Trippie Redd – “NDA” review

Canton, Ohio rapper & singer/songwriter Trippie Redd making his Atlantic Records debut with his double 7th studio LP. Coming up almost a decade ago off the first 2 installments of the A Love Letter to You mixtape series, the kid would continue to grow after dropping his full-length debut Life’s a Trip & then A Love Letter to You 3 the following year. However, the quality of his music started to take a nosedive given the mediocrity of both ! & A Love Letter to You 4. If you thought it couldn’t get any worse, Pegasus was a bloated mess & the Travis Barker-produced pop punk foray Neon Shark vs. Pegasus is barely better. Trip at Knight was ok & Mansion Musik took a step down in quality, releasing NDA after multiple delays.

“Merch It” begins with a decently cloudy intro talking about things & people changing except for him whereas “Yopstar” combines pop rap & trap likening himself to a rockstar. “Paperbag Boy”featuring Young Thug finds the pair over a rage-inducing instrumental talking about not needing any friends because all they have is themselves just before “V-12” maintains the hypertrap elements hoppin’ in a wide body & spending paper on his folks.

We have “All My Life” by K-Ci & JoJo being sampled during “Chanely” telling his partner he loves the way she walks & speaks leading into “Swagger”incorporating more rage beats talking about his girl fuckin’ with a real one. “Pourin’ 4s” produced by thr6x gets on some hazy late night vibes discussing his loyalty & fame while “Uncle Phil” featuring Young Thug reunites the 2 for a murky gangsta rap cut I liked more than the “Paperbag Boy” single.

“For Her” samples “I’ll Take Care of U” by the late Gil Scott-Heron atmospherically talking about a woman who’s possessive riding for him while “Free Melly” calls for YNW Melly’s freedom, who performs the hook. “Say What” has a moodier alternative R&B groove to it admitting that his intuition has been telling him to do shit differently while “Good Chance” featuring BigXthaPlug comes through mediocrely shrugging off those thinkin’ none of them are built like that.

thr6x returns behind the boards for “Can’t Believe It” talking about wishing ill on no one & people being unaware of the demons he’s seeing while “How Much X?” featuring Tory Lanez cooks with 10 trap phones together asking for the cost of ecstasy. “Meet the Redds” drew some controversy wasting an ATL Jacob beat on the opening line “Fuck these lame n****s, we gon’ lynch ’em like the Klan” while “Kidding Me” featuring 9 Vicious talks about pulling up with choppers.

“I Got Everything” was much salvageable than “Meet the Redds” looking back on having nothing & eventually over a boom bap-esque instrumental having it all while “Fine Shit” featuring Lil Wayne flips “Just Fine” by Mary J. Blige talking about how beautiful their respective lovers are. “No Way” takes a more sexual approach topically declaring himself a young Pootie Tang the way he slayin’ 3 hoes while “MTV” featuring Rob49 talks about killing entire jungles.

Ski Mask the Slump God appears for “Break It In” so they can get materialistic while “Slime Too” samples “Just for Now” by Imogen Heap talking about doing what he wants. “Pink Toes” hits us with a 2-parter Hitmaka cooked up looking to get sexually active but after “Switches & Fentanyl” featuring NoCap talks about hiding their emotions in their cup, “I’m Sorry Baby” finishes NDA with a public apology to Trippie’s baby momma Coi Leray.

“DontWaitForMe” starts the deluxe run talking about making way for the other side being the best high when it’s all said & done while “Wanna Fly Away” expresses his desire of leaving all the bullshit in his life behind. “Trillionaire Club” talks about possibly taking this shawty to the moon or the city assuring her she’s a star while “KingOfTheWorld” pretty much gives us an audio description of touring the globe.

Meanwhile on “Kiss the Ring”, some shots are being thrown at Coi Leray’s direction for not letting him shed their daughter when he cheated on her whilst she was pregnant with her while “Tuck Your Chain” talks about rollin’ in a Phantom outside of Atlanta with models & dancers. “Wanna Be a Trillionaire” opens professes of making $1T when Tesla CEO, Twitter owner, SpaceX founder, Neuralink founder & Nazi Elon Musk temporarily achieved that while “SVM3” talks about hoes being the same to him.

