In this video, I’m joined by Nate Jagger for a first-time reaction to Ren’s “Hi Ren” — and honestly, it’s one of those songs where you can’t just “watch it,” you have to sit with it. I introduce Ren as a British independent singer/songwriter/rapper who’s been through serious physical and mental health turmoil, and you can feel that lived experience in every choice: the setting, the flickering lights, the character switches, and the way the performance keeps you on edge. Nate goes in totally fresh, and we end up pausing to talk through what we’re seeing: that internal battle, the self-sabotage, the industry pressure, and the way the song breaks the fourth wall. From a musician’s perspective, what really stands out to me is how much the guitar mirrors the psychology of the piece. When the “dark” side takes over, the playing gets more dissonant, faster, heavier — it’s not just accompaniment, it’s storytelling. And then the whole thing pivots into something that feels like hope: the vocal shift, the emotional vulnerability, and that “pendulum” idea — dark to light, light to dark — where there aren’t really winners and losers, just victims and students. By the end, we’re basically saying the same thing: life doesn’t go according to plan, so the question becomes how you adapt, soften, and keep moving.