Taking a Trip Through Mariah The Scientist’s “Ry-Ry World” (Album Review)
What’s the best cure for heartbreak? Drinking?One-night stands? crying and eating ice cream simultaneously?
All of those are appropriate but may be unhealthy and ineffective after a while. One thing that will never fail is listening to great, relatable R&B music. There’s something about hearing your feelings being sung to you that makes you feel like everything is alright. Hearing your emotions and struggles being crooned beautifully will make you feel less alone; that you're not the only one that's going through it.
A breakup can sometimes feel like the flu. First, the aching and pain will start in your heart, then travel all around the body. Heartbreak may not be an actual virus, the symptoms that it gives you feels all too real.
Atlanta-born songstress Mariah The Scientist gave us the cure for heartbreak that we all needed. She dropped her sophomore album, Ry Ry World. Young Thug and Lil Baby are the only features on the song and fit perfectly into the world that she’s built. Her songwriting is on another level, and with her beautiful voice and sublime production, she tells the story of a woman trapped in the bounds of a toxic relationship, tangled in confusing knots of love and pain (with a tad bit of pettiness).
Her ability to display her vulnerability with harmonic brilliance with ease on the Atlanta-based production makes the album addictive to listen to. The single before the album release was “2 You” a beautiful ballad about Mariah reflecting on a dying relationship she was in that left her heart ‘covered in dirt’.
DJ Camper is credited for the production and he did an exceptional job on “2 You” at wrapping you in with the beat as soon as it started playing. She has production help from a few different people, including Lil Yachty affiliate Earl On The Beat, who had credits on the Lil Baby assisted “Always n Forever”.
K Rain also has multiple credits on the album, producing standouts like “RIP”, “Aura” and “Maybe”. While she is the steerer of the ship, the beats and samples surround her with the freedom to explore different thoughts and melodies with ease.
The way she can turn her affliction from a toxic relationship and express it with so much poise and saccharine makes this a marvelous listening experience. Tracks like “Aura” and “Brain” show the range of combining an ‘alternative-R&B’ production sound while keeping the traditional R&B element of great vocal ability and heartfelt lyrics.
“Aura” is three minutes of heavenly bliss. The sample of the song is The Isley Brothers classic hit “Make Me Say It Again Girl” and gives the song a stellar and airy sound.
“Walked In” the undulating club banger featuring Young Thug also takes a step into her skill of rapping. Thug had an astounding performance and went well with Mariah’s vibe on the song. The Atlanta influence is easily recognizable throughout the project and the only features should are also East Atlanta superstars.
“Always n Forever” is one of the standouts and a personal song of the year for me. This track gives Ja Rule & Ashanti vibes and hopefully they can give us more collaborations in the future. Lil Baby has been on a hot streak for the past few years. With a string of fire features, he's added one more to the list, this time putting his hat in the R&B lane.
The different concepts and ideas of Ry-Ry World clearly tell the tale of somebody fighting the inner battle in leaving a toxic and draining relationship. “Maybe” has a great way of capturing that feeling to a tee. Lyrics like “Maybe you were afraid, Maybe I wasn't brave/ Maybe we needed space” It's a gift to be able to articulate an emotion so complex but relatable.
Her name and album title personifies the project flawlessly. Mariah, who got her name from being a biology major at St. John's University in New York, uses her scientific skills of vivid songwriting and well-constructed hooks and melodies to build a vibrant world of love, loss, new beginnings and the healing that comes after having a broken heart.
This is by far one of my favorite releases of this year in any genre. Every time I play Ry-Ry World I get the feeling that I'm talking to someone who is going through the same thing as me. I wasn't so familiar with her before, but this album has turned me into a diehard stan and i can't wait to see what she has in store for us in the future.
And Mariah, if you happen to be reading this, please release a video for “Brain”. That song is perfect and I sing it at the top of my lungs every time I hear it.
Give Ry-Ry World a listen and let us know what you think! And follow Mariah The Scientist on her socials below.
IG: @mariahthescientist /@elijahlaflair / @tdnforever
Twitter: @MariahScientist / @elijahlaflair / @tdnforever