“No Rewards” becomes self-aware of this war he’s been at with himself & optimistically smiles through any shades of doubt cloud his mind although him dissing Coi again was an eye-rolling moment while “Keep Flying” talks about being stuck in space. “Being Myself” featuring Tezzus clarifies the only concern either of them have is staying true to themselves while “Plead the 5th” talks about feeding the streets & his team being all he knows, only having love for the money & his mother.

K Suave’s verse towards the end of “Med Kit” didn’t really stick out that much basically confessing their addiction to lean on wax while “Different Colors” talks about his Rolex watch coming in multiple hues. “Rock the Bed” featuring Gigi Holland samples “BedRock” by Young Money for a decent pop rap joint while “Emo Pop” recalls somebody stumbling in his room late at night. “YouDontReallyLove” talks about needing a place out in Malibu & the final bonus track “Miss My Dogs” remembers all of his homies who’re no longer here.

Part of the reason I get skeptical whenever Trippie Redd comes out with new music in is because of him bloating the Hell outta his last few albums amassing a large number of guests & mostly underwhelming production, which NDA feels like another addition to the pile. It’s unfortunate too because I really do think we could’ve gotten something greater if you took the best trap, pop rap, alternative R&B & rage moments from each disc & left all the filler on the cutting room floor.

Score: 2.5/5

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genre: sadboy – Self-Titled review

genre: sadboy is an Ohio duo consisting of rapper, singer/songwriter, musician & actor MGK alongside rapper & singer/songwriter Trippie Redd. Both of whom have already crossed paths with one another quite a few times over the years on tracks like “all I know”, “Red Sky”, “Pill Breaker” & “Candy”. So obviously looking back on their history of working with one another as well as the simple fact that they’re both from the same neck of the woods, one shouldn’t be too surprised by them forming genre: sadboy & putting out a debut EP.

“lost boys” unceremoniously begins with this emo-folk cut talking about how it’s just another one of those nights again whereas “beauty” takes the somber trap route sampling “Let Go” by Frou Frou dropping corny bars like “Ship across the sand like The Mandalorian”. “time travel” immerses everyone into their worlds showing a back-&-forth chemistry over a spaciously drumless beat while “struggles” goes head-on rock again whining that they’re not happy to be here.

Moving forward, “suddenly” brings that trap flare back trying to be edgy by saying that’s everyone’s alive except for them while the cloudy yet tedious “half dead” moans about being all alone. “hiding in the hills” discusses running from themselves with Satan as Ronny J mixes rock & trap just before the dreary trap cut “no more” talks about giving 0 at this point. J.I.D’s feature on the rap rock “who do I call?” is the best verse of the entire EP asking where do they go from here & the stripped-back “summer’s gone” finishes self-titled by telling y’all to let them dry & rot.

It was pretty much a guarantee that genre: sadboy was gonna come out with one of the absolute worst EPs of the year & they sure did not disappoint considering the standard that was already set by the couplet of singles we’ve gotten in over a week. The poppy trap & rock production is ok considering that both members of the duo have ventured out in those particular sounds previously, it’s just that Trippie’s performances are significantly better than the 2 & they just aren’t enough for me to keep coming back to the EP.

Score: 1/5

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Trippie Redd – “Mansion Musik” review

Trippie Redd is a 23 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from Canton, Ohio who came up in the 2017 off the first 2 installments of the A Love Letter to You mixtape series. The kid would continue to grow after dropping his full-length debut Life’s a Trip & then A Love Letter to You 3 the following year. However, the quality of his music started to take a nosedive given the mediocrity of ! & A Love Letter to You 4. If you thought it couldn’t get any worse, Pegasus was a bloated mess & the Travis Barker-produced pop punk foray Neon Shark vs. Pegasus is barely better. Last time we heard Trippie though was a year & a half ago now when he dropped Trip at Knight, where nearly every song sounded similar to one another. But for his 6th album, he’s tapping in with the Drill God himself Chief Keef to executive produce it.

The title track is an uncanny trap opener with Trippie dropping some braggadocio whereas “ATLANTIS” finds him & Keef linking up over some rage beats showing off their extravagant lifestyles referencing the longtime Warner Bros. franchise Looney Tunes. Future tags along for the chaotic “PSYCHO” talking about losing their sanity, but then Lil Baby accompanies them both on the bassy banger “FULLY LOADED” talking about being strapped.

