Sy ShacklefordThere are some people whom I’ve heard rant in favor of the notion that hip-hop is dead. Assuming that’s true, then the blame must be assigned to someone. Some attribute it to the record labels being out of touch, some flat-out blame the current crop of young rappers for killing it with much-maligned “mumble rap”. The fact is hip-hop is not dead, it’s just that most listeners are unwilling to look elsewhere for quality music. I know a man who, to this day, espouses that if the rappers aren’t being played on the radio, then their output must suck. That said, I doubt he’d give a young 24-year-old rapper named Reuben Vincent a listen, but that’s okay, because there’s no “one-size-fits-all” in hip-hop. A native of Charlotte, NC, Reuben Vincent has been rapping since his teens and even earned a co-sign from fellow North Carolinian 9th Wonder. Together, they’ve dropped their collaborative album “Welcome Home”. With a title like that, it reads like a tongue-in-cheek reference to “You Can’t Go Home Again” by Thomas Wolfe.
The soulful “Homecoming” is the album’s opener, and Reuben makes his skillset abundantly clear with a dazzling display of flow and wordplay. On the piano key-driven “Day by Day”, Reuben raps on the daily struggle that average joes go through: “Loud making noise, call him alphabet boys / ‘Cause you know he got Q’s, got P’s, got O’s / I asked him put me on, nigga laughed and said no / Told me, “Reuben, you know the cons outweigh the pros.” Also, the album has several skits, but they’re at the end of several tracks as opposed to being tracks of their own. Reuben’s vocals are clearly southern fried, but he doesn’t have the syrupy drawl of many southern rappers. This shows on “God’s Children” with 9th’s gospel inspired production. It also features a verse from Ab-Soul, and Reuben handles the hook duties himself. The album’s first single, “Gotta Get It”, stresses the need to get money despite unsavory situations. 9th Wonder’s production here is more upbeat than the previous tracks, and Reuben approaches the it with a clear self-awareness as he spits:
Released as a single in early September, “Queen City” is also the nickname for Reuben’s native Charlotte. Working from an interpolation from a Donell Jones song, Reuben raps “I ain’t preachin’ to you, I’m far from perfect / Heal like Seal but show off the scars, they worth it.” The autotune vocal coda on “Get Up (Get Down)” kind of kills the track’s vibe, but “Issa Dee” makes up for it. Like the HBO TV series the title alludes to, Reuben lets more vulnerability show as he shines light on the dichotomy that comes with being rapper: Having to publicly exude the same confidence he shows on records while shrinking behind closed doors where no one can see. There’s something facetious in the lyrics for the R&B-influenced “Anything”, as though Reuben is taking shots at those vocalists who sing songs about promising the world to a romantic interest. The vocal outro by Nyla Simone hilariously betrays that notion.
On “So I Pray”, Reuben raps about the conflict on how to get paper without losing one’s soul. “Sweet & Good” has classic recognizable 9th Wonder production, from the sample loop to the drum snares. Lyrically, its braggadocious, but not in the usual sense. Here, Reuben brags about his game with the ladies, well just one. DMV rapper Wale makes his presence known on the hook of “Get It Girl”. For the production, 9th makes use of synths and record scratching to create the album’s late-night vibe. The album’s second single, featuring Sweata & Raheem DeVaughn, is “Dre & Sidney”. Inspired by the 2002 film “Brown Sugar”, 9th flips a Marvin Gaye sample as Reuben provides own take on the “Hip-Hop-As-A-Woman” trope:
The single “Just 4 Me” continues the “Brown Sugar” theme in the music video, it even features Taye Diggs. Featuring Sweata and Jourden Cox, Reuben lyrically waxes about looking for and finding his ideal woman. Jourden’s verse provides the counterbalance needed for Reuben’s verse. On “Cup of Love (Fools)”, Reuben stresses the importance of living one’s own life with Raphael Saadiq on the hook. Next up are the album’s final two tracks. “I’m Good” features Marco Plus, Jalisa, and DL Zene and deals with responding to everyday life with just the titular two words. The album’s closer, “In My Life”, seems to interpolate the sample used in “Life’s a Bitch” by Nas. However, this track can be summed up with bars from a previous track: “I always used to tell ’em it’s no place like home / Until I realized that home is not a place”. Despite his youth, Reuben Vincent spits with wisdom beyond his years. While this doesn’t contain 9th Wonder’s best productions, the sonic backdrop on “Welcome Home” is anything but lukewarm.