REVIEW: “The Name is Rodney” by RXDN3Y MA

By @paulothewriter

I hate debuts. Debuts hardly get the patience they deserve. Especially if it’s the first time you are publicly coming out with some form of entertainment or sport. They are an avenue for the audience to become experts and tell you who does it better or what they would have preferred.
What I love is, “behind the scenes.” Whenever we watch bloopers of movies and unedited behind the scenes footage, we appreciate the final cut more. “Behind the scenes” shows you that it’s not as straight forward as your layman “expertise” thinks it to be.

With social media now, where we are all critics with a keyboard and instant access to an audience, debuts have become a lot harder. You just need to trigger the right twitter fingers and you’ll have a mob of strangers agreeing with you. However, all it takes is a more popular opinion, phrased with the right triggers and a fresh mob will be pitted against your mob and your opinion. I hate what social media has done to genuine opinions.

Debuts in music have to be the most brutal. With streaming platforms birthing an era where music is more disposable than ever (over 60,000 new songs are uploaded to Spotify alone daily), creating music that is aurally appeasing for your first serving is a milestone that does not get the acknowledgment it deserves.

The Name is Rodney, a 5-track debut from Rxdn3y Ma is a first serving that deserves the patience any debut ought to be granted. As a mostly solo act with just one feature, it is a very impressive “out of the gate” presentation to the world where RXDN3Y hopes to gather his audience, and build a fan base.

All 4 solo songs, Mboona, Matama, Nkaaba & Aguti are obvious favorites. “Bbaala” Track number 3, a feature with an Artist called Omwana is the only track I will nitpick.
RXDN3Y does a clever thing to give us a mostly standalone project for his debut. This approach strips you naked and presents a raw you to the fans for judgement. A standalone project is a fair exhibition to the fans, as you are not supplemented by other acts that could make up for your short comings. What we see is; what you really can do.

He does a stellar job at holding his own and delivering several moments worthy of the praise The Name is Rodney has received on social media.
The charm in his writing is the bold jesting that sometimes feels uncomfortable. The behind the scenes that explains this is the playful wittiness Rxdn3y carries in his personality. You can see this in his tweets and even conversations if you know him beyond the music.
When you look past your self-righteousness and realize that it’s strictly for entertainment, you enjoy the music and soak in the amusement of “that thing you call a hubby” as he sings on “Nkaaba.”

“Bbaala” which was the first single of this EP is a song I feel didn’t need the feature. Omwana does nothing to add to it. If anything, his unpolished delivery takes away from the song. You are left looking forward to whenever RXDN3Y is the one singing.
Nkaaba and Aguti are proper R&B tracks that bring out a side of Rxdn3y that a keen ear will linger on for a second. They are evidence that he can actually deliver a proper R&B track if he isn’t playing into the market, by blending other genres.

As far as my hatred for debuts goes, The Name is Rodney is one that carries a lot of its weight. It needs the patience every debut ought to be granted because it is nothing like what you have heard. The uniqueness in what is done on this EP is unfamiliarity that could easily lose you.
Rxdn3y is a talented artist that understands that power in discovering his range and musical strengths. Every track is significantly different from the other, a risk that pays off because every track is given the attention that type of track needed.

Where he digs and draws from his emotions, it’s reflected in the writing, the vocals and the overall delivery. Tracks that allow for silly writing will have you on the floor when he tells you that the only bond they had was “bond 7” – a type of alcoholic beverage.

It is an overall solid project and an introduction that justifies why our industry needs an artist like Rxdn3y. What I look forward to is how he measures up when he collaborates with equally gifted artists.

He is undeniably vocally gifted and once he unlocks the confidence that comes with getting “your debut, the criticism that comes with it and the social media court house” out of the way, Rxdn3y has the potential to be a dominant force.

Check out The Name is Rodney HERE