Compton's Roddy Ricch Delivers On 'Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial'

For most people, Roddy Rich appeared on their radar in 2018 when Die Young came out, his catchy 'I ain't tryna die young' hook and melodic rapping captured the ears of a lot of music lovers. Later on that year he gave us Feed Tha Streets II - the follow up from his debut album.

The three-time, Grammy-nominated rapper is back with Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial.

Like many albums, it has got its great and not-so-great songs. Here is my take on the album.

The album kicks off with an almost angelic instrumental in Intro, it brings a lot of emotion to what he is rapping about i.e. the struggle. This is until the beat drops and introduces a head-bopping instrumental and more braggadocious lyrics; building up the energy for the tracks to follow.

Roddy Ricch seems to use the Atlanta influence in a few of the tracks. In Perfect Time, In The Box and especially Prayers To The Trap God Roddy is more creative with the range in his voice almost mimicking Young Thug in these Auto-tuned melodies; the Atlanta influenced sound does not come as a surprise as he spent years there as a teen.

Start Wit Me features one of America's favourite artist's right now - Gunna! This single was released prior to the album coming out. Gunna brings the wave to this track as he always does with his nonchalant style of rapping. Big Stepper also came out prior to the album and if you listen to the guitar chords properly, it sounds like 21st-century rap-infused showdown music which makes a lot of sense considering the association between Compton and Horses. Check out the video below!

Moonwalkin' featuring Lil Durk is one of my favourites on this album. It is probably the best feature on the project, both voices compliment the beat so well. You can expect to hear Durkio's auto-tuned vocals in this one. This is a cheeky song. You can tell they bounced off each other in the studio, Roddy mentions Serena Williams in a bar "I got tennis (tennis chains) like Serena" which sets up Lil Durk to say "I need racks (rackets) just like Venus."

God's Eyes is a reminiscent song as well as an emotional one. He talks about his brother, the days before he was getting money and how it does not necessarily bring you happiness. Roll Dice is another emotional track. Roddy starts it off with "I seen the Reap (aka Grim Reaper) come" rapping about how close he's been to death.

Peta is the first track that stood out to me. It features Roddy's mentor Meek Mill This is the type of track that could become an anthem, the flute is a nice touch to the beat. It is fair to say that Meek carries this track, and it would have been nice to hear more of Roddy Ricch on this track.

Boom Boom Room slows the album down and personally, I think the tempo suits his melodic-rap style the best, really highlighting his talent. 'Been working on my confidence...' Roddy is only 21 years old and there is still a lot for him to learn and a lot of space for him to develop as an artist. He uses the same flow in Bacc Seat featuring Ty Dolla $ign another smooth track & will likely be a favourite for the ladies. However, this seems like another song that Roddy is being overshadowed in.

He includes a cute skit called Elyse's Skit where a woman talks about how she can't get the track "Ballin" out of her head.

High Fashion is the only 'romantic' song that is on the album he raps about a well-dressed female, it isn't one of the strongest songs on the album. The beat is remarkably similar to that of Ella Mai's 'Trip' and is also produced by Dj Mustard. Tip Toe has got a feature from A Boogie, the guitar on this beat does it for me. The song is about how fashionable Roddy is and the many people he has influenced fashion-wise.

Last but not least: War Baby, what a perfect way to end the album. Probably the most personal song on the project and we hear that from the jump when he says "I'm from the bottom of the bottom, check your sources, baby." There is literally no bragging, no talking about women, money or recreational drugs (for enjoyment purposes anyway). Roddy is speaking his truth in this one and even includes a bar about PTSD! He is pouring it all out on this track and the choir? Goosebumps.

All things considered, it is a strong album from Roddy Ricch. I enjoyed the fact that most of the songs transition beautifully into the following one & that he has made guitar chords his statement instrument. Depending on when you started listening to him, it could be argued that his older projects are better. However, I feel the hardcore music-lovers will appreciate this album because of his growth.

Let me know what you think of the project!