Ramirez, sometimes stylized as RVMIRXZ, is a member of the G*59 record label and hails from San Francisco. Given that he is a part of G*59, he is a longtime collaborator with the $uicideboy$ (who I have a post on here), their most significant projects being G.R.E.Y.G.O.D.S.I and G.R.E.Y.G.O.D.S.I.I. These are two short EP’s jam-packed with impressive, fast-paced, trap tracks. However, in both of these projects, it is the $uicideboy$ who take the spotlight, with Ramirez as a sort of supporting character. While his contributions to these EP’s certainly add to it, his own catalog of music demonstrates his talent and unique ability to hone in on certain genres of rap.
Ramirez credits his uncle with introducing him to Memphis style rap, particularly Three 6 Mafia, from whom he draws heavily from in regard to his production and samples. On his debut album, titled Trillity, these very influences are seen. The San Francisco artist samples dialogue from Scarface, gunshots, and skits from films such as Menace II Society. Over these samples, Ramirez delivers bars about the ghetto, gang life, and writing to friends in prison. This album showcased Ramirez’s skill when it comes to drawing off of previous rap groups and adding his own twist to their sound.
After Trillity, Ramirez released a number of albums all with similar style. These include Meet Me Where the River Turns Grey, The Grey Gorilla, and Son of Serpentine. All of these albums maintain Ramirez’s Memphis-influenced style: trap beats, hard rap, and sometimes screaming. Ramirez seems to stay within certain parameters on these three albums, which would precede his most powerful and impressive project.
On May 8th, 2020, Ramirez released THA PLAYA$ MANUAL, a smooth, California, 90s style rap record. The cover alone paints the picture of the project, as Ramirez crouches in front of a yellow stretched out car on what looks like a sunny summer day. Tracks like “Lane Switching (feat. Rocci)” and “Hunnids” contain smooth, low-riding beats with a mellow Ramirez rapping about what he knows best. However, there are also songs such as “Brown Eyes (feat. Rocci)”, which sound more like a track off of an 80s R&B album. Rocci offers a soulful vibrato, while Ramirez grounds the track in subtle boom-bap rap. While these are all somewhat new fields for Ramirez, he absolutely delivers on them. However, in an effort to shoutout his past, he included tracks “Ebony Woodstock (Interlude)” and “Red Dot (feat. Night Lovell)”, which are more reminiscent of his time spent with the $uicideboy$. Ramirez concludes the album with an outro that mimics a radio station sign off, successfully escapsulating the old-school aesthetic of the record.