Vikki Sota “Run Up My Bands” (SINGLE-VIDEO)

It’s hard to break into the music industry, but in terms of sheer difficulty on the professional level, I don’t know of another genre in the pop lexicon that is quite as difficult to penetrate as hip-hop is. From the beats to the fashion and the culture this music helps to inspire, there’s nothing bigger in the world right now than rap and the rappers who make it such. While he doesn’t have an easy road ahead of him, Vikki Sota is chasing big things with his own rap career this autumn via an EP titled Genesis and a single called “Run Up My Bands” that could do for him what so many other records have failed to do for others.

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/vikkisota/?hl=en

Although dominated by a self-awareness that makes the song a standout even without taking into consideration any of its cosmetic trappings, “Run Up My Bands” doesn’t have a conservative structure at all – it’s actually a rather beastly, progressively stylized piece of material. There’s no denying that any rapper other than Sota would have changed the music’s identity, and that’s why I think it’s very representative of who he is as an artist. 

The sway of the rhythm is really aggressive, but it’s controlled by the presence of the vocal rather than the direct action of the percussion. Where a lot of trap is putting high hats where emotional lyrical contrast should be, this isn’t a single that spots us a lot of sexy grooving for a lack of depth from the poet performing the verses. The bassline in “Run Up My Bands” is incredibly efficient and makes me actually feel a little bad for the rappers who have yet to master the art of using a good thing sparingly both in and out of the recording studio. This track’s hook isn’t all harmony, but layers of melodicism that strike out with a bit of extra percussive zeal from my man at the microphone, which alone makes this a more conceptual composition than some of the other players I’ve been listening to in the month of November would be able to contend with. 

It will be very interesting to see how Chukwudi Victor Otubelu evolves over the next few years, but if I’m just basing my prediction of his future on what he’s already done in his short career thus far, I’d say that there’s enough in “Run Up My Bands” to verify his authenticity and viability as a long-term fixture in mainstream hip-hop. There are still a few rough edges in his sound, but as long as Vikki Sota doesn’t reject the unspoken desire to experiment with the limitations of his songwriting he’s bound to develop at one time or another in his lifetime, I think he’s going to keep making hit singles that will replicate the success “Run Up My Bands” brings him. This is a good test for what he’s ready to do next, and anyone who thinks otherwise hasn’t listened to this amazing new song yet. 

Michael Rand