In Defense of Riff Raff (Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Love Jody Highroller) Posted by Nathan S. on 11/18/13 | Filed under Humor, Opinion, Riff Raff, In Defense

This weekend a friend asked me "what do you think about Riff Raff?" because that's become a common question these days when you run in rap nerd circles, and I'm a rap nerd, and debating rap is the type of shit I do for fun on the weekend. (As opposed to, you know, my day job during the week.) 

I wasn't surprised to hear my friend say he didn't like Riff Raff, that's easy to see, but I was a little taken aback by how much he doesn't like Riff Raff. In fact, "doesn't like" is an understatement. He thinks Riff Raff is a no-talent hack who's actively degrading hip-hop culture. If Riff Raff were to disappear from the face of the Earth, he'd organize search parties to stop all the search parties looking for Riff Raff. 

At a certain point I can't convince someone to like or dislike Riff Raff, or any artist. I love carrot cake, other people don't, and there's really no argument I can make for carrot cake that's not "I like it so you should too," which isn't really an argument. I can, however, offer up a defense against carrot cake/Riff Raff-related hatred. It's what I said to him, and since I know he's far from alone, I'll say it to RefinedHype Nation...

Like presumably everyone, when Riff Raff first started making the rounds on the interwebs, my gut reaction was that he was a white, less-talented version of Soulja Boy, which isn't exactly a compliment.

B>ut in retrospect that's only because I was thinking of him as a serious rapper, which is the essential mistake. Once I started to think about Riff Raff as a comedian who occasionally rapped, instead of a rapper, I became a fan. As a general rule I like weirdos, people who say shit I've never heard before, who do shit I've never seen before, who push things so far you're almost uncomfortable liking it. It's why I like MF DOOM, it's why I like Zach Galifankis, and it's why I like Riff Raff. 

>But what's really remarkable about Riff Raff is not that he says some weird/terrible shit over ostensibly hip-hop instrumentals, a lot of people do that, it's how thoroughly committed he is to his character. It's not surprising that all of his tweets and Vines (which are also hilarious, by the way) are written in his voice, but it wasn't until I listened to him on The Champs podcast that I realized just how deep "Riff Raff" was for the man born Horst Christian Simco. For over an hour he categorically refused to answer any question about his "real" self or his history, even things as basic as where he grew up. The effect is less like listening to a rapper/comedian and more like listening to either someone with a deep-seeded psychological problem, a performance artist absolutely committed to staying in character, or both. Probably both. With the exception of the afformentioned MF Doom, he's the closest thing the Rap Game has to Andy Kaufman. 

I don't want to over think this piece any more than I already have. Riff Raff might be consciously satirizing hip-hop's materialism by becoming a living, breathing embodiment of the absurdity of that materialism; is rocking a living Versace python really that different than rocking a Versace necklace?

But while I can obviously go deep on this, it's really the opposite from my original point. Did anyone think Jim Carrey was destroying the integrity of cinematic artist with "Dumb & Dumber"? Chris Farley in "Black Sheep"? Probably, but those people clearly need to relax. Some shit is just dumb and funny and offers no deeper value and that's fine, there's a place for that in movies, and there's a place for that in music. A fat guy in a little jacket is funny. The most annoying sound in the world is funny. Riff Raff giving a tour of his kitchen is funny.

Relax. If you think hip-hop is so fragile that a probably definitely insane dude rapping about can kill it, you're severely underestimating just how strong this culture is. If you think Riff Raff is taking any shine away from your favorite "deserving" rapper, you don't understand how entertainment works. Riff Raff isn't taking any serious rapper's spot any more than "Dumb & Dumber" took the spot of subtitled, black and white, French movies. Sometimes I want to feel the uplifting power of music and listen to the new Black Milk album, sometimes I want to watch Riff Raff rap about Toaster Strudles. One doesn't come at the expense of the other. 

That doesn't mean you have to now be a Riff Raff fan, or even think he's funny at all. But it doesn mean that any energy expended in getting worked up about Riff Raff's way is a waste of energy. There are a lot of rappers actually getting played constantly on the radio that are fucking up the game because everyone else tries to copy them. Fuck them. But Jody Highroller isn't one of them. He's a comedian who makes funny stuff on the internet, I enjoy funny shit on the internet, and that's why I'll be checking out his new "Riff Raff Realm show. You can catch me eating a slice of carrot cake while I watch. 

For the record, while I thought that was a pretty convincing defense, it didn't work. At all. My friend still refuses to consider Riff Raff anything but a blight on mankind, and I doubt I'll manage to convince that many other people out there who feel like him. Regardless, I've said my peace, and instead of answering the "do you like Riff Raff?" question anew everytime, I can just point people to this post.

So, you know, it makes my life easier, which is always a good thing...for me.  

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