Riff Raff SODMG - Golden Streets (Riff Raff Records, 2011)

Undoubtedly one of the standouts from Riff Raff’s uneven, unfinished Sour & Gunpowder, Golden Streets finds Riff at his most somber (and sober, I take it). The depressing vibes this song gives off were immediately evidenced the moment that beat kicks in, and the “life of a hustler, life of a player” chorus is said in such a downtrodden manner that Riff Raff has never expressed before. It’s really strange to hear Riff Raff’s inflection change so drastically, and that’s why this song just hits so damn hard.

Like Gucci’s Neva Had Shit, when an artist who is traditionally known for little more than being a goofball suddenly gets serious and kicks knowledge, it connects so much thoroughly than artists who spend the majority of their career making tracks in the same vein. Golden Streets shows that Riff Raff is capable of being a character with more dimensions, despite the fact that he chooses not to. Which makes it all the more interesting, because frankly, why doesn’t he?

Again, Riff Raff’s name is listed as “MTV Riff Raff” in the beginning of the video. Can Riff Raff just stop this SODMG charade and sign with Mad Decent? Diplo has his interests in mind far more than Soulja does.