Put on the best headphones you can find at home, lie back, listen to RealLifeXperience (2022), and close your eyes. It’s almost fascinating how powerfully visual rap music is. From the first second, the album immerses you in another world that may be notorious but also exotic to you. Right from the start of the first track, rapper RLX paints one powerful image after another, and a view of Los Angeles, Manhattan, or Medellín is painted before your eyes. You won’t have time to touch the vivid landscape, however, as it disappears as quickly as it appeared, and you’re on your way somewhere else. RLX doesn’t write detailed storytelling or reveal too much about himself; we would rather describe RealLifeXperience as an album of constant movement. And moving, or rather, traveling, will be in our article as well. In the latest essay from the Rap Tales section, we look at Boston-based producer MichaelAngelo and his distinctive music videos and reflect on how important music videos are to the complete rap experience. We’ll also be accompanied by rapper RLX, and we’ll travel with the duo through their albums RealLifeXperience and DALÍ (2020). Leave your bags at home; we’ll make do with what the destinations have to offer.
MASSACHUSETTS
Before the artists take us into their world, let us introduce you to theirs. The first stop on our journey is the state of Massachusetts. MichaelAngelo was born in Revere, just outside of East Boston. The talented producer has spent part of his life in the famous Salem, which borders the city of Lynn. It was in Lynn that MichaelAngelo met Estee Nack and connected with artists such as al.divino and Primo Profit, with whom he still works closely today. Together, they created a new wave of sound that is one of the best in modern rap. Together with the aforementioned artists, the producer has released a number of excellent albums that will rightfully go down in history. Traveling, exploring new cultures, finding samples, and taking inspiration from foreign countries is something that drives MichaelAngel forward.
“Global never local, out the country and by coastal”
Live A Life by RLX (2022)
A similar desire drives Colombian-rooted rapper RLX forward. RLX has lived much of his life in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and has also been heavily involved in creating a new underground sound. He found his artistic background at the Manteca label, where he has CRIMEAPPLE and Primo Profit by his side. RLX has found his life path in rap and is determined to follow it until the end of time. He too is motivated by travel and new environments, revealing on the Bucked Up with Sam Buck podcast that being away from home and creating with other artists makes him really happy.
RALPH BAKSHI
“Downtown on shrooms it’s like film by Bakshi”
Beamin’ by RLX (2020)
Before we arrive in Colombia, our next stop, we’ll use the time on the road to introduce what makes MichaelAngel’s clips unique. Whatever video you watch on his YouTube channel, you’ll find a pattern. The clips are very simple and minimalistic, yet effective and mesmerizing. Don’t look for any visual effects, frantic transitions, fast cars, or groups of people standing behind the rapper. The main star of each clip is the rapper himself and, most importantly, the environment. It was the natural capture of the details of the places that surround the artist in the clips that gave us the idea to write this essay, conceived as a travelogue. It’s not just the music videos for tracks featuring rapper RLX that we’re talking about; a shining example are this year’s efforts for Son Of Sam Law (w/ Shaykh Hanif) or DIMELO (w/ Al.Divino & Estee Nack).
This gives each rapper the space they need while at the same time paying attention to the details of where the video takes place. The combination of these techniques will make you connect with the song and the place. Lauren Sayreve’s study, The Art of Hip-Hop in Digital Media, using Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) analysis, found that making an effective hip-hop music video involves an increased emphasis on a particular environment and community. He further emphasized that it is truly fascinating to see how unique visuals can be created through music videos and rap lyrics.
MichaelAngel’s videos are excellently thought-out pieces of art that enhance the power of the songs themselves, allowing us to get to know the culture and lives of the artists he works with. So all credit goes to every single director and all the people who worked on the music videos. The clips are diametrically opposed to the films of American director Ralph Bakshi (who we mention not just because RLX mentioned him in his track but because we found it interesting to juxtapose his hyper-stylized films against the minimalist music videos), but by pairing them with rap tracks that are already strongly visual in their own right, they have an equally hypnotic effect on the viewer.
TRIÁNGULO DEL CAFÉ
“This is real life; we don’t pretend, I am real wise with how my time is spent”
Beamin’ by RLX (2020)
Our next stop is the South American country of Colombia, where rapper RLX traces his roots. The gorgeous music video for Beamin’ takes viewers to the coffee plantations that are undeniably important to the country. Along with Brazil, Vietnam, and Indonesia, Colombia is one of the largest coffee producers in the world. Media Systems is behind the video, and it must be said that they did an excellent job. The calm, hypnotic beat with a breathtaking sample creates a beautiful contrast with the rapper’s biting voice, setting the stage for multiple layers of absorbing wordplay. In the peacefully flowing video clip, we follow both the rapper and the coffee plantation worker and are transported into the no-holds-barred atmosphere of Colombia, which is so palpable that for a while you’ll feel like you’re standing alongside RLX.
