Ratking (often stylized in

all caps In typography, all caps (short for "all capitals") refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters, for example: "THIS TEXT IS IN ALL CAPS". All caps may be used for emphasis (for a word or phrase). They are commonly seen in l ...

as RATKING) was an American hip hop group from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, which consisted of rappers

Wiki A wiki ( ) is an online hypertext publication collaboratively edited and managed by its own audience, using a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages for the subjects or scope of the project, and could be either open to the pub ...

and Hak, and producer Sporting Life. A leading force in the

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...

in the early 2010s, their music has been described as "stridently youthful", and the group themselves have stated they wished to reinvent rap music. On June 22, 2016, Hak announced his departure, citing that the group "didn't see me for me", and self-released his debut solo album ''June''. This led to the group's indefinite hiatus with Wiki and Sporting Life also venturing into further solo works. Around the same time, Wiki had already formed a supergroup with

Lil Ugly Mane Travis Miller (born May 13, 1984) is an American rapper, singer and record producer from Richmond, Virginia. He has recorded under multiple aliases in various genres since his first known released project in 2005, including Lil Ugly Mane, Shawn ...

and

Antwon Antonio Williams (born October 25, 1986), better known by his stage name Antwon, is an American rapper based in San Jose, California. In 2013, he was included on '' Complex''s "15 Unsigned Rappers Who Should Get a Deal After SXSW" list. He was al ...

, called Secret Circle, which he recorded with until an unexpected disband in 2018.

History

They released their debut EP ''Wiki93'' in November 2012. It was based on ''1993'', an earlier mixtape which he released in October 2011. ''1993'' was inspired by Suicide and

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close aff ...

. The group were signed by British label

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. Although only releasing an average of six albu ...

following ''1993'', and they re-released it as ''Wiki93'' through their Hot Charity (HXC) imprint. They released their debut album '' So It Goes'' in 2014. It was produced by Sporting Life and engineered by

Young Guru Gimel Androus Keaton (born February 27, 1974), better known by his stage name Young Guru, is an American audio engineer, record producer, disc jockey, and record executive from Wilmington, Delaware. In 2019, Young Guru won a Grammy Award for Bes ...

. The album's title was inspired by

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...

's novel ''

Slaughterhouse-Five ''Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death'' is a 1969 semi-autobiographic science fiction-infused anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut. It follows the life and experiences of Billy Pilgrim, from his early years, to h ...

''. The album featured collaborations with

King Krule Archy Ivan Marshall (born 24 August 1994), also known by his stage name King Krule, among other names, is an English singer, songwriter, musician, rapper and record producer. He began recording music in 2010 under the moniker Zoo Kid. The fol ...

, Salomon Faye, and

Princess Nokia Destiny Nicole Frasqueri (born June 14, 1992), known professionally as Princess Nokia, is an American rapper and songwriter. She released her debut studio album, ''Metallic Butterfly'', in 2014, followed by the 2015 mixtape ''Honeysuckle''. As P ...

. They have performed with Skepta and toured with

Death Grips Death Grips is an American experimental hip hop group formed in 2010 in Sacramento, California. The group consists of Stefan Burnett, also known as MC Ride (vocals, lyrics), Zach Hill (drums, production, lyrics), and Andy Morin (keyboards, pr ...

, and

Earl Sweatshirt Thebe Neruda Kgositsile (born February 24, 1994), also known by his stage name Earl Sweatshirt, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Kgositsile was originally known by the moniker Sly Tendencies when he began rapping in 2008, ...

, as well as

Run the Jewels Run the Jewels, also known by the initials RTJ, is an American hip hop super-duo composed of Brooklyn-based rapper and producer El-P and Atlanta-based rapper Killer Mike. They released their critically acclaimed self-titled debut studio album ...

and Despot. In January 2015 the group announced that their next album ''700 Fill'' would be released in January or February 2015. It was released for free via BitTorrent in March 2015.

Musical style

In addition to being inspired by rap and hip hop, the group has also cited punk rock and "many and diverse influences, from Animal Collective to Suicide" as influences on their

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

style. Wiki's solo EP ''1993'', later re-released as ''Wiki93'', was inspired by Suicide and

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Mixtapes

Singles

As lead artist

Members

- vocals, rapping (2011−2016) * Hak - vocals, rapping, singing (2011−2016) * Sporting Life - production (2011−2016) ; Additional personnel *Racerra - production (2011−2012) *Ramon - production (2012−2014)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2011 establishments in New York City American hip hop groups Hip hop groups from New York City Musical groups established in 2011 XL Recordings artists