by Niko Skinner

Sis N Lil Bro, January 2024 (Sarachik, Rapzilla)

Have you ever heard of a brother and sister spitting bars together? I’m going to let you think about that for a minute and I will do the same. So have you heard of this? No? Me neither. That’s because Sis N Lil Bro is the first ever brother-sister hip-hop duo in the country. That is wild! This anomaly duo consists of 23-year-old Tytist and 24-year-old Celena Lena from the Twin Cities of Minnesota. They started out as individual artists, and it stayed that way for several years. It wasn’t until 2020 that they put their creative minds and signature sounds together to form their own group as siblings. They were born into a family of artists, with their father, XROSS, having made waves as a Grammy-nominated pioneer of Christian hip-hop and founder of The Man Up Club & Godflow Christian Hip-Hop festival. These siblings started their professional music ventures at early ages. Celena Lena started recording at age 16 while Tytist started as a studio engineer at age 13. Individually and collectively, they have released a total of 16 singles, 3 EP’s, 4 studio albums, and 42 music videos. (First Avenue)

On January 19, 2024, Sis N Lil Bro released another single. “Fighter” is the name of the single, in which they teamed up with legendary Christian hip-hop artist and producer, This’l. To the casual listener, it may sound like one of those stereotypical motivational songs that are often people’s go-to medium when they are mentally preparing for an important football game or high-stakes boxing match. It has a simple trap instrumental filled with heavy bass, horns, and synths, but the song is actually more intricate than it lets on. If you listen closely to the lyrics, the song is about them overcoming various obstacles in life that can never be talked about enough as well as how Sis N Lil Bro have so much fortitude and resilience instilled in them. In the chorus, Tytist raps about never being a quitter. There is also a line where he says, “I’m a fighter, it’s a shared bloodline, so you gotta know it’s in me”. This tells me that this is the way their parents raised them. They taught the siblings not to let things that are beyond their control get the better of them and to keep a level head and good spirit. Tytist brings up the recurring theme of being torn down by those around him throughout the first verse. Tytist also raps about not letting naysayers get to him and continuing to live his life. Celena Lena taps in at the second verse, where she points out how she leans on God when it comes to fighting her battles and keeps His strength and wisdom in mind in order to rise above fear. She also covers everybody’s favorite topic: self comparison. She specifically talks about how easy it is to be distracted by comparing yourself to others and feeling like you are being doubted. She also highlights the importance of knowing your worth as a human being. The reigns are then passed over to This’l for the last verse. Here, he touches on how low some of his past moments have been and having faith in God because of the reward awaiting at the other end of the tunnel. He also likens people who never give up to a lion, which has long been used to symbolize those who are resilient with a warrior spirit.

“Fighter” covers a lot of subtopics that pertain to overcoming odds in life. Going back to Tytist’s verse, there are two types of people that you encounter as you advance in whatever you do with your life. You have your genuine supporters who want to see you succeed no matter what. These are the people who will cheer you on and help you in any way they can. On the other hand, there are people who want to see you fail, also known as your haters. These could be people in your circle that show you their true colors and try to sabotage you later. They could be strangers who get one look at you and not like you for whatever reason. Either way, this adds another fight to your record. I really liked that Celena Lena covered the topic of self comparison in her verse because it is all too prevalent in today’s culture. It is often said that comparison is the thief of joy, and it’s not hard to see this. We feel pressure to measure up to unrealistic standards so much that we eventually don’t know who we are anymore. However, God is stronger than this and has a will for us individually. Also, This’l referencing lions brings about another element to this message. Lions are fighters in their natural habitat and are courageous. I genuinely believe that all of us can be the same way if we really want to even if it takes time for some more than others. This’l and Sis N Lil Bro have not forgotten where they came from, and they hit this song hard in terms of content, flow, and annunciation. As always, be sure to check the Spotify link below to listen to this song.

References

Sarachik, Justin. “Sis N Lil Bro on ‘Kingdom Business’ Feature, New Music, & Career Aspirations (CHH-ish Podcast Ep. 4)”. Rapzilla, 30 January 2024. https://rapzilla.com/2024-01-sis-n-lil-bro-kingdom-business-chh-ish-podcast-ep-4/

https://first-avenue.com/performer/sis-n-lil-bro/