“KNIGHT CRAWLER” feels more like a Juice WRLD song featuring Trippie Redd with the main artist himself encouraging to start a riot & Juice plotting to take over the world just before “VAN HELSING” talks about being a chameleon over some synths & hi-hats. “FREE RIO” comes through with a Detroit trap influenced dedication to Rio da Yung O.G. leading into “KRZY TRAIN” with Travis Scott going full-blown trap metal to discuss being married to the game.

Moving on from there with “MUSCLES”, we have Lil Durk coming into the picture as he & Trippie rep their respective gangs up in this bitch over a spacious trap beat while “GOODFELLAS” with Nardo Wick has one of the weaker feature performances with his verse near the end despite the piano instrumental & the subject matter of hustlin’ out kin to one of the greatest movies ever. “KILLIONAIRE” talks about being an achiever backed by some suspenseful production while Big30’s verse on “HIGH HOPES” is no better as much as I enjoy the beat that Chopsquad DJ brings to the table & Trippie’s performances.

“DIE DIE” with LUCKI finds the 2 back in hypertrap territory talking about the city being theirs & being to fly while the blaring “WHO ELSE!” with Rich the Kid address their mob ties with Rich’s verse being a bit mediocre. “BIGGEST BIRD” produced by Zodiac of Internet Money Records & Vanguard Music Group sounds like it was made for Summrs’ latest album Fallen Raven since Trippie’s only on the hook & I’ll still take it since that’s his best full-length to date, but “HIDEOUT” with Fijimacintosh kinda gives me sci-fi vibes instrumentally & both showing off mansions.

Rylo Rodriguez’ verse on the energizing “WITCHCRAFT” is underwhelming as the lyrics address recklessness while “TOILET WATER” with Ski Mask the Slump God picks things back up as both parties deliver a grim ballad belittling anyone who dares to step up to them. “PURE” with G Herbo works in some organs as they talk about how they’ve been trapping since they were kids prior to Chief Keef returning 1 last time on the triumphant “Rock Out” speaking on being big dogs.

“ARMAGEDDON” with Rob49 brings back the rage beats warning that they have 100 round drums on them while the song “NUN” being one of the weakest cuts as there is “nun” really going on with DaBaby’s verse although the subject matter of not being told shit is relatable & the production is alright. The penultimate track “Swag Like Ohio, Pt. 2” is a remarkable sequel to one of The Almighty Based God Lil B’s greatest hits with him even dropping a verse at the back-end & “Colors” with Kodak Black ends things with a pluggy Pi’erre Bourne instrumental showing off their Rollie’s.

As critical as I’ve been with Trippie Redd’s most recent output, I actually think Masion Musik is a slightly-above average step in the right direction for him & it has me anticipating A Love Letter to You 5. I like how he switched up his sound quite a bit & But improved his vocal performances, it’s just that the album’s too long & would’ve been better if you took off the joints where the features were punching under their weight.

Score: 3/5

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Trippie Redd – “Trip at Knight” review

This is the 5th full-length album from Ohio rapper & singer/songwriter Trippie Redd. Coming up in the 2017 off the first 2 installments of the A Love Letter to You mixtape series, the kid would continue to grow after dropping his full-length debut Life’s a Trip & then A Love Letter to You 3 the following year. However, the quality of his music started to take a nosedive given the mediocrity of ! & A Love Letter to You 4. If you thought it couldn’t get any worse, Pegasus was a bloated mess & the Travis Barker-produced pop punk foray Neon Shark vs. Pegasus is barely better. 6 months later, Trippie is taking it back to basics with Trip at Knight.

“Molly Hearts” kicks things off a synth-heavy instrumental from Cashmere Cat & Outtatown talking about ecstasy if you couldn’t tell by the title already whereas the SoFaygo- assisted “MP5” speaks on being strapped despite the generic ass Pi’erre Bourne type beat that you can probably find on YouTube. “Betrayal” with Drake is nothing more than a bitter Kanye diss produced by Internet Money Records in-house producer Dynox, but “Finish Line” later serves as an electronic tinged-lust tune that Rafmade helped cook up just before Lil Uzi Vert tags along for the entrancing yet braggadocious “Holy Smokes”.

