We’ve covered Micöl “NOVI NOV” Rankin before. Nothing new, an indie music artist. But he’s also an professional advertising nerd that continues to create ads for the biggest brands in the world. He is well known for being the first-ever employee at Shaquille O’Neal co-founded marketing agency “Majority” out of Atlanta, GA selling ads for multi-million dollar brands.
But, with the release of NOVI NOV’s new music album, we realize there is a conflict here that needs to be addressed.
On one hand, there is this Micöl guy. A Cannes Lion Award winner, a Clio award winner, a Webby award winner, a prominent and well known figure in his industry. A director and leader in his field. A successful guy. An injection of energy and hope. A confetti bomb of positivity juice.
Then there is the rap guy. This NOVI NOV guy. Who spent years spitting multi-layered dynamic rhymes and intricate syllabic bars. A featured artist on Spotify, followed by Missy Elliott on Twitter, and many celebrities have mentioned and praised him for his unfazed passion for life and work. He creates with infinite confidence. Indefinitely believes in himself. Bold. Strong. And you can hear it in every inch of his music. But the truth? He’s done nothing of notoriety to deserve that. A musical career arc probably far behind him in both his age (39) and his reach since leaving Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2008.
But somehow, some way, he still creates. Why? For what?
He’s both nobody and somebody. He’s both underappreciated and celebrated. He’s basically two people.
He’s Micol Rankin and he’s NOVI NOV. Champion and challenger.
And with this new album “I Can’t Sing but I Like Songs 2”, a sequel to his 2020 album of the same name, for the first time he seemingly is introducing himself as himself. Even in the title. No one to impress. No one to sell an ad to. No awards. Nobody to convince of anything. Nothing.
He doesn’t pretend to be anybody he is not. And every single second of this album drips of that honesty.
And it’s wonderfully refreshing.
The new album is an eclectic mix of rap and pop music that blends to form an impactful set of 11 songs with emotion-evoking lyrics and rap that’s not our run-of-the-mill generic ones about money, but about life. Novi Nov has achieved multiple things here that I don’t think the world is really used to. He straddles the fence of pop and hip-hop in a way that maybe neither world independently will fully understand, but each will greatly appreciate in their own ways.
Bout The Vibes
This new album is a mix of mellow sound and a wavy syncopating pop tunes that capture Novi’s unique voice in a trance-like sync. It has well-paced rhythmic transitional songs to upbeat rap records that keeps you invested in what comes next. The whole thing is a bop. An undeniable bop. Novi Nov took the innovative path and trip down memory lane on the driving record “Nothin Like The Bridge” as he takes us to where he grew up. Then just as quickly he can spin us around to his incorporation of dance-pop tropical house feelings in other songs like “Vibes” on this album. Hence, the rap in his songs is not the normal run toward the ending, but a smooth flow that makes you sway with his voice.
His main inspirations to create music are LL Cool J, Outkast, Michael Jackson, Prince, Neptunes, Madonna, Queen Latifah, Jermaine Dupri, Stevie Wonder, and the list goes on. The hodge-podge of inspiration reveals itself in the broad sound of the project. Just like his personality, he channels the fun and cool vibes as himself throughout. For instance, “Daylight”’ in the album is a mood lifter with a dreamers soul baked in, while “2nd Controller” is a cheeky play on the beats and witty love story where the modern soundscapes of 808’s and pattering snares take you on a ride that feels like virtual reality in your ear. Every song in this album is unique and has its meaning.
He doesn’t lose his rap origins as the song and hook for “Hang Up” elude to a past existence that he wishes to leave behind. The beat is assertive and makes you introspect on different aspects of life.
The Matrix Resurrection inspired “Resurrection” is truly a mind-bending shocking full Linkin Park esque rock song on the album that you will not expect to hear from an artist like this. It’s another example of the duality of the artist and how that’s not such a bad thing. It’s worth the journey through his mind to feel his angle on a tried-and-true vibe. This album in a word could be summarized with the word “vibes”.
Songs like “Get The Hell Out”, “Misery Co.”, and “Parallel Lines” scream Top 40 radio hits and are clearly custom made for cleaning the house. They are so wonderfully weaved that you hardly notice when he takes you to a whole different galaxy on songs like “Fallout” where the synthetic yeezus-esque drums meet an incredibly airy hook and the song finishes with what is easily one of the greatest outro’s ever made.
This album is Novi Nov. And maybe it’s all of us a little. It’s fun. It’s weird. It’s awkward. It’s bouncy. It’s regretful. It’s optimistic. It’s focused. It’s powerful. It’s perfectly imperfect. Just like Micol Rankin. Just like you and me. It’s an album that aims to set high expectations for no one, except self. A self-fulfilling vibe check that is palpable and an enjoyable ride to take along with Micol and NOVI. Both of him. If that makes sense?
He wants to bring a fundamental shift that accepts all kinds of energies. And we’re here for it. There is nobody quite like Novi Nov. Even if he “can’t sing”, We like his songs too.
His journey has just started and there’s a lot more to come from him. To know more about this album, visit here.
