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International interest in hip-hop has never been as high as it is right now, and artists like Vikki Sota are capitalizing on what could be the most diversely-appointed sounds in the history of the genre. Sota’s dropped a couple of singles in the past year that have resonated with fans of rap, trap, and crossover melodic hip-hop in a big way, and although his new EP Genesis isn’t out yet, critical acclaim hasn’t been hard for him to achieve. His potential as a songwriter is tremendous while his skill as a performer is undeniable, and I think it’s obvious he’s got nowhere to go from here but up.
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/vikkisota/?hl=en
TWITTER: https://mobile.twitter.com/vikkisota @VikkiSota
TIK TOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@realvikkisota
One of my favorite qualities about this artist is his willingness to go out on a limb with a lyric, as he does so vigorously in “Run up my Bands.†He’s never dependent on linguistic virtuosities that plenty of rappers have spent their lives trying to fake into existence, but instead following the beat and letting a warm groove define whatever he happens to be rapping about. You can tell there’s a vulnerable side to his work, but he’s not quite ready to show it – his growth is intimate and personal, which in itself verifies his authenticity as an artist.
Vikki Sota’s vocal delivery tends to be really simple no matter what kind of a beat he’s working against, and I for one don’t think he needs more oomph than he already affords his verses. There’s nothing wrong with holding back a little when it influences the emotionality of the lyrics as much as it does in the single “Swimming,†and this is an artist I can trust to go with the right speed for the right song, no matter what kind of a narrative he’s trying to build for the audience.
There are a lot of rappers defining their sound through mixing styles, but Vikki Sota isn’t one of them. He’s gone with a streamlined look for his first two singles – a move that some would be quick to judge as overly simplistic – and personally, I think he should keep the same look for his new EP. There’s no need to emphasize tone or texture on the backend of his music considering how much he’s giving us just at the mic, and if he went too deep with his production style I fear he might lose the sleek sound he’s so good at manipulating now.
He might not be finished in becoming the master rapper he ultimately will be, but Vikki Sota is nonetheless one of the more fascinatingly gifted players emerging from the shadows of his scene right now. He’s got a DIY attitude and a very polished cosmetic concept for his music that when combined make for quite the irresistible cocktail if you’re a critic like myself, and as long as he keeps working as hard as he has at making a solid foundation for his songwriting career, I believe he’s going to keep turning out indie hits post-Genesis like there’s no tomorrow.
Samuel Pratt