Meanwhile on “Super Cell”, we get a respectable tribute to the Dragon Ball Z series leading into the rowdy festival anthem “Miss the Rage” with Playboi Carti. “Supernatural” is a 2-parter starting out by psychedelically telling this bitch to take a chill pill, but then switches up to an aggressive ode to his gang. “Demon Time” reuses the “*Givenchy” beat for Trippie & Ski Mask the Slump God to talk about how they don’t play games “Matt Hardy 999” named after former ECW World Heavyweight Champion, 11-time WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE United States Champion, WWE Cruiserweight Champion, WWE Hardcore Champion, 2-time ΩCW Heavyweight Champion, 2-time ΩCW Tag Team Champion, 2-time TNA World Champion, HoG Tag Team Champion, ROH World Tag Team Champion & The Crash Mundial Parejas Campeon Matt Hardy finds him & the late Juice WRLD going back & forth with each other backed by some Neptunes-inspired synthesizers.

“Vibes” has a bit of a retro video game feel to the best bragging about getting that paper whereas “New Money” continues the themes of wealth except it’s much more cloudier. “Danny Phantom” is a half-assed reworking of “Ghostbusters” trying to milk off the late XXXTENTACION just before the futuristic, 2-minute “Space Time” calling out those who’re mad at him. The keyboard melodies on “Baki” are nice change of pace with Trippie opening up about his rockstar lifestyle while the song “iPhone” named after the iconic Apple Inc. smartphones has one of the most skeletal instrumentals on the whole album referencing Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder & Neuralink founder Elon Musk.

The penultimate track “Rich Motherfucka” with Lil Durk & Polo G has a sinister piano loop with the trio showing off their wealth, but then “Captain Crunch” is a fiery finisher to the album getting on the gangsta rap tip with assistance from some of the hottest MCs my city has to offer right now: Babyface Ray, Icewear Vezzo & Sada Baby.

Now I much rather prefer Trip at Knight than Pegasus & Neon Shark vs. Pegasus, but by a very small margin. I feel like the production is very samey for a good 90% of it’s 47 minute runtime & a good majority of the features are outshining Trippie himself both lyrically & vocally.

Score: 2/5

Trippie Redd – “Neon Shark vs. Pegasus” review

Trippie Redd is a 21 year old rapper from Canton, Ohio who rose to prominence in off his first 2 mixtapes: A Love Letter to You & A Love Letter to You 2. His profile would continue to grow with projects like LIFE’S A TRIP & A Love Letter to You 3 however, the quality of his music wouldn’t begin to decline until the release of his sophomore album ! in 2019. Trippie followed it up by dropping A Love Letter to You 4 a few months later & it was a decent bounce back that gave me hope of him continuing to redeem himself. But then came the overloaded & painfully generic Pegasus this past fall, which is undoubtedly his worst body of work to date. Fast forward 3 months later, Trippie is attempting to crossover into rock territory for his 4th full-length album with the help of blink-182 drummer Travis Barker.

The album kicks off with “PILL BREAKER”, where genre: sadboy teams up with blackbear to talk about drugs over a trap beat with a faint electric guitar in the background. The next song “WITHOUT YOU” talks about going insane if this woman leaves him over a pop punk instrumental while the track “SWIMMING” lyrically is based on the famous Dory quote from Finding Nemo over a headbanging beat. The song “FEMALE SHARK” expresses Trippie’s desire to have a fearless woman in his life over a bass guitar & some live drumming while the track “GERONIMO” with Chino Moreno of all people sees the 2 talking about protecting their significant others over a heavy beat.

The song “SEA WORLD” talks about his love for his significant other lasting forever over a fast-tempo instrumental while the track “RED SKY” by genre: sadboy discusses exes leaving them in the cold over an acoustic guitar & some drums. The song “MEGLADON” talks about being born to terrorize over a more hard rock instrumental while the track “SAVE YOURSELF” talks about fighting his demons & the riffs on here could very well be the best on the entire album.

