“When it comes to self expression, I’m a specialist,” Rittz confidently raps on Top of the Line single “MVP.” The lyrics are the truth. The north Atlanta-bred Strange Music signee’s calling cards his inhuman double-time flow and an instantly recognizable cloud of frizzy red hair around his head, a big reason for his organic following is his willingness to put himself out there with his music: drugs, race, and personal experiences are all on the table when it comes to Rittz. He continues the vulnerability on his third studio full-length outing, making another worthy addition to his steadily-building catalog.
At his best, Rittz is able to add subtle nuance to his rapid-fire rhymes and also sing, showing his feelings in different ways. For much of Top of the Line, he uses his varied skill set to chronicle a romantic relationship, and how drugs and a hectic touring schedule weigh it down. His vulnerability is palpable, especially on highlights “Back To Yesterday” and “Just Say No.” On the former, he recounts catching his girlfriend cheating and spits vulnerable rhymes about missing the relationship, and sings a tender chorus that would sound just as natural on a country or soft rock record. On the latter, he narrates a tour of cocaine and Xanax binges that resulted in an emergency room visit, using a matter-of-fact tone while asking his girlfriend on video chat to closely watch him during his doses in case he stops breathing. The emotion ventures outside of his relationship too. “Until We Meet Again” begins as a stereotypical state of affairs song about school shootings and societal ills; but when Rittz takes on police brutality and racial discrimination in the second verse, his anger rises with each line as he recognizes the lives lost and terrorized.
While the roller coaster of Rittz’s life is a big theme of the album, there’s still plenty of shit-talking, grain-gripping and drink sipping. “Pull Up” and “MVP” both fit the bill, with their thumping bass and street warrior ethos. A trio of star collabs feel manufactured in terms of their topic matter, but they’re good and natural enough to not complain about them. Rittz teams up with Mike Posner and E-40 for the smooth, pimpish “Inside The Groove,” and calls on MJG and Devin the Dude to floss their whips and southern heritage with “Propane.” Strange Music fam Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko come through for the punchline-fest “The Formula.” The songs help round out the album, but they feel more focused on making the album well-rounded instead of telling Rittz’s story.
In the low points of Top of the Line, Rittz’s machine gun rhymes mask the depth of what he’s actually saying – whether that depth is in emotion or wit. “My Window” describes him contemplating suicide, worries about his personal health and his lover’s health while he’s on tour, and pleads to God for mercy for a friend who may be facing prison time – weighty topics, but his fast rapping feels like he’s rushing through those feelings instead of exposing them. And while the flow is on great display on “Ghost Story,” it’s occasionally tough to make out what he’s saying. Bearable for many rappers, but not for artists like Rittz who have such a premium on lyrics.The album could also cut “Day of the Dead,” which sees Rittz taking on Internet haters (never feed the trolls, Rittz, especially at the cost of studio time). The hour-long, 21-track play length will impress or distract depending on the listener, but to his credit, most of the songs are substantive and the redundancy is fairly minimal.
Top of the Line has a lot of lines where Rittz laments about what he believes is a dismal state of affairs in rap. “All these artists talk like they the hottest, and y’all let ‘em get away with murder/they just rhyming words together, ain’t no substance to their monologue,” Rittz complains on “Ghost Story.” To his credit, his latest album embodies the change he wants to see.
This is rittz best album so far. I didn’t have to skip a single song and I still don’t. He’s finnaly stopped caring what other people think and he’s learned to ignore the negative comments people leave on YouTube and what not. Every album has been good so it surprises me that not only does he stay consistent, but he gets better and better with each album. Very impressive. He switches his flow, delivery, and style up multiple times, he has remarkably complex lyrics, and on nostalgia he shows the true art of storytelling. I’m not sure who did this review on him and yes taste is very subjective BUT, what is there NOT to like from this album? He went from being in my top 10 to being number 1 right now. Rittz if u happen to read this I just want u to know that I think you are the best rapper alive right now, keep it up. I give this album a 5/5
I like Rittz….but this aint no 5. If this a 5 what the hell would you rate ILLmatic?
you rate it a 5.5 who the fuck cares the albums fire. this site can’t rate the albums right if they got to fuck jennifer aniston or sandra bullock for fuck sakes. ratings don’t matter what the people say does fuck critics. ratings are a way for people to argue over shit we should be sharing “music” but the common person is a stupid ignorant fuck. they don’t care enough to think if something is good or bad, they like how it sounds. lyrics, wordplay, passion, thrown out for dumb shit like nay nay or whatever the fuck. fuck you fuck hiphopdx and fuck critics fuck all you judgmental fucks and fuck you fucks for fucking acting like you give a fuck you fuck.
I don’t know man I’m fuckin 26 man I like and respect nas but why can’t somebody else have a classic ? Get rich or die tryin, Eminem show marshal Mathews lp I mean other people have classics too jackass
I don’t know man I’m fuckin 26 man I like and respect nas but why can’t somebody else have a classic ? Get rich or die tryin, Eminem show marshal Mathews lp I mean other people have classics too jackass
Gave the album 4/5
Lol how you say it’s a 5/5 and rate it different.
A 10,000. lol
his best album so far
guip
im telling you…by rittz’s next album this dude will be selling a lot of records, more popular features, bigger tours and possibly some charting singles…dude gets more popular every year, ive been to 3 shows of his and the first one had maybe 50 ppl, 2nd show had 75, 3rd had 1100+ (tech n9ne’s indie powerhourse tour of course)
How much has this album sold so far?
