“My story has to have a purpose, not only for telling sake, but also with the purpose of liberating others.” - Rigz

The word renaissance is defined as “the revival of art and literature under the influence of classical models”. Understanding where we are currently in the musical area of art, specifically hip hop, it is more than evident that a revival is needed. With this apparent need in mind, Rigz presents his much anticipated project, New York Renaissance. This review will take a look at what Rigz put on wax and also consider the accompanying ebook, New York Renaissance: The Diary.

(After listening to this album several times, I made a personal observation that this project appeared to be split into a 4 day time period.)

Being that this project plays like a movie, “Prologue” gives that opening credits feel to it as we step onto Staten Island. “We in the streets with these lyrics and beats, trying to complete the Renaissance,” and with the de facto title track “Renaissance” begins “day one”. Rigz states his intentions of artful restoration over a smoothed out 90’s era (as is every track on here), with a lyrical imagery that is only the tip of the iceberg. The best track on the project would probably be “Vanity”, partially because of the perfect hook that Matt Reeves laced, “I ain’t sellin’ my soul, but I want money to blow. Even though that I know, it’s all vanity!”. As Rigz outlines a measure of the problem that he sees in his locale with that track, the “Summer Night” falls. The near 45 second intro of “SN” virtually places the listener on the block as the instrumental meshes with city background noise to create an authentic NY ambiance. “A Dollar Away” has Rigz and Hak talking about the difference between the slothful, suspect, and responsible. "Everybody's rapping. Everybody's rapping about everybody saying everybody's rapping," is one of the standout lines as this first day comes to a close.

As the second day of this journey commences, “It’s Alright” lets us in on his relationship with his mother, peace with former enemies, and a leaching lady friend. Technically, with each verse beginning “I wake up and open my eyes”, there’s an argument for this being 3 days by itself but please humor me. After a pretty entertaining skit with “Subway”, Rigz walks us through the third day on “Project Bench”. The piano mixes well with a few other sounds and deliberate drums to mesh with the near 6 minutes of ominous storytelling. Rigz brings together a few different accounts of the difficulties that come with life in the projects; each one ends with the individual ministering to him in the process of him reaching out to them.

The proverbial day number four begins with Rigz teaming up with Matt Reeves again on “A Beautiful Day”. This time, Matt lends a verse and discusses his method of remaining stress- free in the face of life’s many obstacles. Again, what stands out most about much of this album is just how detailed Rigz is with describing the happenings in his surroundings from multiple viewpoints. Moving forward, “Running My Lane”, speaks to the competitive nature of humans, and also the judgmental nature of some church folk. Rigz, along with Hak, spit with reckless abandon over probably the most vintage sounding track here and continues the strong flow towards the close of the project.

The final two songs, “Streets Talk” (featuring Jree) and “Judgment Day” are detached from the timeline I created and support the overall theme of NYR. “Streets Talk” is a classic East coast lyrical composition as Rigz uses the extended metaphor of literally speaking from the block’s point of view, with it pleading for its residents not to glorify the struggle. Most people see “Judgement Day” and think of Armageddon automatically, but in this case Rigz is aiming at a more personal application. In this case, he is speaking on the daily process of trying to take grace less for granted and being about following the Father’s commandments. The song is summed up well with another quotable, “asleep counting sheep till’ they meet the Shepard”.

Over the past 12 months, I have found myself noticing that albums usually fall into one of three categories, they’re either paintings, collages, or just plain randomness. Similar to a product of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920’s-30’s, NYR is a mural of musical art that is very much coherent in presentation. Though some may not want any recent releases to sound so much like older projects, it’s hard to argue with what Rigz said when he remarked that “vintage is timeless”. And from where I sit, this project is vintage and will have the shelf life of projects widely named as classics.

Rigz produced a large portion of the music, teaming up with June, Wit, Nar8ta, and Hak to create the seamless soundscape. So seamless in fact, that this project would make for a great movie or something beyond 2 or 3 individual music videos. Rigz did an excellent job of creating a set with his writing, allowing the listener to travel to where he dwells and understand why he is trying to present Christ the way he does on his day to day. It won’t fit the narrow guidelines of some CHH fans, but that’s for the best because of the value it can have to those who are in need of renaissance the most. If you are a hip hop purist, you’ll love this. If you’re into the newer school of style, this may take time to grow on you. If you’re a lover of all types of art, you’ll appreciate this. Wherever you may fit, don’t miss a chance to experience the New York Renaissance.

Categorical Ratings Breakdown:

Originality/Creativity: 5/5
Lyrics: 5/5 
Delivery: 4.5/5
Beat Selection/Production: 4.5/5
Concept/Arrangement: 5/5

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New York Renaissance: The Diary

After listening to the album, I was more than ready to take a look at the ebook Rigz packaged with the purchase. Running at 27 pages long, I knew fairly quickly that this would be a "companion guide" of sorts to the musical masterpiece I had been exposed to.  Covering all 11 songs ("Subway" obviously is a skit) on the playlist, Rigz gives a combination of biblical, personal, and practical explanations for each track. I definitely appreciated the background given behind the inspiration for the project and how he  decided to scrap the modern mainstream songs he recorded before creating what we have before us (which was going to be called "The Golden Era"). Also, his decision to stil record "A Beautiful Day"- a song about a day without crime or lost life- in spite of getting news of the death of a close friend, reveals a lot about the perseverance it took to complete this album. Add to that the standout chapters for "Streets Talk" and "Judgment Day", and you have a ebook that captivates just about the way the music does. My only critique is that there are times where the technical aspect of his writing was a little rough and the book wasn't longer. That said, this gives us an idea of Rigz's skills as a novel/ autobiographical writer and gives the hope that he'll keep writing (not to mention recording music). 

For More Info: http://www.rigz.net