Rommulas: Animál

In the first Avengers film, there’s a scene where Captain America and Iron Man get into an argument, leading the former to taunt, “Big man in a suit of armor, take that off and what are you?” Iron Man, who has impressive credentials outside of being a superhero, doesn’t think twice before cheekily replying, “Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.”

 

I often find myself asking Captain America’s question to Rommulas. Take away 2hollis’ production (that has been carrying his career so far), take away the memes, take everything away and what is he? Who is Rommulas?

 

Unlike Iron Man, Rommulas doesn’t have a comeback to this question. The emerging rapper first gained traction with his 2025 single, “No Me Importa” to which the internet had a…less than favorable reaction to. As a part of fellow rapper (and childhood friend) 2hollis’ musical collective boylife (consisting of artists Nate Sib, Jonah Abraham, and conceal), Rommulas’ visibility has increased in the past couple months but many wonder whether that rise reflects artistic merit or simply proximity to fame. 

 

With his first EP Animál, Rommulas had the chance to prove skeptics wrong but instead reinforced the criticisms that have been following him since the beginning of his career.

 

Animál’s blend of rage and neoperreo could be genuinely interesting, yet it feels like Rommulas uses his Latin heritage as a lazy shortcut at artistic distinctiveness rather than a foundation for what could be an enduring, fruitful career. This is most apparent in his use of Spanish in his lyrics, which have the depth of a Spanish 1 assignment written by that one stoner kid in your high school class (seriously, shouting one Spanish word over and over again does NOT qualify as cultural fluency). I’m not expecting the most profound lyrics coming out from the EP but I think rhyming “Verde” with “Verde” four times in a row (on the song “Feeling Like”) is a justifiable reason to critique his surface-level use of Spanish, especially when his ethnic background is being promoted as his main appeal.

 

As with Rommulas’ discography prior to Animál (which is a whopping two songs), 2hollis’ fingerprints are all over the production, which may not be the wisest artistic choice if Rommulas wants to set himself apart as an artist. Despite 2hollis’ skill as a producer, the beats feel like either a scrapped 2hollis song or a repetitive imitation of the abrasive sounds of neoperreo, focusing on stylistic mimicry rather than crafting a strong sonic identity for Rommulas. Hollis’ production, while subpar on Animál, definitely carries the EP but sadly production alone can only do so much; it comes down to Rommulas to drive it home. Unfortunately, his shallow lyrics combined with his flow (which at times sounds too similar to 2hollis) and bizarre demonic-sounding delivery aren’t enough to give the songs personality. 

 

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