The song “DREAMER” asks his girl what she was waiting for over a Yeezo Beats instrumental sampling the “Have You Ever Had a Dream Like This?” kid while the track. “IT’S COMING” talks about facing your fears & the instrumental sounds like early LINKIN PARK for God knows what reason. The song “LEADERS” talks about not being a believer when he was younger over a sample of the Deftones’ “Back to School (Mini Maggit)” while the penultimate track “FROZEN OCEAN” talks about feeling broken & hopeless & the instrumentation on here is somewhat a heavy version than what we heard on “LEADERS”. The album ends with “DEAD DESERT”, where Trippie enlists ZillaKami & Scarlxrd to talk about dropping dead referencing the A24 Films crime thriller Uncut Gems over a filthy trap metal beat.

You can throw this album to the ever-growing pile of rappers attempting to go rock & failing miserably at it, because I did not care for it at all. Travis Barker’s production is really the saving grace of the entire thing, as Trippie Redd’s songwriting & vocals that make it VERY hard for me to sit through.

Score: 1.5/5

Trippie Redd – “Pegasus” review

This is the 3rd full-length album from Ohio superstar Trippie Redd. Blowing up a few years ago off the first 2 installments of his A Love Letter to You mixtape series, he would go on to release a solid debut album LIFE’S A TRIP in 2018 & then a subpar sophomore effort ! last summer. This followed up in November with A Love Letter to You 4 but as Halloween approaches, Trippie is finally coming through with Pegasus.

The opener “Let It Out” is a mediocre duet with Myiah Lynnae about 2 partners expressing their feelings of loving one another over a spacious beat whereas the next song “Moonlight” talks about being a helping hand to his partner over a moody instrumental. The track “Love Scars 4” tries to convince his lover to trust him over a woozy beat while “The Nether” talks about how it’s impossible for him to get this woman off his mind over a cloudy instrumental.

The song “So Stressed” with Yung LB sees the 2 telling their significant others about why they’re blessings to them over a skeletal beat while the track “Excitement” with PARTYNEXTDOOR finds the 2 singing about how their lovers make them feel over an atmospheric instrumental. The song “Mood” tries to find out why his bitch is mad at him over a cavernous beat while the title track talks about where he’s at right now over a glamorous instrumental.

The song “Weeeeee” talks about being the big dog over a psychedelic beat while the track “Personal Favorite” with Rich the Kid sees the 2 talking about how their lovers deserve the throne over a generic instrumental. The song “V-12” talks about expensive cars over a piano-inflicted trap beat while the track “Spaceships” with Young Thug finds the 2 talking about being trapped in their own heads over a dystopian-sounding instrumental.

The song “Never Change” talks about staying true to himself over angelic beat while the track “Good Morning” talks about spoiling his girlfriend over a bland instrumental. The song “No Honorable Mention” with Lil Mosey & Quavo sees the 2 talking about their wealth over a comatose beat while “I Got You” is pretty much a Busta Rhymes joint as Trippie only handles the hook & the 2 get romantic over a calming acoustic instrumental from Wheezy.

The song “Too Fly” gets braggadocious over an airy beat & much like “I Got You”, the track “Red Beam” sees Trippie once again appearing solely on the hook as Sean Kingston spits about him going to places you can’t go to over a druggy instrumental. The song “Oomp’s Revenge, Pt. 2” talks about never living unemployed again over a vibrant beat while the track “Take 1” is essentially Trippie doing his best Future impersonation.

The song “Sleepy Hollow” compares himself to Ichigo Kurosaki over a sinister beat while the track “Kid That Didd” with Future & Doe Boy finds the trio talking about his crew pullin’ up in your city over a bass-heavy instrumental. The song “Don” is an ode to the champagne brand Don Pérignon over a minimal beat while the track “Hell Rain” with Lil Wayne finds the 2 talking about them fucking up over an instrumental with a Godly feel to it. The Swae Lee dominated “TR666” talks about his 3rd eye being open over a gorgeous Scott Storch beat & then the closer “Sun God” discusses the cons of being in a relationship over a drab instrumental.

Can’t really think of anything else to say about this album other that than, it’s just such a mess in comparison to everything he’s put out in the last. It’s way too bloated, mostly 1-dimensional, poorly produced, the features are just ok & Trippie’s painting himself in a corner with his style at this point.

