Rat Boy – Internationally Unknown

Listening to Rat Boy on Epitaph Records brought the memories flooding back of hearing Sage Francis and The Transplants on Punk-O-Rama for the first time.  Not that the traditionally punk oriented label hasn’t branched out further over the years, but hip hop isn’t something that normally gets explored in great detail.  Rat Boy is a jack-of-all-trades alternative hybrid mashup that draws upon whatever genre best suites each song.  The stage name of English musician Jordan Cardy, Rat Boy has a strong connection with indie-punk and hip hop that makes him unique amongst his peers.

Having caught wind of Rat Boy after his debut full length, Scum, Cardy joins Epitaph for the release of his sophomore full length, Internationally Unknown.  The title couldn’t be more accurate, as prior to press releases, Rat Boy was simply not on my radar.  Internationally Unknown is a diverse offering that given enough time, should have a little something for everyone.  

Internationally Unknown opens like a rat gnawing on your eardrums.  The first four songs are the most unapologetically brash.  The tempo rattles along while Cardy flexes his hip hop chops and lets loose.  “Chip On My Shoulder” roars out the gate with ego and attitude, British accent punching through with a streetwise sense against an alt-punk style.  With a chorus that melds melody with singable hooks, Rat Boy’s mantra is easy to envision from the get go.  “My Name is Rat Boy” serves as a reggae-toned hip hop manifesto in which he pridefully lays down speedy lyrics between hazy choruses, while “Don’t Hesitate” channels some sick guitar licks and alternative vibe that could have been part of an opening set for the Beastie Boys or Beck.  As if to muddy any lines in the sand, “I Wanna Skate” gets all ragged and frayed like an early 90’s skate-punk blow out.  What a way to open an album.

Interestingly enough, Internationally Unknown tones down the intensity thereafter.  But that isn’t to say the creativity or twists take a break.  “Follow Your Heart” takes a nod from Rancid with a rather mellow tempo and a close emulation of that “mouth full of marbles” vocal style.  A backdrop of two-tone horns on this track is further shared with the intensely reggae styling of “Night Creature,” which features vocals by Amiee Allen of The Interrupters and an old school mono sounding brass section that wouldn’t feel out of place on an instrumental track from Beatdown.  And of course it wouldn’t be a party unless good ol’ Tim Armstrong got involved. The long running Rancid frontman jumps in to mumble his way through various choruses on “No Peace No Justice” against a backdrop of “woah woah” wielding gang vocals.

All Rat Boy asks of its audience is an open mind.  That might be more than some are willing to commit to considering the gap between hip hop and punk is seldom bridged.  That being said, Rat Boy knows what he’s doing, and despite the vast range of sampled genres fuelling Internationally Unknown, the album’s coherence is impressive.  Internationally Unknown serves as a great introduction sure to raise Rat Boy’s profile from here on out.