Wednesday 6/24: Redveil—"Traffic"
Today, we share our thoughts on "Traffic" by the Maryland rapper Redveil.
Welcome to Endless Scroll, the brainchild of Eli Enis (he/him) and Eric Bennett (they/them). Since Feb. 2019, we’ve been a weekly podcast about music, the internet, and where those two things intersect. Now we’re, also a M-F newsletter about songs. Our format is simple: a link to a song and a short take from each of us about what we think of it. Each day of the week has a corresponding genre: Monday is indie, Tuesday is punk, Wednesday is hip-hop, Thursday is pop, and Friday is misc.
Today, we share our thoughts on "Traffic" by the Maryland rapper Redveil. We’re joined by music critic Michael Brooks, who’s an Assistant Editor at The Alternative and a writer with bylines at FLOOD Magazine and The Grey Estates.
Redveil—“Traffic”
Michael Brooks:
Maryland rapper Redveil, who earlier this year dropped the excellent loosie “Soulfood,” makes idiosyncratic hip-hop in the vein of artists like MIKE and Medhane. His latest offering, the meditative and woozy “Traffic,” finds the 16-year-old tackling police brutality with an unmistakable insight and finesse. His lyrics effortlessly drift across the self-produced track, ducking and diving between different pockets every couple of bars as he gradually begins to stack syllables on top of one another like a never-ending tower of Jenga pieces. He talks very candidly about what it’s like to grow up in a world where kids that look like him get murdered by the police, explaining that since a young age he’s had to prepare himself for the harsh realities of being a black male in America. But when he raps lines like, “turning 16 to the tune of liberation,” you can’t help but feel inspired that he senses real change is on the way if we just keep on fighting. With an undeniable talent and wisdom beyond his years, it’s a safe bet that bigger things are on the way for the promising young MC.
Eli Enis:
Redveil is a 16-year-old who’s been rapping for just over a year and he’s already made a more nuanced and insightful protest song than J. Cole. Like Brooks said, his style is obviously inspired by the new-ish wave of introspective indie rappers who let their deep, deadpan deliveries squiggle over lo-fi beats (students of Earl Sweatshirt, essentially). Redveil is different, though, because he’s so young and he already sounds like he’s been at it for years. His flow is effortless, both in execution and style, but he has a total command over the way he delivers each line. Between this and “Soulfood” I’m already sold on him from a purely musical standpoint. And then there’re the lyrics of “Traffic”, which totally speak for themselves, no critical dissection required. “But we ain’t never forgot a body white supremacy tried to claim / fire back and spill piggy brain / social stigma on a black nigga pain / and how that shit expressed / every way that we resist get suppressed.”