Ginger Trill - ‘GVNG TAPES’
By Sabelo Mkhabela
Ginger Trill has been one of the most consistent rappers, and he just keeps bettering his craft. He is your favourite rapper’s favourite rapper. Rapped Stogie T during the BET Cyphers a few weeks ago: Yeah, they fill stadiums/ But lyrically they can’t fill Ginger Trill’s Palladiums. This year, the emcee delivered Gvng Tapes, a 5-track EP that doesn’t have “something for everyone”, but songs that anyone who has an ear for good rap will appreciate from the first to the last song. On Nobody (Interlude), the skilled rapper weaves impressive wordplay over an off-tune bass line. What sets Trill apart from a lot of rappers with flair, is how he builds his next line from the previous, instead of stitching random punchlines and calling it a verse. On the song, Ginger plays around with the concept of Boity’s LEGIT deal, and throws in words like “styling” and “counterfeit”, which play on the fashion theme, while still making sense. The album is fraught with many of those flashes of the his genius. And his guests complement him with equal fire. SummerTime Cane raps: Where the hell you been?/ To be frank, I’m all about my Benjamins on Forrest Guap, a song which also features up-and-coming Cape Town rapper SimmySimmyNya. Nya gives the song a catchy chorus that qualifies it as the perfect choice for a single. Most of the features on Gvng Tapes, are there to fill in gaps that Trill feels he can’t. For instance, Ayanda Jiya is invited to add some soul by way of the hook on the closing song Stay Woke. This song is evidence of Trill’s good ear and judgment. The sample’s hums and the billowy keys on the beat just yearned for a vocal hook, and Trilly decided to not sing it himself, because he’s one of those rappers who aren’t trying to be everything at once. Even a song like Psychotic - which I hate myself for loving, for its degrading nature. You will admire it for the craftsmanship behind it – the effortless marriage of rhymes and vocals, with breaks and pauses where necessary, and how both Trill and featured guest Tommy Ills stick to the concept, and you can tell they are having fun with their craft. What Gvng Tapes is, is an example of a good rap project that has both commercial appeal and impressive rapping and general hip-hop sensibilities. It manages to entertain without trying to be pop or too artsy. Trilly chose production that gives him away as a student of the game, as most of the beats are inspired by both boom bap and the 808-laden modern hip-hop production styles, but it refuses to be one of either. Every rapper featured on Gvng Tapes manages to impress without trying too hard – they rap on-beat, and the quotables aren’t forced. Nothing more pleasing than a rapper who doesn’t sound like they are even trying. Being a great rapper is enough. Rappers don’t owe the world artsy music, they don’t owe scholars transgressive raps. And Gvng Tapes is a great rap project that isn’t trying to change the game, save the world or try to be “different”. It’s a great conflation of raps and beats, and the story of a rapper dealing with being extremely talented and still having to be emerging more than he feels comfortable to. With the right push, Gvng Tapes could have blown many hip-hop fans away. Looking forward to the album in 2018.
Sabelo Mkhabela is a hip-hop head and writer from Swaziland, currently surviving in Johannesburg. Follow him @sabzamk and support his work HERE.
