When a lion roars, the jungle stops and stays completely still. Whether it’s out of fear, whether it’s surprise, or out of sheer respect, only the beasts of the wilderness know. In Hip-hop there has never been a more dominant, more ferocious roar commanding that same respect and instilling that same terror in the fragile listener than that of Public Enemy’s Chuck D. Thus, it was only natural Divine Styler sample Chuck D’s infamous count down for Ryu’s third single aptly titled, ‘The One.’
‘The One’ – third single from the debut solo album Tanks For The Memories out everywhere this Friday September 9th – is pure braggadocio at it’s finest. Hard-hitting, bold boasting that Big Daddy Kane would be proud of as Ryu dances effortlessly riding the Divine Styler track with soon-to-be quotables like “Never sweat a recession; if dough is outta the question, I could still be pullin hoes in the clothes that I slept in.” And the nostalgia laced “V8’s under the hood, bad bitch in the front seat; baby my name’s Ryu so you must be Chun-Lee.” Ryu is undoubtedly out to claim the throne of Los Angeles Rap royalty.
The video to ‘The One’ is a simple reference to going back-to-basics; a rally-cry for L.A to get back to the grassroots of what makes the cities Hip-hop scene so formidable. It opens with a freestyle – “I’m what your favorite rapper wants to sound like: biting my style but can’t even get my growls right” – as Ryu cruises the streets from the San Fernando Valley, a neighborhood walk-thru to a warehouse which plays as a soft homage to humble beginnings – playing parties for the neighborhood where he was honing his skills, and the areas that made him and groomed him as a man.
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