When I hear the name ‘Rizzle Kicks’, I shudder, immediately transported back to my early teen years. The golden age of Hollister body spray, Zoella, and every single lad at school wearing that Rihanna T-shirt and chinos combo. What a time to be alive, eh?
I can’t remember exactly when Rizzle Kicks brought their hip-hop infusion into my life, but it could probably be traced to their feature on Olly Murs’ ‘Heart Skips A Beat’. All they sang was ‘Vibes keep going up and down like a see-saw / Should have just taken her to the cinema to see Saw’ and I was sold. It was just like when Pitbull rhymed ‘Kodak’ with ‘Kodak’, but better. Rizzle Kicks were confirmed lyrical geniuses.
Their debut album, Stereo Typical, remains extremely underrated; ‘When I Was A Youngster’ cheers me up exactly as it did when I was, indeed, a youngster. And, they’re versatile too: I remember listening to the more mellow ‘Traveller’s Chant’ with earphones in, melodramatically staring out of the car window. I was only going to the big Tesco, but that song made the big shop feel like the sad part of a teen movie.
Though I can look back now with the wisdom of hindsight, I stand by it when I say that Rizzle Kicks are just innately feel-good. They’ll get you through that essay writing blitz as easily as they got you to dance to ‘Mama Do The Hump’ as a 12-year-old. They’re the type of artist that your mum would call ‘cheeky’. They were proper cool back in 2012, and somehow, they still are now – that’s a feat in itself.
As a self-confessed music lover and writer, however, there’s a certain need to keep up to date with the latest releases and rising stars. Is it frowned upon to still be listening to this kind of music? Tracks that could feasibly be played at a cheesy pop night at student unions across the country? Maybe so, but the love for Rizzle Kicks has not wavered over time, and they’ve firmly stayed on my playlists.
In all honesty, I don’t feel all that guilty about loving Rizzle Kicks. Ask yourself, have there been any duos quite like them since? Absolutely not, that art form has been dying out ever since Jedward burst onto the scene. So, it’s something of a tragedy that Rizzle Kicks have completely disappeared off the radar. And, it’s borderline criminal that they didn’t release more music looking back now.
If you need me, I’ll be unapologetically listening to ‘Lost Generation’ for the foreseeable future.
We may have sold out of Volume 8, but we’ve still got some limited edition Hinds postcards left! If you’re looking for some lovely print material to read, then check out our store for copies of Volume 7 and 6 HERE.