The fusion of beat, rap, and music video makes Beamin’ a true RealLifeXperience. The artists take you to a country you may have never been to or, conversely, live in, but they do it with authenticity, sensitivity, and grace all their own. You won’t find any distractions, but a quiet space to get to know a new culture, try to understand it, and approach it with empathy. RLX and the man who collects coffee beans stand side by side with smiles and respect. And what is art about other than bringing us together?
MEDELLÍN
“I do this for my family before me they got busy”
Thru My Veins by RLX (2022)
Our next stop is the famous metropolis of Medellín, the second largest city in Colombia. Medellín is located in the Aburraj Valley at an average altitude of 1,500 meters above sea level in the mountains of Colombia’s Central Cordillera and hosts the world-famous La Feria de Las Flores flower festival. The metropolis has a cosmopolitan atmosphere and is home to many important landmarks, such as Plaza Cisneros and Botero Plaza, the San Ignacio Monastery, and the Comuna 13 district. The city is, of course, associated with Pablo Escobar, the drug wars, and high crime rates. Today, it is no longer one of the most dangerous cities in the world, yet it has still not emerged from its past.
It’s no surprise that artists RLX and MichaelAngelo take us into the very heart of Medellín in the video for Thru My Veins, among the homes of its inhabitants. Where many rappers would glorify or flaunt the city’s inhospitality, guns, or violence, the aforementioned video is again minimalistic and full of respect and understanding. From Medellín, we see an elderly man, apartment rooftops, balconies full of plants, hanging laundry, and a bird in a cage. From the first second, it’s clear that RLX has actually lived in the city and has Colombian blood in his veins. MediaSystemsCo once again took care of the directing, working with the artists to create another gem that will bring you closer to a city, people, and country that may be exotic or even misunderstood to you.
ST. LEONARD DE PORT MAURICE CHURCH
“I gotta go stay focused on the goal and speak my soul on the road”
In My Mind by RLX (2022)
The last stop on our journey is St. Leonard’s Church of Port Maurice in Boston. This brings us back to Massachusetts. We think it’s no coincidence that the artists chose the interior of this church for the music video for In My Mind. After 1870, Boston began to see an increase in Italian immigrants leaving their homes and country to find a better life in the new world. Along with the immigrants came Catholic traditions and a heritage of faith and devotion to the Church. So Archbishop Williams called upon an order of Friars Minor, the Franciscans, many of whom were themselves recent immigrants, to go out to serve those in need, and so the church that is now known as St. Leonard’s of Port Maurice was born. And it is producer MichaelAngelo who has ancestors from Sicily.
The minimalist video clip is another effective way to get to know both artists better. RLX paints the beat with his lyrics, just as the artists painted the walls of the church with their paintings. The alpha and omega of the video are once again the rapper and the environment itself, which is given the same space as RLX. The gorgeous scenery adds to the power of the track, and once again, you are left dazed by the vast, intoxicating beauty.
THE JOURNEY IS THE GOAL
“Have you, from the beginning…of your work, of your great craftmanship, been painting a message to give to the people that we perhaps don’t understand.”
Beamin’ by MichaelAngelo (2020)
We have reached the end of our journey, which introduced us to the beauty of Colombia, the famous metropolis of Medellín, and the Boston church. We can’t escape the clichéd phrase that the end of one journey is the beginning of the next and that the journey, in fact, is the destination. Artists RLX and MichaelAngelo have produced excellent rap records that no fan of the genre can miss. They have underlined them with great music videos that, with their minimalist approach and focus on details, aura, atmosphere, and the genius loci of the environment, make the music, which in itself can evoke visual sensations, a strongly visual experience. The artists achieve that the listener, or rather the viewer, is fully immersed in worlds he or she does not know and has the opportunity to understand and relate to them. They experience a powerful and undisturbed RealLifeXperience.
Zdroje: Artist Profile: MichaelAngelo is a Top-Tier Producer with Massachusetts Roots (RYAN S. KIM for The Harvard Crimson), MichaelAngelo: I’d like to think I’m more of a producer than just a beat-maker! (Throw Up), Producer Spotlight Interview: MichaelAngelo (Respect Due), The Art of Hip-Hop in Digital Media (Lauren Sayre), Saint Leonard de Port Maurice Parish
