@venusraps Reintroduces Herself With 'Heir' EP

Being a rapper can feel like trying to score in moving goalposts. You spend your formative years trying to hone in on the craft, only for you to be told that 'you have to make good songs'. This, more likely than not, usually requires you to do everything other than rapping and make music that isn't... you guessed it.. rap music. In the build-up to this project, VensRaps gave me the feeling that she's tired. Tired of having to be this or that. Tired of being overlooked, tired of industry setbacks and abuse.

The way I consumed this project was is in two parts, with each serving its purpose. From the outside looking in, it seems as though VenusRaps was trying to silence anyone who may have doubted her ability to be both a lyricist and a hitmaker, but upon several more listens I found that the album goes far further than that. 

Let's start at the beginning. The album opens with 'Heir' which sees her give a brief overview of the topics she's going to dive into and it sums up where she is right now. I'll touch on this again at the end of the article. 'Heir' sees her mention her label situation, which is heartbreaking, and how she had almost fallen out of love with making music because of this, which is a real shame for such a talent. Spartz' presence on the song gives it a spiritual feel and she did an amazing job with her vocals but my favourite moment on this song was when VenusRaps said, "My career’s strongly based on what I do with this Bic. But at 12 years old I picked it up and knew I’d be big, 10 years later I wake up for it I’m cool with the kicks". It brings her back to why she started rapping in the first place. Everyone has key moments that stay with them for the rest of their lives and VenusRaps being Newcastle, her first day in Joburg would be one of those moments. Somewhat of a polarising figure but no one can deny the impact an artist like Moonchild has.

'P.S' and 'Brave' are where VenusRaps is at her most vulnerable and honestly, this is the most difficult part of the album to listen to because of how brutally honest she was. I want people to know how difficult it is to be that honest in your music for EVERYONE to hear. On these two songs, she paints a very clear picture of what was happening at this point in her life. Her storytelling ability takes centre stage as she paints a very vivid picture on each track. The common thread at this point of the project is toxic relationships and that starts at the end of 'P.S' when she raps "Only time you love me fully is when I’m depressed. Break up every week, man that needs to get addressed, and the only you hit me up is to get me undressed". The darkest moment on the project was on 'Brave'. The story is gruesome and if you still don't believe when I say VenusRaps is a storyteller please refer to these lines when she said "He screams “OH NOW I’M REALLY GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU THIS TIME!” I grab my phone run to the room, the cops will take a long time. Oh God who I’mma call, this nigga cut me out my friends lives. He’s banging on the door, someone tell me where’s that damn gun. It’s either me or him and my chances barely a thin line. I close my eyes and pull the trigger, hope it hit him 8 times".

That brings us to the end of the first part of the project and leads into the second part of the project that begins with 'Goated' and 'Dime'. These songs mark a turn in the project and see her gain her swagger back. These songs have a lot more going on in terms of production in comparison to the first part. 'Drew BuryMore' and 'Special' are the moments where she has a lot more braggadocio. These two songs showcase how dope of a rapper she is and sees her give us rhymes littered with punchlines over more boom-bap rap production. 

VenusRaps closes off the project with '11 11' which has a feel-good, 'get up and go' vibe with wind instruments. I think if you take anything away from the project, it's that there is light at the end of the tunnel. 'Heir' feels more like a book than an album. A musical book if there is such a thing? You feel and experience every part of her journey right from the beginning. You felt her frustration in the opening song 'Heir' when she was explaining what went wrong. We felt her fear and desperation on 'Brave' and we were with her when she got her swagger back and remembered who she was on 'Special'. Then at the end, you were proud of her on '11 11' for believing in herself once again. Stream 'Heir' below.