Trippie Redd Creates Emo Thrash Rap on "A Love Letter To You"
Written by Waylon O'Day
MLM Rating: 3.2 Out of 5 Stars
The Canton, Ohio rapper Trippie Redd has recently been gaining a lot of steam in the hip-hop world, receiving co-signs from 2017 XXL Freshmen Playboi Carti and Ugly God, and recently dropping A Love Letter to You. The 12-track album runs just over half an hour, despite this short run-time, Redd is able to make quite the impression.
Opening track “Love Scars” is one of the more solid tracks, with a heavy pulsating bassline that drifts away as Redd sings of a woman he once cared for. The only thing negative is the immaturity of the lyrics, and the delivery is sometimes obnoxiously nasally, which is a trend with Redd. “Romeo and Juliet” is one of the songs that breaks that trend and really is quite enjoyable, despite it being quite repetitive, the production is dark and intriguing.
“It Takes Time,” which features a sample from one of my favorite viral videos, is a quality track, despite being repetitive. “Poles 1469” is another quality track, the chorus is really catchy, the production has this head-nod inducing quality, and one of the better tracks overall. “Stoves On 14th” is a pretty good track with a catchy chorus and a quality instrumental. The one track that is the most out of place on the project is probably the best track on it, “Can You Rap Like Me?” is probably Redd at his most lyrical over a classic boom-bap beat, showing he has the skills to be a true to form MC.
Other than that, this project is pretty sparse for quality tracks, “Deeply Scared,” featuring UnoTheActivist, and “Blade of Woe,” featuring Famous Dex are only worth listening to because of the guests, due in part to the fact that Redd on both tracks delivers the most obnoxious seagull-esque vocals. “Limitless,” one of the later tracks is honestly one of the worst tracks I’ve ever heard, the rhymes that Redd and company deliver on this track are literally what I would hear at lunch in high-school. The same could be said for “Love Scars Pt. 2/Rack City,” which features some of the more cringe-worthy lyrics I have ever heard from the hip-hop genre, not to mention Redd’s deliver sounds like a Hollywood Undead song.
Look, I tried really hard to get into this project, harder than I do for most, partly because I’ve seen this sound steadily gain steam, I’ve never understood it, and I don’t think that I have anymore understanding after listening to this. When all is said and done, this album has more tracks that are listenable than not, that makes this an alright project, nothing more, nothing less. Trippie Redd has plenty of time to build on his sound, refine it, and figure out which groove is best suited for current audiences. Songs like “Can You Rap Like Me?,” show that he has the skill and he just for some reason or another chooses to do this emo-rap. Whatever the reason, there’s potential, I see why people like this guy and his sound, but sometimes you got to lay down the law.