KING TYGUSS – “Reigning In LA”
KING TYGUSS – “Reigning In LA” – Single Review
Every so often, you end up listening to a song and can’t help but hear where the strengths of it are.
The reasons for that are all based on comparison, of course.
Let me explain. When I started listening to “Reigning In LA,” and heard the main hook that starts up this new single from KING TYGUSS, I was fairly certain that we might not hear something redeeming in this cut to follow it. Whether he realizes it or not, I don’t know…but the dude’s melody is too far off…and in the case of a hook being built on repetition, that’s obviously highly problematic and a major obstacle between the KING’s new song and the ears that would listen to it. The idea itself is fine…I’m not gonna be the guy to ever tell you that repetition is the way to go because I’m a fan of using your words and repetition is always at odds with that concept, but sure, the hook could work well enough if TYGUSS took another couple runs at it in the studio booth and sharpened his tone. As it stands, that part is so noticeably flat, it’s genuinely hard to conceive of the possibility that anyone could hear it any other way.
So I’ll admit, I thought the dude was toast right from the drop. The music’s alright, the hook was flat, the production itself needs work. I don’t say any of this to put KING TYGUSS down – it’s always the opposite scenario here on these pages of ours – I tell the truth as I hear it, to help build artists UP. How the information is received is always well beyond my control, but at least the people I work with and the folks that read these pages no I’m never pulling any punches, or telling them any lies. What genuinely surprised me after the way things began, was that once KING was finally finished with the repetition of the main hook at the start, the bars that followed were actually pretty solid. I’m not even hating on the concept driving the song, which is all “basically about calling upon the name of our father in heaven,” even though I’m not even remotely religious myself – we’ve all gotta write about something as I always tell ya, and as long as you’re writing about something that means something to you, you’ll always find I’m on your side. He’s passionate about his faith, and that’s totally fine. I’ve got no issues with the way the guy raps – and to circle back to how this review started out, that’s what I meant by how you can so clearly hear where KING’s strengths are. He can rap…and eventually, he’ll be able to sing as well if he continues to refine his craft. Believe it or not, I find this situation happening towards the start of rap careers all the time – and I actually give artists like TYGUSS credit for having the guts to go after the hooks on their own. It didn’t work out this time around, but that’s okay…you’ve gotta find out where your strengths are as an artist if you ever want to level up. The bars are where he can flex his skills, the hooks he’s probably going to want to find a guest star to handle for the time being, if not permanently. To be honest with ya, if you haven’t made the connection as to WHY so many of your favorite rappers and Hip Hop artists get someone else to handle their main hooks in a song, it’s exactly because of things like this. Rapping is one set of skills, and it’s entirely different from singing. Some folks can do one of these things very well, and the other okay – the key is to recognize that, and then figure out how to get your best out there regardless. If that means getting someone else in to sing the main hooks, then do it. Ain’t no shame in that whatsoever…like I mentioned, just about all of our favorite Rap artists do it too.
The music on KING TYGUSS’ pages online show releases that trace back to about 2022…so it’s a safe bet that the dude’s still on the early side of his career. No need to panic in a scenario like that – there’s so much to learn at the start of a career that it’ll make your head spin, and he’s got plenty of positives in the way he raps that he can continue to build on from here. What concerns me more than being wide of the mark when it comes to his tone in the hook however, is the structure he’s got here. Again, you’ve not only gotta recognize where your strengths are, you’ve gotta lean into them too – and “Reigning In LA” does the exact opposite. Let me break down the math and explain why. It takes him about forty five seconds to get through the start of the song and repeating the chorus hooks. Then he raps for about thirty seconds or so, before heading back to the hooks again – which will then go on to occupy the next nearly ninety seconds that are left in the song. So again…simple math…that’s about 2:15 worth of time repeating one line in “Reigning In LA,” which leaves just a little less than thirty seconds for the verse – you following me? Even in a situation where the hooks came out golden, this would still likely be problematic and make it very easy to burn out the song after listening to it even a couple of times – but it’s way tougher to approach making music with this format and formula when the hooks aren’t quite where they need to be. We’re spending more than four-fifths of the song, or roughly 80% of our time, listening to the part that doesn’t work, rather than the fragment that does – make sense? So if you’re KING TYGUSS, at the very least, what you wanna do towards the start of your career, is make the math work for you – flip it around and give yourself a shot at victory…rap for 80% of the time instead, and minimize the time with the hooks until you build up the confidence/skillset required to really get your best in every part straight across the board. Or again, rap until your heart’s content, because KING has got decent talent in that particular area, and then grab a guest-star to fill in the hooks…at least for now.
Anyhow. That’s how I’m hearing it. As to whether or not KING TYGUSS is in the right place to hear advice like mine from the outside looking in or not…time will tell. That doesn’t come automatically to us when we’re first getting going either…it takes experience to know who’s trying to help you out, and who’s just paying you lip service. Sometimes I’m the villain to people – you have to accept that as a critic, but my intentions have never been anything other than pure. People come to these pages of ours for the reason that I’m willing to be objective and tell them things others won’t. I do my level best to help artists like KING TYGUSS find ways to raise their game, and I look forward to hearing him doing that.
Find out more about KING TYGUSS from his official page at Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kingtyguss
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