Bob's Son - R.A.P Ferreira: Review

R.A.P Ferreira

is the rapper persona of Rory Allen Phillip Ferreira formerly Milo who just last year introduced his new moniker with a critically acclaimed record Purple Moonlight Pages. Bob's Son showed up on the first day of 2021 and features Rory on both vocals and production across the record. As a show of his innovation and creativity the album dropped alongside a virtual reality cafe where users could sit and listen to it. 

Review By Lav:

Rory really impressed me with last years Purple Moonlight Pages not only proving to be a creative and innovative rapper but one that also clearly had a lot to say. I was surprised the turnaround into this record was so quick but given its short length and rough around the edges production style it feels like a spur of the moment type release. Even with parts of the record feeling rushed and songs that seem like randomly cobbled together segments Rory's creativity manages to shine through all over the record. 

This record is dedicated to Bob Kaufman and his beat poetry clearly has an influence on Rory and particularly on some of the performances across the record. Alongside this there are tons of vocal samples from all kinds of different people who seem to have some impact on Rory's sound sprinkled all over the record. Pairing this with a constantly shifting instrumental palette the record can be compositionally dizzying but at its best the songs are great. 

redguard snipers is the longest track here and most of it is great. The first half of the song could have fit on Rory's last record as he and SB The Moor trade off verses over a rich jazzy instrumental complete with a catchy hook. The second half comes off an indulgent interlude and features a quieter verse I'm not quite as enamored by but I still enjoy the song. sips of ripple wine jumps constantly between different sounds and styles culminating in a catchy closing refrain with a slick sample that I think is one of the best moments on the entire album. Even though getting there can be a mixed bag the results are excellent.

skrenth features some more samples that thematically reinforce Rory's attempt at making rap and poetry seem analogous and given how poignant moments of his verses can be I'd say it works. bobby digital's little wings is one of the most easy to swallow tracks with Rory delivering two stylistic verses bookended by spoken vocal samples. The song cites some of Rory's inspiration in its samples and shows the results in his verses. high rise in newark works in two distinct parts but I enjoy them both. The second half in particular shines as one of the records best experimental moments pairing a fiery vocal performance with a woozy psychedelic instrumental with great results. 

the cough bomber's return is an incredibly lowkey nearly spoken word interpretation of hip hop over a simple stark percussion loop. The lyrics are funny and kooky and I think Ferreira mostly does the sound justice although I wish the instrumental was a bit more interesting. I have a similar issue with rejoice, a pretty interesting song made up of mostly one long and sort of inconsistent verse. The beat wears on me even more hear as the track goes on.

yamships, flaxseed is a bit of a strange track that kicks off with a mixed rap and sung refrain before transforming into a piano based hip hop sequence. The second half of the track is much better than the first so its difficult to fully weigh my feelings on it. listening is the only song on the record I don't really care for much at all. It feels more like an exercise in assembling a smooth collection of syllables than an actual verse or song and the second half does nothing to save it. 

Bob's Son is a unique but challenging series of songs that refuses to settle on one sound or style for even a single song and adds up to a creative but somewhat inconsistent final product. There is a lot here I enjoy but just as much that came off as confusing or seemingly unimportant, but I'll certainly remember a few of the records great highlights. 6/10

Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:

I love the fluid lines of this cover. It's simple and gives personality to the piece. I'm not a huge fan of the colors and it needs to be brightened up a little to highlight the details hidden in the brushstrokes. The color palette does work well however and I think the tones of the face are rendered beautifully. I don't believe text is necessary and would take you out of the piece. 6.5/10

For more of Rory's music check out my Purple Moonlight Pages review here