Katrina Laverne Taylor famously known as Trina is one of the earliest female rappers I know. I knew Trina even before I completely understood what Hip-Hop was all about. I thought she was amazing. She literally blew my mind and I was instantly without second guesses a devoted fan. Now before the release of her sixth studio album, she gives us a single to hold on to titled “Real One” featuring the brilliant rapper / singer / songwriter Rico Love, the CEO of Divions1 record label.
To be brutally honest, I expected to hear Rico’s famous “turn the lights off” sound but my expectation was thwarted as it never came. Had it come, I’d perhaps have paid more attention because all the songs that have that sound which indicates that they were produced or written by Rico Love, are highly glorious. Nevertheless, I’ll say it is quite impressive. Going by a general overview, I’ll say “Real One” was a good song. But however, there are always two sides to every story and I’ll not spare you the straight bitter facts of the other side of this song.
“Real One” owes its good sound to Rico Love. While listening to this song, I felt that he of the two artists is the one that was on top of his game while doing this song. If it was by design that he had to sing first then I must commend the strategy. It is attention grabbing when Rico sings and when he sings “All She ever wanted was a real one / But they are so hard to find,” you are instantly spelled to listen and find out what Rico is talking about. As effective as always his voice requires no effort to sound pleasant. He faultlessly does his part and it is brilliant. The chorus is well delivered and he decides his big finish will be a brief but spot-on rap for the third verse of the song. His performance on “Real One” is impeccable and it is no surprise because this is what Rico Love is all about.
Trina, on the other hand, does not deliver like the Trina I talked about at the beginning of this article. Trina used to be a goddess at this rap thing. She was an idol, the image of female rapping. How someone who was all and had claimed the throne has failed to keep up is rather disappointing? Listening to “Real One,” Trina sounds amazing but her amazingness falls short of what we have come to expect from a female rapper with such unequalled talent. The lyrics are fitting the concept of the song but they are not worth remembering. They sound like lyrics we have heard Trina use before or lyrics that are a cliché in the rap game.
I am such a huge fan of Trina it kills me to have to point out these unfortunate things about a song that had so much potential. “Real One” lacks the art and creativity we are seeing artist’s exhibit in the industry right now. The game has taken so many turns and twists and Trina seems to be stuck in her old ways. This does not go well with the fans and the numbers records do in sales and on charts. What may keep her alive is her image but we do not want her numbers in sales and charts to be because of the name, we want the music to speak for itself.
As a whole, “Real One” is a good song. Rico Love with no “S” on his chest swoops in and saves the day. His surpassing performance put together with Trina’s dissatisfactory performance even up the score and make the song worth a listen. The beat is calm and enjoyable, it persuades you to listen and with a good sound system or headphones, it is an extremely pleasant beat to listen to. The general flow of the song maintains constant good quality especially on the chorus. I can only hope Trina is saving the best for the album, because this is not the goddess we have grown to adore and respect for her enormously undisputed talent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgqrZspkhIM