Words by Arch The Rival.
The premise of the title is exactly what it says. This isn’t something you play to your girl on a night in to romance her. This is me simply kicking down the door to the rap game, grabbing you by the scruff of your shirt and saying “WHAT THE F!@K IS UP YOU PUNK SUCKA!” It’s at least how I picture it in my head.
Still slamming the new EP from Arch The Rival? Us too. So we caught up with the Melbourne MC to break down each of the EP’s hard-hitting tracks.
Freakstyle
I’m not going to beat around the bush; this was honestly just a bit of fun. I envisioned doing a very Ludacris, Missy Elliot or Busta Rhymes style video clip and thought “What could I write that would suit such an outrageously out there and entertaining clip?” and came up with Freakstyle. Clip will be in the works soon but keep it on the down-low aye.
Don’t Be A Fool Sucka
This song actually started as just a 16 bar verse I wrote when I was about 17 but when looking back on it years later, I couldn’t help myself but add more to it. I inevitably wrote OVER 100 BARS with the same rhyme scheme without repeating a word apart from “likes” or “I’s” which fitted accordingly. I went over it, edited and came out with the end product. My goal was to show off my skill as a wordsmith while staying on topic and delivering an important message which is “The higher powers will not look after you so look after yourself and make your own riches”. This is definitely one for the hip hop nerds to pick apart.
Nasty
Another fun one! I just wanted to write something that you can ride to, smoke to, and get a little rowdy to. Kept it a little clever with the bars and flow but didn’t want to go overboard.
Kung Fu Grip
So this is a funny little one. The idea for the song came from 4 main sources:
1) Hilltop’s Art of the Handshake.
2) An episode of Supernatural where Dean teaches a young kid (who has the power to destroy everything we know and love in an instant if he decides to be evil) that when you shake a hand, you must use a “Kung Fu Grip”.
3) I wanted to write a song about respect and how it is hard to find these days.
4) Shaking too many wet fishy hands. You know the ones!
This song originally was intended to have a more serious tone but after stumbling across this beat it ended up being a lot more of a crack-up and spitting bars.
What’s the Word?
This song was another originally written when I was 17 and was 74 bars of straight spitting. After finding this beat I decided to cut it back and add a chorus that fitted what I was trying to convey perfectly with much less words. This song is showing the anger and frustration of a young man feeling trapped because not only here in Australia but the entire world is run by nitwits who constantly keep us in the dark and on the back foot with a never-ending cycle of bullshit with no end in sight. Dramatic, I know HA! Since then, I have matured enough that, though still strongly believing that you should make your voice be heard and that our leaders should be looking after us collectively, I have planned to ensure that I secure such a successful future that I can help those they are not willing to help.
Lies
I start the song saying “We conversate but the truth is missing. We’ve grown apart but there’s fewer distance.” This is an expression on how frustrated and confused you can feel in a friendship/relationship with someone that has hidden a lot of things from you but you have heard the truth from other people. It’s the frustration and confusion of loving someone you can’t trust and not knowing whether or not they care for you as deeply as you do for them.
I end the song on “Every day I miss what we had, wait, is what I miss what we have? I need some weed bad. This addiction for love is too much doc send me back to rehab.”
Again this is not only the frustration and confusion as mentioned above but the overwhelming feeling of love and the effect it has on the mind, body, and spirit when you are in such a relationship.
Fluesome
This is my middle finger to all the people who have ever doubted me or didn’t believe in me. This is my way of saying I’m sick, ill and no one is stopping me from achieving my goals. I will continue to charge ahead no matter what people say and if you can’t recognise the skill then you don’t know the trade. My belief in myself is stronger than your skepticism and negative energy.
Ruff, Rug’d N Raw is available now. Listen above.
