First, congratulations to Ren on snagging the number one spot with Sick Boi’s release.
He edged out the legendary Rick Astley and Rick posted this message on Instagram which is as iconic as the man himself.
Sick Boi is Ren’s follow up album to his 2016, Freckled Angels and was written and produced by music industry disrupter himself and while many may have never heard of Ren, it can now be said that he has left his mark on the industry.
Though he didn’t need a number one album on the charts to prove his mark, his rise from YouTube obscurity to a cult-like following over 2023 has been amazing to watch. Artists I’ve been fans of for decades have praised him and Jamie from Rare Americans called Ren underrated.
With the eighteen tracks on Sick Boi, Ren has let out his innermost thoughts and experiences through witty, thoughtful, hard hitting, at times dark, at times light, but mostly honest, raw, and visceral lyrics. Longtime fans will also recognise a few of Sick Boi’s tracks, “The Hunger,” “Genesis”, and “What You Want” from Ren’s 2022 EP of the same name as the sophomore album plus songs of the “Love Music” series as well.
What I enjoyed about Sick Boi is that there are two distinct moods of the album. One that is light-hearted and fun, songs like “Love Music, Part 4”, “Uninvited”, “What You Want”, and “Loco” and one that is serious and a visceral exposition of the human condition, songs like “Seven Sins”, “Sick Boi”, and “Money Game, Pt 3”. Ren deftly manoeuvres between the two moods with ease, breaking up the emotional state just as relief is needed.
But no matter the mood, the songs flow from one into another without jarring the listening experience and Ren’s writing talent and rap skills shine from track one to track eighteen. Other Ren in “Hi Ren” might have made fun or criticised Ren about sounding similar to Eminem, but it is rare to hear anyone complete with Eminem’s speed, but Ren does so with ease. He, like the rap icon, seems to be able to spit words just by simply exhaling.
While Ren’s backstory, illness, and past do play a part in who he is and what Sick Boi as an album is, he doesn’t allow any of it to define who he is as a songwriter, rapper, or creator.
Sick Boi could have been eighteen tracks about his illness and mental health, but Ren explores more than just a part of who he was and is. He curiously explores present and future Ren and in doing so, he allows anyone to listen to also explore themselves and the ebbs and flows of their lives.
In Sick Boi, Ren has created an album that is a bridge for many to use to be able to join others in their fight for not only mental health, but for the ‘you don’t look sick’ to be seen and heard. By bloodletting his own trove of feelings and emotions in Sick Boi, Ren allows others to heal as well. They just happen to be doing it to eighteen must hear tracks that are sure to make one feel the full spectrum of emotions like laugh, cry, and more.
MUST LISTEN TRACKS: the whole album
FAVOURITE TRACKS: “Genesis”, “Seven Sins”, “Illest of Our Time”, “The Hunger”, “Masochist”
HOT TRACK: “Bittersweet Symphony” by Ren
LISTEN & WATCH: “Illest of Our Time” by Ren
HOT TRACK: “Animal Flow” by Ren
HOT TRACKS: “Love Music, Part 4” and “Down on the Beat” by Ren
