Riff Raff
Riff Raff doesn't have many secrets left.
A 2013 LA Weekly profile fully pulled back the curtain on the rapper. Finding out that Riff Raff's real name is Horst Simco adds precisely zero fun to the gaudy Hypercolor and Zubaz world he invites us into with his junk-food-fueled non sequiturs.
Instead of focusing on digging up Riff Raff's origin story, we should learn as much as we can from the surreal hip-hop figure, a man who can literally taste the rainbow. A quick glimpse of Riff Raff's Instagram account -- attributed to his alter ego Jody Highroller -- reveals brilliant ideas like keeping flip-flops in the fridge to help beat the heat and using hot pepper jelly for PB&Js.
Before Riff Raff stops by the Majestic Theatre on Dec. 7 in support of his major label debut, Neon Icon, let's dig deeper into the MC's scattered catalog for more indispensable lifehacks.
Mixing ingredients
"Lava Glaciers," from 2014's Neon Icon, finds Riff Raff tasting some unlikely combinations. Over Harry Fraud's wavy boom bap and with an assist from Childish Gambino, Riff Raff subverts culinary traditions and eats a pork chop sandwich with tartar sauce. Riff Raff is an avid Faygo drinker, and later in the same song he pours a fourth hit of codeine, so his eating recommendations could be unreliable. But finding a middle ground between steak tartare and fast-food fish is indicative of Riff Raff's whole aesthetic, so it's probably wise to test out this combination.
Hiding spots
"Morphine Popsicles" by Three Loco, Riff Raff's collaboration with comedian Andy Milonakis and Dirt Nasty (actor Simon Rex), floats by on DJA's bouncy beat, mashing together synthetic frog croaks and laser sounds. It's a throwaway song that benefits near the end when Riff Raff suggests stashing a "40 cal" in Sam's Club peanut butter. Hopefully he's not encouraging owning unregistered firearms -- he doesn't often trend toward gun violence in his verses -- but the ingenuity of using an economy-sized peanut butter as a hiding spot almost makes up for the gun talk.
Makeshift bouncy house
On "Aquaberry Dolphin," also from Neon Icon, Riff Raff and Mac Miller hold it together over Miller's minimalist piano-loop stutter step meshed with echoing dolphin squawks. Through the noise, Riff Raff admits his house is so tall that he put a trampoline in the living room. Besides finding a good use for vaulted ceilings, Riff Raff finds a perfect metaphor in keeping with his whole '90s-kid-who-came-into-a-lot-of-money vibe.
Old luxury, new style
Over Mike Jerz's lean, spooky production on "Cinnamon Benz," Riff Raff stresses it doesn't matter what car he's driving before describing his dragon berry coupe with rims the size of hula hoops. Between this 2012 track and the mango Lexus he's driving on this year's "Tip Toe Wing in My Jawwdinz," Riff Raff has shown a consistent knack for taking stuffy luxury cars and making them distinctly his own.
