Ratarue

“Does life imitate art / or art imitate life / why are we like this / caught up in this strife.”
- “Voyeuristic”

Ratarue
Odd Augmentation, Inc.

This freshman effort from seasoned emcee Ratarue (former member of Austin’s Spin Alley) is a solid throwback hip-hop effort. I say throwback because his sound doesn’t subscribe to the current trend in the rap/hip hop scene. He doesn’t swear every three words. He doesn’t form tracks around objectifying women or spit meaningless self-masturbatory lyrics. It’s not mindless repetition backed by a heavy bassline. More A Tribe Called Quest and less Lil Wayne. More Del The Funky Homosapien and less Soulja Boy.

The 18 song album (15 + 3 bonus tracks) is chock full of great tracks. He tips his hat to Jimi Hedrix in “Jimi’s Warning,” talks about lost love in “Time Heals A Broken Heart,” and calls out someone with a girl who has “stink breath like Frodo Baggins” in the battle-rap “Opiates and Flatbeds.”

Yes, there are songs about making money (“Maintain Scrilla”), sex (“Mad Eps”), and fame (“Radio”) but they are done with complex lyrics layered with some impressive scratches, mostly by Austin’s DJ Trouble. Ratarue seems set on elevating hip-hop and Odd Augmentation, Inc is his calling card.

“800 Pound Gorilla” is a standout. It’s got a really nice acoustic guitar loop overlaid by drums and scratches. But, the lyrics are the most impressive. “Invigorating, elaborate, conscious is my approach / To put him in denial is to get your body broke.”

I also really dug “One Bite At A Time,” a track about making it in life. “The ego is an ugly troll that lives under a bridge between your heart and your mind. A rabbit’s foot is a sad substitute for horse’s sense. How to eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”

Odd Augmentation, Inc. was released on January 23 at an INsite Night in Austin. It can be found at Waterloo Records. If you’re a fan of hip-hop with meaning, you should pick this one up. For more information about Ratarue, visit his MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/ratarue), follow him on Twitter (http://twitter.com/ratarue) or subscribe to his blog (http://ratarue.blogspot.com).

Interesting trivia bit - Ratarue’s real name is Corey Powell. The moniker is a something his younger brother made up to use as a battle cry while they were growing up.


http://seanclaesdotcom.blogspot.com/2010/01/week-21-ratarue-odd-augmentation-inc.html - Sean Claes for Insite Magazine

I’m a selective hip hop listener. Nothing against the style, but let’s be honest – most of the rap you get exposed to sounds like it was written by a fifth grade dropout.

The show I saw yesterday was different. There were a few groups playing and I didn’t get to catch all of them, but out of the sets I caught Ratarue stood out. His music reminds me a little of the Wu-Tang Clan (and that could be because I don’t know much hip hop, but no matter). Intelligent, topical, and void of the narcissism many emcees rely on. One song seems to be a tongue in cheek dig at typical hip hop:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxlBoIhPT_k

And that was a video he did himself right here in Austin.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I’m not a completely disinterested party. Ratarue’s girlfriend is a co-worker and friend. Despite that I listened with a neutral ear and still found it compelling. His Myspace page has some more great songs:

Ratarue’s Myspace Page

I think my favorite so far is “Voyeuristic”. My truck doesn’t have a “kill your tv” bumper sticker, but the lyrics still resonate with me.

So check him out next time there’s a show. I went this time for a friend. Next time it will be for the music.

Update: I got a copy of Ratarue’s CD “Odd Augmentation, Inc.” today. 5 years in the making, but obviously worth it. When was the last time you really listened to an album? I don’t mean just let the music wash over you, I mean you listened because it really grabbed you? This album did that to me. It also gave me a new favorite track, “800 Pound Gurrilla”. I kept going back to that song over and over. There is a haunting acoustic riff that plays throughout and stays in your head long after the speakers have gone quiet.

Right now the album can be found at Waterloo Records here in Austin and will be hitting the online market soon. You should go buy a copy. In the meantime you can read more at Ratarue’s Blog.

http://texasguitar.wordpress.com/ - Logan Kubiakl

Your A-List: Best Rapper By Matthew Odam | Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 12:11 PM Austin may not get the national love that Houston gets when it comes to rap, but we’ve got our fair share of rap artists of all stripes that hold it down and represent the River City. The winner of this year’s poll took home 64 percent of the vote while knocking off some of the bigger and more established names in the game. Hip-hop act Ratarue lists 90s conscience hip-hop icons Tribe Called Quest, Del The Funky Homosapien and De La Soul as influences. But the baritone lyricist is also not shy in giving nods to rock n’ roll, which explains his role as one of the vocalists in hip-pop-punk band Spin Alley, which won last week’s Your A-List poll for Best Local Punk Band. According to his MySpace page, “Ratarue’s debut, full length, 18-song album entitled ‘Odd Augmentation Inc.’ will be coming out in the Fall of 2009.” From that album comes this Austin-centric video for the song “Maintain Scrilla.”
- Matthew Odam for Austin360.com

I’m a selective hip hop listener. Nothing against the style, but let’s be honest – most of the rap you get exposed to sounds like it was written by a fifth grade dropout.

The show I saw yesterday was different. There were a few groups playing and I didn’t get to catch all of them, but out of the sets I caught Ratarue stood out. His music reminds me a little of the Wu-Tang Clan (and that could be because I don’t know much hip hop, but no matter). Intelligent, topical, and void of the narcissism many emcees rely on. One song seems to be a tongue in cheek dig at typical hip hop:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxlBoIhPT_k

And that was a video he did himself right here in Austin.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I’m not a completely disinterested party. Ratarue’s girlfriend is a co-worker and friend. Despite that I listened with a neutral ear and still found it compelling. His Myspace page has some more great songs:

Ratarue’s Myspace Page

I think my favorite so far is “Voyeuristic”. My truck doesn’t have a “kill your tv” bumper sticker, but the lyrics still resonate with me.

So check him out next time there’s a show. I went this time for a friend. Next time it will be for the music.

Update: I got a copy of Ratarue’s CD “Odd Augmentation, Inc.” today. 5 years in the making, but obviously worth it. When was the last time you really listened to an album? I don’t mean just let the music wash over you, I mean you listened because it really grabbed you? This album did that to me. It also gave me a new favorite track, “800 Pound Gurrilla”. I kept going back to that song over and over. There is a haunting acoustic riff that plays throughout and stays in your head long after the speakers have gone quiet.

Right now the album can be found at Waterloo Records here in Austin and will be hitting the online market soon. You should go buy a copy. In the meantime you can read more at Ratarue’s Blog.

http://texasguitar.wordpress.com/ - Logan Kubiakl