Ren Gill is a revelation. The Welsh multi-hyphenate artist built his sound on a foundation of old school hip hop, busking-honed guitar, and incisive wordplay. His musical chops are formidable, and the trauma associated with a decade-plus daily struggle with mental illness brought on by undiagnosed Lyme Disease adds an emotional depth to his lyrics.
He records as Ren, and on any given record can go from dazzling stream of consciousness rap to gentle ballad to near-pop sensibility. He's a hard cat to pin down.
So maybe just have a listen. Here's hoping more of the world learns his story (and do catch the NPR interview below he did in 2023 promoting the release of his album, Sick Boi - the daily pain he still suffers makes his music all the more remarkable).
This is an acoustic noodling of 2020's "Diazepam":
"Seven Sins" is the first track from Sick Boi - this one hits hard:
"Hi Ren" was released in 2022:
His cover of the Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" is where he first came to my attention
Might be my favorite of his songs - he wrote "Patience" for the 2017 soundtrack to Unrest, a documentary film about a woman's battle against chronic fatigue syndrome:
"What You Want" is a full on Beastie Boys homage - dig it:
Here's the NPR interview mentioned above:
And finally, a Spotify playlist that captures Ren in all of his guises:
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