Take a chill pill dude. It’s not that serious lol.
Another boring Strange Music album. They all sound alike now. Worse part, they all sound like they are trying to go radio with poppy hooks and club type beats. These guys have way too much talent to be making these subpar material. The only Strange artist still worth listening to is Brotha Lynch and Murs. *cue technicians attacking the shit out of me*
What’re you recommending right now? I can barely tolerate anything other than strange music… Serious inquiry.
Did DX get an intern to write this review? Substance behind each song is what you’ll find throughout. It depends on how well you listen. And if you weren’t on the verge of tears after listening to ‘Nostalgia’, you are not human. Rittz’s storytelling is visceral. Like chills on your face visceral.
This is one of the most impressive rap album I’ve EVER heard! “Next To Nothing” was great but you can hear so much growth with this album. Rittz has really come into his own on this one. He’s aligning to be one of the greats already, finally getting the awesome Billboard chart positions he deserves. And am I salty about Rittz becoming more well known? Hell no, he’s been consistently good since “White Jesus:Revival”! Same as everyone I talk to, we all agree HIP HOP NEEDS RITTZ at this level!!! He’s breathing fresh life into the genre that’s become more about auto tuned, mumbled product placement, and wanna be carbon copies of those mumblers. If you don’t have this album yet, go get it. You won’t regret it, guaranteed.
Best album of the year. Hands down the best. The production is way ahead of its time. The lyrics are on-point. Possibly the best lyricist in the game right now. Whitey.
Not terrible, but not good at all. Boring as fuck, bad repetitive production, poppy hooks mixed with the corny chopper flow. Y’all satisfied with everything these days… tossin out 5/5 like it’s nothin
THANK YOU! Rittz never changes but they talk like he has had some major evolution. Just the same flow in the same cadence on every song.
I completely agree with your assessment. I’ve been following Rittz for a while, and too much of this album feels too contrived.
I thought this album was great! The album displays Rittz’s growth as an artist. He gets personal with fans on the track “Nostalgia” about the passing of his dog and explains his drug use and dealing with life as an artist in “Just Say No” and “I’m No Good”. He keeps the party going with tracks like “Top of The Line” and “Pull Up”. Overall I give the album a 5. It’s Rittz’s best work yet!
Starts off as a pretty decent album, but I barely came to the end. I think there are too many tracks here, almost half of which could be cut off. Anyway, some tracks made it to the playlist. Hooks are amazing overall, rittz is usual, so as the whole album. 3/5
This is much better than Next to Nothing. I’ve listened to the entire album 4 times and haven’t found a reason to skip any of the songs.
Been on REPEAT since it dropped
just listened to this for the first time today and i am now listening again while i am at work, bobbing my head away, great album, one of the best so far this year so far. any record that you can listen to over and over straight away gets a 5* from me. one gripe, album is probably 3/4 tracks to long, but what tracks to cut i dont no, just a bit long. not complaining to much tho
Monotone fast rapping for well over an hour… no thanks.
Would rather listen to this over Drake’s boring 81 minute snooze fest.
Dope album, I feel like the production on here gelled together better then the last 2. “White Jesus” is still his best record to me though
When Next to Nothing dropped I remember seeing the album cover, skimming through each track for 10 seconds and throwing it aside with the impression that he looks corny. MAN WAS I WRONG TO JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER!! I heard inside of the groove a few weeks back and sat down to give Next to Nothing a real listen before this album dropped. I really like that album, and to have this out right now is just soo good. I’m glad that he’s with Strange Music, my favourite label the last 5 years, and I’m glad that Yelawolf and his label threw some money behind Rittz. I like what both are putting out these days. Rittz I’ve slept on you for years, but no more! Would love to catch a show in Toronto in the next year or two.
“is that that bitch” is one of my favs from the album. I love how he calls out these idiots online who run their mouths and always feel the need to put in their two cents about his career or get butt hurt when he doesnt acknowledge them.
Also, “Propane” is such a dope song
One of the best hip hop albums this year.
No mention of Nostalgia? This album is a solid 4/5 and worth checking out. Shout out to Rittz for giving us another solid project.
i give this a 5/5 .
every album Rittz gets better and better and this is one i really reccomend. Not one bad song on here
Dope does what dope is
Rittz doin his thing! Gr8 music for everyone
This album is fire “inside the groove” is a great song but I feel that there verses needed to be a little longer
I’ve been Rittz since “White Jesus”, and this undoubtedly his best work yet. So talented, so lyrical, so versatile with his flows, and he has a for writing beautiful meaningful songs with incredibly catchy hooks.
Worst project yet. White Jesus: Revival and Life and Times are his best efforts. I honestly feel that this album has revealed how one-sided his delivery is. His flow is only murderous when he’s choppin’, but when the beat slows down, his flow isn’t really good…at all, unless he’s using a melodic flow, which I think he should employ more. I think a lot of his hooks are too “sing-songy” on this album.
I think he’s really at his prime, worse choruses than NTN but way better rapping.
Bit of a different vibe than his previous releases. The top tracks still blow most the competition away by far. Only artist i can stomach start to finish on an album. It’s RITTZ bitch!