Features : ren.y.c's first single, ''Wicky'', brings a positive, feel-good vibe to hip-hop

Her first single, “Wicky,” is a story about life and dreams lived alongside gun violence. It is also a fun listen with an upbeat trap track that carries a subtle message against school shootings. The video presentation of the anti-violence message is much more explicit, yet the music and the lyrics convey hope for better times.

“I put a lot of thought into it,” she said. “I didn’t just come up with it in a day. It was a whole process.”

Actually, it was 22 processes. It began when she was freestyling to the beat, “and the idea came to me while I was doing it.”

“I stopped working for a little bit, and then I came back to it a few days later.”

But she found that some kind of technical glitch had deleted the entire back end.

“So, then I redid it 22 times,” she said. “There were 22 different versions, and I finally just picked the latest one I had because I was like, ‘It’s never gonna get done if I just keep doing it over again.’”

The lyrics intersperse bits from everyday life and her life as an artist with exhortations against violence and guns:

Double double Gs on my pants a new record
Guinness world record yea I’m feeling the pressure
Doesn’t scare me never jogging in place
If I got something to say imma say it to your face
…
Wicky wicky wicky gov control your blickies
Wicky wicky wicky never too wicked

Ren.y.c makes five declarations about her music in her self-bio: 1. she isn’t afraid to address social issues; 2. she takes a “family friendly approach”; 3. her music will reflect her values—family, health and fitness; 4. her connection to God is part of the fabric of her life and art.

And 5. she intends to elevate “hip-hop culture with her commitment to positivity, love and self-expression.”

The elevation comes in the trap and drill beats that she loves. Both styles originated in drug and gang culture,

“I want to send out meaningful, positive messages,” she said. “The topic of school shootings is not a positive thing, but I definitely want to talk about things with meaning.”

“I just want to make people feel good,” she said.

“Yeah,” she continued. “That’s basically it. I want to make music that I enjoy and that, hopefully, will make people feel good.”

“Wicky,” in its beat and vibe and ren.y.c’s voice and delivery, manages to do both.

Her hometown, New York City, is embedded in her artist name, which began with a suggestion from a friend.

“I didn’t know if I was going to stick with it at first and then my friends all started calling me that and it just stuck.”

There is also the fact that ren.y.c rhymes with NYC, “because that’s where I’m from.”

She is at the start of her career as a recording artist. Hip-hop is her genre. She cites A. Boogie Wit Da Hoodie as her main influence.

“I listened to him a lot growing up, and all of the popular hip-hop people, but he’s the main one.”

She is just beginning her career. “Wicky” is her first release, and she is planning to release two more between now and March, one called “Sick” and then “Shot.” Both will have associated videos.

As to where she is going, she said, “Well, I’m still a student. I’m just gonna see where life takes me.”

Connect to ren.y.c. on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts, and see where she and her music are going.

“Wicky” on YouTube
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