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The other is the story of his talent, versatility, and vision.
The album also tells a variety of lyrical stories within the overall narrative, in a multiplicity of musical styles that play with instruments and sound effects. Rali frequently uses vocoders and lighters throughout the project, accompanied by smooth song transitions, to create a hazy, immersive world.
“The album was inspired by the trip I took to California. I wrote the album there,” said Rohan. “But a lot of the music on it is actually about the transition from living in North Carolina my whole life to going and seeing California, going to live in California, and just the difference there.”
Rohan’s album showcases his own talents and those of the other North Carolina artists, his friends, who are featured on the album: Kodoku, Darius King and Roxby.
“We grew up in the same area,” he said, which is Cary, North Carolina, part of the Raleigh metropolitan area. “I think the album is a good representation of our sound coming up here.”
Rohan’s bio lists a number of the genres he works in and adapts: hip hop, cloud rap, R&B, pop, ’80s pop, hypertrap, club/house, vamptrap and experimental hip hop.
And are all those incorporated on california LOVE?
“Absolutely,” he said. “Elements of all of those and even a few more, like shoegaze and rock.”
He takes genres and puts his own spin on them. Three songs on the album, “saturn,” “club paradise” and “late night in los angeles” incorporate lots of club elements. He prides himself on his ability to “take any sound and make my own thing out of it.”
“One skill I want to stand out is my creative versatility.”
“Another skill that I have that I think makes me stand out from other artists is my ability to create a cohesive body of work. On this album, all the songs have smooth transitions and a consistent overall sound.”
california LOVE contains many different stories. The protagonist’s love story plays out in what he calls the “Los Angeles Trilogy,” a set of three songs at intervals in the project. It begins with the album’s first track, “sunrise in los angeles” and progresses through “sundown in los angeles” and finishes in “late night in los angeles.”
“sunrise” introduces the love theme, both for LA and in the themes of love and lust. “sundown” introduces the love interest, and “late night” is set in the club scene, where the protagonist and his love interest become more than just a hookup.
Each of the individual tracks also tells its own story. “bellagio fountains,” the breakout single inspired by the trip to Las Vegas and the Bellagio Hotel and Casino, is built on the themes “associated with the city — money, gambling, magic and sex.”
“californication,” the grand centerpiece of the album, is a contrast between his dreams of finding success in the new environment of Los Angeles and how far he’s come from North Carolina. The song is arranged in two parts, the latter of which incorporates heavy vocoder use reminiscent of Kanye West's album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
The final track, “dreams by aditya dias,” brings the album to a dark and unexpected halt. The song is the introductory monologue for a podcast about philosophy that Rohan made with his friend Aditya Dias, who unfortunately passed away in 2022 at the young age of 18.
“I wanted to make his voice heard,” Rohan said. The song ends with 18 seconds of silence in memory of Dias.
Rohan himself is only 18 but has skills, ambitions, a creative outlook and a professional focus beyond his years. With his partner, Abel Dileep, he has established his own company, Rali Records, in order to promote talented artists in his hometown. On his Genius page, he has detailed annotations on each of the individual songs of california LOVE.
For his next move, Rali is planning another trip to California to meet people and expand his connections there. After that, he wants to do another album.
“I don’t want to make the same sound again,” he said. “I’m planning to innovate and create a new concept.”
“The main reason I make music is my love for it. I love the musicians that I listen to, and it’s my dream to work with those people. I’m always looking out for new music myself and love finding creative artists.
Rali cites Kanye West, Jean Dawson, Travis Scott, Frank Ocean, Kid Cudi, The Weeknd and Playboi Carti as some of his biggest influences.
“At the end of the day, I just want to make something that sounds crazy and not like anything you’ve heard before”
Stay connected to Rohan Rali on these platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.
https://open.spotify.com/track/6hnf9r3r5JVrY7ZVXttAhT?si=7sK-1NVGQqO3hsPzwC9P5A
https://genius.com/albums/Rohan-rali/California-love
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7sO6SGT3UF3VlDBjjhAvik
https://instagram.com/rohan_rali?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
https://www.tiktok.com/@rohanrali0?_t=8atzoMmXGZy&_r=1
