Ray Gibbz – Hope and Need (2026)
Self-taught rapper Ray Gibbz has dropped ‘Hope and Need’, which is his most personal statement to date. It is characterised by its uplifting synths and stuttering, electronic beat. Gibbz has a laid-back, chilled flow in the same style as legendary rappers like Slick Rick and Guru from Gangstarr. What is particularly admirable about this artist is how, at the age of 32, committed to fulfilling their own personal dream. He has done this with no formal schooling or music background.
Gibbz gave up his 9-5 job much to the surprise of those closest to him. Everything is recorded in his home studio without the aid of any fancy equipment. He could be your archetypal independent artist: resourceful, resilient, and uncompromisingly genuine in his artistic expression.
Gibbz pens intelligent and personal lyrics which are 100% authentic. “I’ll serve your thoughts like a fucking tidal wave / Help you rise from the grave over the stress you crave / So when life kept swinging I punched that fucking fate / Hit more sharper than the code I generate”. The track is influenced by Gibbz’s drive to make his rap career a success and the pressure that goes along with that. He explains: “I wrote this from my heart. It’s real, it’s my story, my journey. I don’t speak from inexperience, everything you hear is something I actually experienced and went through”.
Los Angeles-born, but now San Diego-based, Gibbz has been releasing his music at a frantic rate. Some of his other impressive recent singles are ‘Cold Theology’, with its fantastic hard beat and gorgeous keys and strings. ‘Drummer Man’ has an 80s style retro production, and with ‘Long Road’, Gibbz delivers a great flow over a reflective and emotive beat. It is obvious that he is putting the work in to make his mark on the rap game.
The key lyric of this piece could well be: “They thought they had me in the corner / Boxed me into a cage / Now I’m writing out my destiny and turning the page / Ray Gibbz I’m the architect I’m building the throne / Turning water into wine and turning blood into stone“. With ‘Hope and Need’, he has reaffirmed his desire to make it as an artist and, with his smooth flow and incisive lyrics, is well on the way to doing just that.
Learn more about Ray Gibbz on Spotify.
Listen to more rap music on The Other Side Reviews Rap playlist:
