Rated R is an Emcee/Producer out of Far Rockaway New York. His debut mixtape is titled The GRReen Tape, and features a wide variety of genre samples, along with a reoccurring theme of Ric Flair cuts thrown into the mix. Rated R produced every track on the tape, and it was refreshing to see minimal features on his debut mixtape. A lot of emcees will make a debut mixtape, and have a feature on every track, so hearing Rated R take the bulk of the work was good to hear. When I asked Rated R about what he tries to accomplish with his music he had this to say: "What I try to do with my music is make good music. I want to incorporate different elements and different methods, with the end result being good Hip Hop. I'm influenced by the forefathers and I want to evolve their sound" For such a simple answer, it really goes a long way.
Rated R is not a true lyricist, though he is by no means rapping about rapping. Much like the rest of the album, Rated R can't be categorized lyrically. He is lyrically sound and has a fairly decent flow. His voice is heavy and though it sometimes "over-shadows" the beat, R still shows authority in his voice and vocal authority is something that even Kendrick Lamar is ridiculed for not having. To sum up Rated R lyrically, you could say he's very versatile yet still needs improving on technique, and delivery.
The beats on The GRReen Tape are nothing to sneeze at. Truthfully it was the diversity of the beats that pulled me into the album and got me truly invested in this mixtape. The beats are far from the typical boom-bap style and lay closer to the more modern style beats. The mixing on this album is rough which makes for sometimes unsatisfactory sound quality. The innovation behind these beats allow you to put the mixing quality behind you because at the end of the day this is still a very solid piece of work.
In all, it's a fairly good mixtape that will unfortunately not reach as many people as it should. Rated R has a plethora of potential within the hip-hop industry, and with the right promotion and work any future projects from him could really take off and make a splash. Be sure to check out this mixtape and download it for free(links below).
*Follow Rated R on twitter @FarRockRated
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