Released: January 26, 2024

Genre: Hip-hop

From: USA & Japan

Label: Alpha Pup / Ruby Yacht

Why you should listen: Nashville, Tennessee poet R.A.P. Ferreira has been one of my favourite wordsmiths of the last decade or so, having released some incredible music over the years. Recent projects like purple moonlight pages and the Light Emitting Diamond Cutter Scriptures were fantastic projects, with eclectic and dynamic production complementing R.A.P. Ferreira’s free-flowing intricate wordplay and flows perfectly. He’s now back with a new collaborative album alongside Japanese producer Fumitake Tamura (someone I’ve also been a fan of for years) titled the First Fist to Make Contact When We Dap. Over 12 tracks and some smooth, punchy and melodic production, R.A.P Ferreira is able to effortlessly meander between synth and drum-heavy soundscapes, rapping with his usually idiosyncratic flow and with lyricism that are absurdist yet vastly observational. His ability to convey and create abstract images based on his own lived experience and propensity for intricate and playful lyricism, as with every album he puts out, makes the First Fist to Make Contact When We Dap a fun and immersive listen. From the opener “humble vessel”, where he half sings half spits things like “called her a yacht because life is a sitcom”, to the piano and synth-led focused-closer “soulfolks signal”, R.A.P Ferreira once again shows why he’s one of the most interesting poets making music today. He’s an expressive emcee, with poetry that is colourful and speaks on so many social and personal introspective things that are packaged in intricate verses. “47 rockets taped to my chair (for dr. refaat alareer)” is an early highlight, with a drum-heavy beat and R.A.P Ferreira’s almost braggadocio energy. His wordplay is his most powerful weaponry after all. The murky yet gorgeous soundscapes of “herering color, green” are beautiful, while “culture war patriots” featuring Self Jupiter is a heady, almost spoken-word type track, with both emcees talking their shit bluntly over synths and subtle percussion. “mr susan type slapper” featuring ELDON is another fantastic track, with a synth-heavy electronic beat and heavy drums where both emcees again provide humorous, disorienting and abstract wordplay. The soulful energy of “Jes’ Grew in Osaka” is emphatic and ethereal, while the drums on “begonias” featuring Hprizm are heavy, and include more wordy, disorienting and free-flowing observational verses. The hypnotic jazzy beat on “bending corners (sittin sidewayz revisited)” is incredible, while “the words of the poem” featuring sha ray is another fantastic moment, with the jazzy and frantic instrumental giving both emcees the opportunity to go off with colourful and abstract lyricism. “soulfolks signal” closes the album out witha piano-led and drumless instrumental, where R.A.P. Ferreira reminds us about the significance of his Ruby Yacht collective / label, talking his shit about the innovation he and his close collaborators bring to the genre. the First Fist to Make Contact When We Dap is an immersive, soulful and fun album highlighting R.A.P. Ferreira’s talents as a wordsmith and poet, as well as Fumitake Tamura’s eclecticism with varied and poignant production throughout the 12-track album.

The album: