Local Music Spotlight: Rapper Pive releases three tracks, collaborates with Rose the Mermaid

Local rapper Pive, born Ryan Mullane, is back and better than ever, following up his 2021 debut “I Will Forever Be” with a series of singles throughout March and April. The first of three tracks to be released was “Unforgiveable,” a collaboration with Kansas City-based artist Rose the Mermaid. The result is a track Mullane described as “probably one of my all-time favorites.”

“Unforgiveable” opens on a much-slower, more-relaxed beat than fans have come to expect from Pive. “It’s a slower beat than anything I’ve ever worked on,” he said. “It’s almost not even a rap beat.”

But Mullane makes the most of the time and space the track gives him, to make clear, flowing rhymes. Plus, the beat plays perfectly to the strengths of Rose the Mermaid, the vocal feature. “As soon as I heard the beat, I knew I had to be a part of it,” Rose said. Her singing sways almost ominously, but all the same it carries a great gravity. “I wanted this angelic type of voice.”

“The title was ‘Unforgiveable,’ ” Rose said. “So, I heard a lot of church-y words. I just sat down and went with that vibe, and it came out. Being gay, it’s so easy for me to just be written off, feeling like I’m fallen from heaven.”

For his verse, Mullane “went back in time. I was picked on in school because I like to rap or bullied because I was different or addicted to drugs or even homeless at one time. Am I forgivable?”

That seems to be the fundamental question of the track. The answer? An individualist yes. “We’re going to be OK,” Rose said. “Even though you think I’m unforgiveable, we’ve forgiven ourselves, and we’re gonna be fine.” The duo takes the power of forgiveness back into their own hands.

The second track, “Respect My Region,” drops Friday on all platforms. “Respect My Region” is an overtly political piece targeted at the homelessness and bullying crises that pervade not only Spokane but also many major cities. Mullane is at his most direct, calling out Spokane’s mayor and asking for more from the systems that are supposed to protect and help people.

“Me and my wife were driving down on Third and Thor and saw the homeless tent city. I got pissed. It’s getting worse and worse,” he said, voicing a feeling that is backed by the numbers. Meanwhile, Mullane noted, the individuals in charge seem focused on mask politics. “Is that really important? Look around your city and look at what’s going on.”

Through the lens of his own experiences with homelessness and bullying in Spokane, Mullane critiques what he sees around him. “ ‘Unforgiveable’ was about trauma I went through, and ‘Respect My Region’ is seeing that same trauma inflicted on others.”

But his ultimate goal is to flip that script, to do something positive with the chances he’s been given: “I won’t be violent / Won’t be silent / I’ll be the help / When you hear those sirens / Cause no one came to rescue me / I was bullied up and down these Spokane streets.”

“I hope the people of this region know that I’m going to use my platform and speak up for them, especially the ones that don’t have a voice.”

The final track in this trio of singles is “Love Castaway,” which hits streaming services on Thursday. Moving in a happier direction, Pive discusses “three women that, one way or another, changed my life.” The song’s beat and verse draw on a nostalgic gratitude, as Mullane addresses the track to these three particular people.

This trio of singles is both hard-hitting and diverse. Pive is raising his game with each release, and moreover tackling subject matters that need discussing. With a major release scheduled for August, there is much yet to come from the mind of Mullane.

Check out Pive on all streaming services, and follow him on Instagram @PIVEIWillForeverBe. Also check out Rose the Mermaid on all streaming platforms, and follow her @_RoseTheMermaid on Instagram.

Julien A. Luebbers can be reached at julien.luebbers@gmail.com.