RINI’s newest single, Red Lights, not only serves as a wonderful neo-soul song, but might be one of the artist’s greatest song.

 The song begins with a vinyl crackle, which at this point has become very synonymous with neo-soul, who’s so closely knit with lofi hip-hop. The crackle adds saturation to the radio-drums and the flanger guitar, teasing the listeners of the vibe that’s to come. The moment the singer comes in to play, the full width of the production truly reveals itself with crispy trebles and booming lows. RINI’s soothing, relaxing voice traverses through simple melodies hovering over dangerous harmony, giving the song the jazzy feel that perfectly goes with not only the progression, but the instrumentation. This song has everything from the neo-soul checklist – Fender Rhodes, Stratocaster guitars, jazzy chords, dirty drum kit, and of course the vinyl crackling. The chorus is irresistibly catchy, filled with beautiful vocal layers RINI has always excelled at. The piano bridging the verses and the choruses is a wonderful touch. The “push and pull” feel isn’t just with the melody, however, but even more prominent in the production. It’s this song’s greatest strength; the verses and bridges following the first chorus are pretty thin, not that that’s a bad thing. It leaves room for the chorus to expand, and when it does, it feels ethereal, which is how I would describe a lot of RINI’s music. Another highlight of this song is Wale’s feature. Not only did he do an incredible job on his verse, but the switch up in the rhythm accenting his part was especially appreciated. It packages this whole song so wonderfully, feeling like every second of this song was perfected.

Red Lights is a statement both on the neo-soul genre and RINI’s career. The artist has been consistently putting out wonderful music, and this is the culmination of everything he’s learned over the years, and truly the peak of his sound, for the time being at least. This is RINI at his finest.

Author: Nicholas Gaudet

Music producer and writer from Dieppe, Canada.