Score: 1.5/5

Trippie Redd – “!” review

Trippie Redd is a 20 year old rapper from Canton, Ohio who blew up in 2017 with the release of his debut mixtape A Love Letter to You, which was followed up with a mediocre sequel several months later. He later released his debut album LIFE’S A TRIP last summer as well as A Love Letter to You 3 last November & now, he’s commemorating the 1 year anniversary of LIFE’S A TRIP with his sophomore album.

It all starts off with the title track, where Trippie tells this chick he needs to focus on himself over a Diplo instrumental kin to Avicii’s “Wake Me Up”. The next song “Snake Skin” is an anti-suicide anthem with a dreamy trap beat while the track “Be Yourself” is an self-empowering sequel to “I Know How to Self Destruct” with a cloudy beat. The song “I Try” vents about what’s on his mind over a piano with some hi-hats while the track “They Afraid of You” is more of a Playboi Carti joint since he’s the only person on here with a verse & he uses his signature baby voice to discuss fake love over a mellow trap beat.

The song “Immortal” with The Game of all people sees the 2 talking about feeling invincible over a soulful instrumental while the track “Throw It Away” might be towards Alyek$ & the beat is pretty druggy. The song “Keep Ya Head Up” pretty much speaks for itself over a relaxing instrumental from Murda Beatz & Ging while the track “Riot” gets into fight mode over a beat with some acoustic passages.

The song “Mac 10” sounds like a leftover from Lil Duke’s latest mixtape Blue Devil 2 since there’s little to no Trippie presence whatsoever while the track “Everything BoZ” with Coi Leray sees the 2 getting boastful over a dreary beat. The song “Under Enemy Arms” talks about his wealth & naysayers over a triumphant beat while the penultimate track “Lil Wayne” in no way references back to the legendary Louisiana rapper of the same name whatsoever & the beat on here is bland as Hell. The album then finishes fittingly with “Signing Off”, where Trippie talks about not having time for bullshit over a nondescript instrumental.

Overall, this was just decent. Trippie is definitely one of the best voices in the emo rap trend & the instrumentals sound a lot better than they did on LIFE’S A TRIP, but quite a few tracks really could’ve been fleshed out more.

Score: 3/5

Trippie Redd – “Life’s a Trip” review

Trippie Redd is a 19 year old rapper from Canton, Ohio who blew up last year with the release of his debut mixtape A Love Letter to You. He then followed it up with a mediocre sequel several months later & now that a year has passed, we’re finally getting his full-length debut.

The album begins with “TOGETHER”, where he talks about unity over an acoustic instrumental. The next song “Taking a Walk” sees Trippie contemplating suicide over an organ-heavy Scott Storch instrumental while the track “Wish” originally appeared on Diplo’s latest EP California & it was one of my favorites off it, I don’t see why it was put on this album as well. The song “Missing My Idols” continues to prove how lyrical Trippie can be as he provides a sequel to “Can You Rap Like Me?” albeit with a trap beat & the sample that OZ uses is absolutely beautiful.

The track “Forever Ever” with Young Thug & Reese LaFlare sees the 3 getting romantical over a moody Murda Beatz instrumental. It’s endearing, but the feature from the latter is the weakest on the entire album. The song “Bird Shit” brushes off his haters over a Wheezy instrumental with a twangy guitar & rattling hi-hats while the track “BANG!” gets vulnerable over a mellow trap beat. The song “How You Feel” talks about his girlfriend ALYK$ over a psychedelic rock instrumental while the track “Dark Knight Dummo” with Travi$ Scott sees the 2 getting braggadocious over a gritty Honorable C.N.O.T.E. instrumental.

The song “Uka Uka” talks about how he doesn’t want pressure over a druggy instrumental while the track “Shake It Up” gets raunchy over a moody trap beat. The song “Oomp’s Revenge” is a heartwarming tribute to Trippie’s brother over a soulful instrumental while the penultimate track “GORE” talks about his success over a cloudy trap beat. The album then finishes with “Underwater Flyzone”, where he sings about an ex over a laidback guitar.

I was a little worried about this given the fact that Trippie initially stated that this was gonna be 26 tracks long, but I was pleasantly surprised with how it actually turned out. The production is a lot more refined than it’s been in the past & I feel like Trippie is at his most passionate on here

Score: 3.5/5