for artists like A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, The Notorious B.I.G. and Nas, New York has long been a breeding ground for legendary, world-changing hip hop.
Even though the likes of Jay-Z remain in the public eye, in recent years there haven’t been many pages added to New York’s hip hop history. That’s not to say there’s a dearth of quality artists – at present, you’ve got youngsters like Joey Bada$$ delivering high-calibre throwbacks to the ’90s glory days, while Azealia Banks has dished out some damn fine tunes despite her provocative public persona. Still, nothing has yet initiated a dazzling new era in the city’s hip hop lineage.
In the early months of 2014, Manhattan crew Ratkingreleased their debut record So It Goes. There’s no denying the young trio (made up of MCs Wiki and Hak and DJ/producer Sporting Life) are indebted to the city they hail from. So It Goes moves at cutthroat pace, comprising street-wary observations and cluttered production that echoes the industrial clamour of the Upper East Side. Prior to Ratking’s imminent Australian visit for Laneway Festival, the BRAG spoke to Sporting Life to discuss the record’s construction.
“I had an idea in my head of what, in my opinion, a complete album would sound like and how varied it would need to be,” he says. “You start there, but then things develop over time. Some of your ideas work really well and some of them don’t work at all, and that all leads to making what it ended up sounding like. I try to plan 100 per cent, but it ends up being like 70 per cent and then 30 per cent of what happens during the process.
“I get kind of uneasy if I don’t know what direction I’m going,” he adds. “I just want to take everything into account. You can say, ‘OK, I want to have this with that and this with that.’ Somebody might not even hear it, but as long as you know you’ve taken it into account.”
Sporting Life’s pointed deliberation has paid off. It might be too early to proclaim that So It Goes heralds a new age in New York hip hop, but Ratking have certainly introduced themselves as a unique entity. While the threesome readily acknowledge their hometown’s formidable hip hop background, they’re not looking to rehash past triumphs. Wiki makes this clear in ‘Protein’ when he melodiously raps, “This ain’t ’90s revival / It’s earlier, it’s tribal revival”. The lyric underlines Ratking’s autonomous constitution as well as their disinclination to adhere to a prescribed value system.
Despite this air of irreverence, the youngsters aren’t afraid to acknowledge their forebears – and these aren’t just artists from New York, explains Sporting Life. “[I like doing] my own groundwork of what the influences are going to be, track by track, and how I’m building it out, just by listening to so many classic albums, like albums Dre produced and stuff like that. A song like ‘Remove Ya’is sampled from Sanchez, and it’s also a sample that [The Diplomats] use on ‘Dipset Anthem’, but the direction of the track was more influenced by producers like Wiley and early grime.”
This willingness to take cues from reggae mainstay Sanchez and the godfather of grime, Wiley, shows that Ratking’s listening habits aren’t limited to the terrain of hip hop. On this note, So It Goes harnesses punk rock energy, which is no coincidence.
“We definitely listen to Bad Brains and skateboarding tapes,” Sporting Life says. “The fact that we play a lot gives it more of the punk element to it. Then we try to double back and add that into the record, so there’s not a difference between what it sounds like live. It’s going to be different, definitely – the micro version’s the album and the macro version’s the live version.”
There’s no denying So It Goes is a well-crafted record, armed with plenty of intellect and tricky wordplay. It’s also prone towards bursts of youthful rebellion. But even when things get a little heated, Ratking are careful to prevent irrational impulses from impinging on their creative agenda.
“There’s definitely parts in there and subjects that we’re angry about, but I don’t know if anger necessarily drives it,” Sporting Life says. “It’s more like just trying to push out a certain energy and a certain frequency. If anger mixed with this can do that, then so be it. If a chill vibe does it, so be it. You try to keep those things controlled, not be controlled by them.”
Ratking’s animated spirit and broad influences combine to make So It Goes a distinctly modern hip hop record. On top of this, the utilisation of advanced studio technology further differentiates So It Goes from the prized hip hop releases of yore.
“You’re using new programs, you’re using new drum machines,” says Sporting Life. “It’s being recorded with this technology, so in a way it’s going to be new anyway. You don’t necessarily have to stress that, you just have to set up a system and then put things through that system and see if they come out listenable. If it’s listenable people will consider it new, if it’s not they’ll be like, ‘That’s just some noise.’”
Sporting Life produced the entire record, but Wiki and Hak weren’t denied their say on the production choices. Similarly, Sporting Life weighed in on the merits of what was coming from the two vocalists. After all, Ratking are a crew, and the trio’s collaborative synergy is what builds strength.
“I think when we do it right everybody can breathe within their own space without necessarily encroaching on the artistic sensibilities of the other person,” Sporting Life says. “To a certain degree it’s left up to the individual, but then at the end of the day we all have to agree with it. If there’s a part that sounds really corny we’re all going to say something about it, so there might be a little bit of back-and-forth about it. Over time you get more and more comfortable with maybe not having all of your ideas go in.
“That’s the only way you can improve,” he adds. “None of these albums that are considered great were [made] where one person did it all. You get to the point where you’re comfortable letting other people give you ideas or pointers on stuff. That’s another level of creativity – more successful or more cohesive creativity.”
Ratking are a dominating force on record, but unlike so many other contemporary hip hoppers, condescending bravado isn’t their stock in trade. So It Goes is evidence of the ultimate dividends this attitude supplied.
“I think we’ll get better at it over time,” says Sporting Life. “But at the end of it, when [So It Goes] was finally mastered, in my opinion it gave people a balanced feel of what we’re trying to present at this particular point in time.”
So It Goes out now through Hot Charity/Remote Control. Catch them withCassius Select atThe Basement onThursday January 29, tickets online.Also appearing alongside Jungle, Flying Lotus, St. Vincent, Courtney Barnett and more at Laneway 2015, Sydney College of the Arts, Sunday February 1.
