The first thing we see in Neesin Williams’s vibrant video for “You Gone Learn Today” is Ryck Jane’s earrings. They’re hard to miss — and they also might’ve been a challenge to wear. The two matching accessories that dangle from the rapper’s lobes appear to be made of solid gold. But the most notable thing about them is what they signify. They’re L.A. logos: twin declarations of allegiance to the city and scene that made her.
Even without the earrings, fans would know exactly where Ryck Jane (@ryckjane) was from. It’s not just her California drawl, the left coast pattern of her cadences, or the hard Los Angeleno funk that forms the bedrock of her irresistible recordings. It’s also in her dedication to glamour and her scrupulous attention to every detail of presentation. Jane knows exactly how to showcase her fierce individuality. She may be a new artist, but she handles herself like a showbiz veteran. She believes that she was born to inhabit the spotlight — and single after single, she demonstrates that her confidence isn’t misplaced.
“You Gone Learn Today” is her boldest declaration of autonomy yet. On the track, Ryck Jane raps about the inevitability of her rise and underscores her theme with a performance that’s relentless, colorful, and loaded with personality. Call it a message to the nonbelievers — who are getting harder and harder to find. The production backs up her boasts: the track is muscular and hypnotic, decorated with a thick, serpentine bass synthesizer lead, skittering beats, a thumping kick drum, and chanted backing vocals. The deep musicality of the track arrangement is a reminder that long before Ryck Jane found fame as an independent rapper, she’d distinguished herself as a trumpeter.
That horn shows up on “No Problems.” The track is a centerpiece of Jane Got A Gun, the rapper’s scalding 2023 album. It’s slinkier and more subtle than the rambunctious “You Gone Learn Today,” but as the video makes clear, it’s another message to the world that Ryck James can’t be stopped. Just like the “You Gone Learn Today” video clip, “No Problems” is a showcase for the artist’s unique, and unerring sense of style. It’s all here, and it’s all wild, and worn with the self-possession of a queen.
