Dear Ruby by Nikki Mcknight is a beautifully honest song that speaks to all of the right values and the core of the music industry itself. With a solid beat and vibrant piano, the song veers classic in a genre that overexerts itself constantly trying to be the hardest hitting thing yet. The lyrics, however, hit harder than any of the song’s contemporaries. Dear Ruby is saturated with such a wholesome honesty—an integrity in its message—that it’s an absolute must for fans of music of any genre.
A thank you note to the artist’s mother, Nikki Mcknight perfectly encapsulates everything it means to have been raised by a loving mother, even into a life that’s not fraught with excess. Working full time and putting in every hour after you clock out into building a career in music that you and your mother can be proud of is an entirely relatable and oft-lived reality in the art world. The emotional rawness of Mcknight when she apologizes for not sharing her accomplishments with her mother until she can one day afford to move her into a house in a neighborhood she deserves and take care of her is, really, the backbone of why anyone does what they do for their music.
Too often in the rap and hip-hop scene, artists will front everything they can; posing lyrics that make them seem richer, badder, tougher, and better than everyone else in the game. There is a refreshing lack of that ego in this track. Instead, you see an artist grateful for everything she does have, honest about the work it takes to get where she is, and unafraid to say how much she loves her mother for everything she is and everything she’s given her. There’s a certain strength in this softness, and a genius in its genuineness. Dear Ruby is a track that you’ll want to listen to over and over, and the kind of track that can make you a better person for doing so.
Find & follow Nikki Mcknight on Twitter & Instagram. Visit her Website for more information.
