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Mixtape Review: Ratlin – Summertime in Mexico

Feyona9

By Feyona9

Feyona9

28 Aug 2011

“Ratlin West London’s Finest Rapper” – it’s nice to finally see an artist making waves in the music game residing from the West parts of the waters because it has to be said it is quite rare.  Ratlin first made a feature onto our radars when he released the ever so popular, ever so crazy, summertime banger ‘Messiah’. Originally a track released by Movado, the simple but yet effective idea of ‘spitting’ over a Bashment tune has made this track go down in ‘newcomer’ history. With a phenomenal just over a quarter million views in just two months Ratlin’s future is looking real bright right about now.

‘Summertime in Mexico’ is the second instalment from Ratlin with the first entitled ‘Youngest in Charge’. For some reason this quirky title has me drawn to this mixtape, I just love how unusual it is but from listening to all 20 tracks I can totally see where he was going with it. Most of his tracks have a certain ‘let me put on my LV shades and go chill in the hood’ kind of vibe, if you know what I mean. So here we go, lets venture into my top 5 tracks that may have been some of the reasons why this anticipated mixtape had everyone running to their computers for a free download….

    01.  Messiah (ft. Movado)

I have already mentioned this track like 6 million times already but I can’t write this mixtape review and not mention the soul reason as to why Ratlin is becoming such a household name. Undoubtedly anything Movado gets on is automatically a banger so with a crazy track like that already in the wood work all Ratlin had to do here was write some lyrics that would coincide with this track perfectly;

“…so my people wana kill me, but deep down I know they really feel me….”
“I got the heart of a lion on these cold streets, I only run from the police…”

Perfect opening to a mixtape, no intro needed as this song already builds up your anticipation into wanting to know what else Ratlin has to offer.

    05. Go Hard

For some reason I’m getting a slight American vibe with this song and I quite like it. The chorus flows well with the beat and it proves to be very, very catchy as to why it managed to catch my attention in this selection process. There’s not a lot to say about this track as the title is pretty much self explanatory, Ratlin plans to ‘go hard’ with what he believes is his calling in life – the music game and fair play to him.

“I’m about to go harder than a motherf***er, no sleep….”

   07. Ramp wid Rats (ft. I-Octane), 15. Remedy (ft. Jah Vinci)

It’s funny how I keep picking out the bashment/rival tunes, but I just can’t let them go by without a mention (being the sly bashment/rival fan that I am). I have decided to join these two up as I couldn’t pick out of the two which was better, as both tracks invoke two completely different types of emotions. ‘Ramp’ – is more of a get up off your seat and shake a leg kind of vibe whereas ‘Remedy’ – delivers a soulful yet quite touching sort of feeling.

“I buss case now I’m bussing up the place, soon gona blow better recognise my face…”

Ramp.

“…I use to be pray to be famous, tables turn now I pray for the haters…”

Remedy.

     18. Hood Testament (ft. Chrissy)

This track is actually deep, Ratlin ‘preaches’ to the youth about the ‘roads’ from his prospective.

“…beefs gotta stop n**gers killing over everything, little n**gers dying ‘cause their fighting for their postcode…”

– although Ratlin may have other tracks where he raps about ‘letting off the nine’ and what not; it is nice for him to feature at least one track that lets some of his young fans know that ‘the streets’ are infact crazy and in reality your life shouldn’t be taken as no joke.

“…heard my little cousin on the phone say I’ma shoot ya, life is a b*tch ‘cause he’s only 13, I tried to show him different but he wants to be a ‘G’, I told him that a ‘G’ don’t last till he’s 30…”

I’m sure all the 80’s babies will agree with me when I say the ‘hood’ was always a ‘madness’ but as of recent times with the new generation coming in its just becoming beyond tolerable. The youth of today have lost their way and need more positive role models to help them overcome ‘The System’ –

“…stuck in the system designed for us to fail, my uncle told me every black man goes jail…”

Sing it Chrissy!

“…gotta get out of the ghetto, gotta break out of the system, don’t ever give up, you gotta live your dream…”

        20. Oh Lord Have Mercy

I like this track as an ender to the mixtape. You could say Ratlin repents for his ways but says due to the lifestyle and what he was brought up in, it isn’t always easy to do the right thing. I know a lot of males in particular would relate to this tune as to why it makes the cut for the final track in my top 5.

“…look into my eyes you can see the struggle, I’m in too deep caught up in the muddle…”

“…I was born in this mess, I didn’t ask for it….”

‘Summertime in Mexico’ is definitely worth the download or if you’re just looking for something different this is definitely it. The versatility Ratlin brings to the table is of a high standard with the choice of Bashment tracks he rhymes over to what I like to call the ‘I can relate to music’ he produces about ‘street life’. This is certainly the right type of mixture you would expect from a mixtape released right after the sensational debut of ‘Messiah’. As geographic’s go could it be said that West London maybe the new North when it comes to rising talent? Well I’ll let you be the judge of that…


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