Purple Moonlight Pages - R.A.P Ferreira: Review
is the new moniker for rapper Rory Allen Philip Ferreira who first made a name for himself under the Milo name particularly with 2015's critically acclaimed album So The Flies Don't Come.
Review By Lavender:
I missed this record when it first came out way back in March of this year and that's on me. Despite the fact that I'm a big fan of Milo's So The Flies Don't Come I hadn't kept up with him as closely as some others and didn't even know about this project until after it was already out. But after some strong recommendations and critical acclaim I finally got around to checking the album out and I'm very glad I did. While it is a little bit long and not the most varied record I've heard all year there is plenty here to love.
Normally I wouldn't talk about a short intro style track yet Decorum is so ridiculously stylish in the way it introduces everybody who worked on the album and is so captivating and smooth I had no choice but to mention it here. Greens sets the standard for this entire record including a low and rumbling but rich jazz instrumental and slick bars in a measured deliver from Rory. The second verse on the track in particular is a big highlight and it gets the record going with momentum it never really loses. Noncipher is the first of a lot of songs here that are basically just one long verse over two minutes or so. What it lacks in structure however it makes up for with a great instrumental and some impassioned lyricism. Once again in the second half Rory's performance picks up for some of the most animated and captivating bars on the record.
The next highlight is U.D.I,G which kicks off with one of my favorite instrumentals on the entire album and it stays great as it continues to drive the song for its entire runtime. While it doesn't have the most meaningful lyrics on the album the flow is buttery smooth and his constant switch-ups are executed perfectly. Cycles is great again as it opens up talking about what summer could have been, and given that this was released in March well before COVID summer became a thing it's pretty surreal. The song has a cold but calculated instrumental and Rory completely takes it over with his direct and confrontational performance. Next up is Absolutes another killer track and huge highlight. This is one of many points on the record and one of the best examples I think where Rory's starts to sound like fellow rapper Raury, no joke intended. With the great bars and smooth flow the comparison is an easy one to make and this is one of the records highlights.
No Starving Artists is another lyrically heavy track with some slick soul samples and a groovy trap beat. Lyrically the "No starving artists, just starving to know" refrain is one of my favorites even though I think the delivery could have been a bit better. Doldrums was the first song I heard from the R.A.P Ferreira project and I like it just as much now as I did earlier this year. The rapped hook fits perfectly with the lowkey instrumental and if there was any song on this record qualified to be a single it's probably this one. Mythical is another short but sweet highlight with only one verse that is lyrically as sharp as ever. Pinball is another hell major highlight and one of my favorite songs on the entire record. The track has a soulful instrumental paired with a very lowkey hook and if those things sound familiar I can confirm that yes, Open Mike Eagle features on the song. Mike flat out kills the track with a focused flow and some major lyrical highlights which made the track one of my favorites to return to again and again. Ro Talk doesn't get off to the best start and I'm not sure that the songs intro needed to last almost a full minute, but all is forgiven the moment the track kicks off and never looks back. The lyrics are funny at some points and witty or hard-hitting at others and the entire song is as skillful a display of songwriting as anything here.
Most of the other songs here I wouldn't consider to be low points but they do have issues. The first half is mainly instrumental problems where the second half is more performance. Omens & Totems opens up with a great spoken word intro that sees Rory giving out advice to those who may be interested in rapping. The core drum loop of the instrumental that the entire song is built around doesn't do much for me despite some lyrical highlights throughout the song. Laundry is one of the albums most lowkey songs but it also comes with a sort of bouncy instrumental and a much more typical structure than many of the other songs here. None of this is outright terrible but it adds up to a song that I don't think shows off Rory's talents as much as many others here. Dust Up is a full song of spoken word that does have some lyrics on par with the rest of the record. The really spacey instrumental doesn't do much for me and I don't think the flow of the words is nearly as tight as the rapped songs across the record which makes for a sort of drab experience.
Leaving Hell is the start of the performance issues the record puts on display. I hate to say this because it is such a common complaint in hip hop records but Rory sings the hook on this track and it really doesn't do a whole lot for me. The verses are solid and the drumming is tight but the hook vocals are so fragile and understated that it makes it hard to maintain any kind of momentum in a track with 3 hooks in under three minutes. An Idea Is A Work Of Art contains the albums only other feature and it doesn't really go over quite as well. Rory's verse is fine and the lyrics are on point but the flow is admittedly really strange with how much he stops and starts his bars. Mike Ladd is the feature and his verse is sharply political but it comes at the expense of the flow and pacing of his bars. The song is definitely worth hearing and has lyrics and ideas worth considering but the assembly of the entire song is just kind of weird. Golden Sardine is the only one verse song that didn't really translate with me as I just never find myself getting quite as into it as other tracks here. The instrumental is such a simple short loop and none of the lyrics really blew me away resulting in a song I think is just really okay.
Given how much I liked the intro I was really surprised to find my least favorite track on the entire record and the biggest disappointment to be the closing track Masterplan. First off the message here reads to me as completely different than so much of the lyrical content Rory goes over across the entire record which feels like a weird choice. Also I wish the instrumental had more on offer because this track is a lowkey mostly sung closer that stands out from the rest of the songs here in a major way. While the song does sound like a conclusion, it sounds like the conclusion to a completely different record with a different sonic palette and lyrical themes to this one and raises a ton of questions for me about its inclusion.
Despite some shaky moments here and there most of this record is really good and when Rory is firing he is crafting some of the best conscious hip hop tracks you'll hear all year. Despite a long runtime and a sound palette very different from much of modern day rap I think the record is pretty approachable given just how inviting so much of Rory's performance style is and the fact that the dense lyrics are often so well written that they come in catchy flows. This is a can't miss project for rap fans with nearly nonstop high points and almost a complete lack of any bad tunes, a record that I'm very very glad I didn't let slip past me. 8/10
