Ratking Playlist
- Text by Osia Katsidou
- Photography by John Francis Peters
“The earth is fucked, the city is gone,” raps Wiki on ‘Protein’, the ninth track on Ratking’s debut album So It Goes.
The powerful line of the nineteen-year-old prodigy is a nihilistic ovation to the urban experience. It is also a sentence that signifies how hip hop is less about the clichés of life in the city and more about its semantics. Just as much as New York is more than just the birthplace of hip hop, it is a breeding ground for transformative subcultures that revolt against a one-fits-all identity.
With a sound that is so distinctively East Coast yet so internationally inspired, rappers Wiki and Hak and producer Sporting Life capture the unique dynamics of NYC – the ultimate concrete jungle that made Ratking who they are, a gifted rap crew whose sound innovates a genre and manages to salute the past while creating the future.
If you’re a Ratking virgin, pop your cherry with this blessed b-roll.
Ratking x Skepta at Just Jam
Ratking ‘So Sick Stories’ ft. King Krule
Wiki Freestyles at Boiler Room
For the full Ratking interview check Huck 44, out now.
Latest on Huck
In the ’60s and ’70s, Greenwich Village was the musical heart of New York
Talkin’ Greenwich Village — Author David Browne’s new book takes readers into the neighbourhood’s creative heyday, where a generation of artists and poets including Bob Dylan, Billie Holliday and Dave Van Ronk cut their teeth.
Written by: Cyna Mirzai
How Labour Activism changed the landscape of post-war USA
American Job — A new exhibition revisits over 70 years of working class solidarity and struggle, its radical legacy, and the central role of photography throughout.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Analogue Appreciation: Emma-Jean Thackray
Weirdo — In an ever more digital, online world, we ask our favourite artists about their most cherished pieces of physical culture. Today, multi-instrumentalist and Brownswood affiliate Emma-Jean Thackray.
Written by: Emma-Jean Thackray
Meet the shop cats of Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan district
Feline good — Traditionally adopted to keep away rats from expensive produce, the feline guardians have become part of the central neighbourhood’s fabric. Erica’s online series captures the local celebrities.
Written by: Isaac Muk
How trans rights activism and sex workers’ solidarity emerged in the ’70s and ’80s
Shoulder to Shoulder — In this extract from writer Jake Hall’s new book, which deep dives into the history of queer activism and coalition, they explore how anti-TERF and anti-SWERF campaigning developed from the same cloth.
Written by: Jake Hall
A behind the scenes look at the atomic wedgie community
Stretched out — Benjamin Fredrickson’s new project and photobook ‘Wedgies’ queers a time-old bullying act by exploring its erotic, extreme potential.
Written by: Isaac Muk