An Essential Guide to Ripsquad
Background
The original founder of the collective is the Australian-native 7evaa (even before the addition of the other members he went by ripsquad, or rip for short). Overall, he is quite a mysterious figure. Not much is known about his background or identity, although he did occasionally hint that he was suffering from some sort of heart condition on Twitter in 2014 and 2015. During this time, he was releasing beats on YouTube and Soundcloud under the alias 1exposed.
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Between 2015 and 2017, he released a few minor (but important) projects with Drain Gang member Bladee, including Rain Check and Sugar. However, his output was still minimal, likely due to his health problems. In 2018, Lusi (cclusi) joined 7evaa to create a duo under the name RipSquad. By then, Lusi had already somewhat established himself as a producer as he worked with artists like Jaxxon D. Silva, CHXPO, and Chris Travis. In the coming year, the new duo would go on to create some of their best work yet.
In 2019, both distance decay and skys joined the Ripsquad collective to complete the current foursome. Both these artists also had a solid track record previous to joining the group. Distance decay produced for Future on Krazy but True and skys produced a number of songs for up-and-coming rapper Duwap Kaine.
Production Style
Essential Sounds and Sampling
The four producers have their unique methods when it comes to creating music, but there are certain characteristics of a classic Ripsquad production that are very recognizable:
- Drum patterns that often revolve heavily around the use of hi-hats (trap-style)
- Hard-hitting kick-bass
- Layered dreamy-like synthetic sounds (often subtly placed)
A number of RipSquad's standalone songs are built around a sample from a female vocalist and it's evident that the group loves to sample songs from the mid-late 2000s. One of 7evaa's first released and most popular songs titled Hello (2015) samples the 2006 track Fin Song 8 by American singer-songwriter Meredith Godreau (Gregory and the Hawk). Rip complements the sample perfectly with a wavy bass sound, some cool synths, and the classic drum patterns. Another great sample they used is Teagan and Sarah's The Con on their most viewed standalone song called 2007. On this track, 7evaa and Lusi use roughly the first 20 seconds of the The Con and layer a filter called Gross Beat which chops the entire track and repeats it in a catchy and rhythmic way.
Other notable samples:
- Imogen Heap - Wait it Out (used in: 7evaa - wait2Rs)
- Stina Nordenstam - Soon After Christmas (used in: Lusi, skys - RipsquaddCarols)
- Allie X - Focus (used in: Lusi - lusi please focus!)
Here is a 3 hour compilation of RipSquad beats to better understand their style:
An additional interesting aspect about their music style is the themes they portray. Many of their song covers show young TV stars from the 2010s such as, Selena Gomez, Miranda Cosgrove, and Amanda Bynes. This fits well with the samples of female vocalists they use and gives a bit of a nostalgic feel to their music. They also have a strong affiliation with the Australian bodybuilder/model Aziz Shaversion (aka Zyzz), the creator of the aesthetic body movement.
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Important Projects/Collaborations
Bladee - IceDancer (2018)
Icedancer is the release that really put RipSquad on the map and brought them to the height of their popularity. Although 7evaa had previously worked with Swedish artist Bladee, this was their first full-length collaborative project . The mixtape was released in December of 2018 and features 19 songs, all produced by 7evaa and Lusi. This project showcases RipSquad's true essence and includes some of the groups best productions to date. Most of the songs on the mixtape contain similar drum and bass patterns, but they each have unique ethereal-like melodies. Bladee is a perfect fit for RipSquad's production as his dreamy voice and catchy hooks match the beats perfectly.
Bladee - The Fool (2021)
After the release of Icedancer, Lusi continued to work with Bladee and Drain Gang on a few songs. It's only until 2021 where the two would come together again for another full-length project titled The Fool. This album features 13 songs all produced by Lusi (with 7evaa co-producing one song). Overall, the project has a very different style than Icedancer. The songs seem to have more of a 'pop' feel compared to Icedancer which displayed more characteristics of 'trap'. The beats are bubbly and animated, but still capture the core elements of RipSquad.
Lil Uzi Vert
Recently, some of the RipSquad members have been collaborating with the massively popular rapper Lil Uzi Vert. So far, only Lusi has co-produced an officially released song (Baby Sasuke, from Uzi's 2020 album Baby x Baby Pluto). However, there are a couple of unreleased snippets of songs from the rapper that credit RipSquad as well: (1) It's Over produced by Lusi and (2) See The Lord produced by Distance Decay and 7evaa.
There may not be a full Lil Uzi Vert album produced by RipSquad anytime soon, but these minor collaborations are encouraging signs that the group is expanding its reach and receiving the credit they deserve.
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