While once a prominent name in trap, Trippie Redd has been one of the most critically panned artists of the past few years. With each new release, the Ohio rapper has gotten worse and worse and with his last two albums, Pegasus and Neon Shark, respectively receiving scores of 2.2 and 1.4 from myself, hopes for a return to form are getting more doubtful by the day. With his newest album, Trip At Knight, coming after a handful of promising singles, will Trippie Redd deliver the comeback record we’ve been waiting for, or will he plunder into irrelevancy once and for all?
With 50 minutes of run time, Trippie Redd is able to make a much more focused experience that’s more consistent in quality and sound. While the LP’s 18 tracks definitely could have been cut down to an even smaller number, at the minimum each song feels like it was at least made with some sort of care and inspiration. Throughout this experience, there’s clear influence from Playboi Carti as almost the entire soundscape utilizes the same spacey synth patterns seen on records like Whole Lotta Red and Die Lit. Despite taking heavy inspiration from such a unique artist, it never feels like Trippie is blatantly biting off Carti as his untamed vocal cadence and focus on active in-your-face rapping is quite the opposite of what the 24-year-old visionary has blown up doing. With a heavy focus on rapping, we see Trippie show off his full lyrical arsenal, which is the opposite of a good thing. Bridging his ideas together, we are thrown through the same routine of lyrical hoops that he’s always thrown us through, but his overly gross tangents and awful punchlines end up ruining entire verses and even whole tracks. Referencing everything from Goku to Mr. Mosbey, we see some of the most random and derailing quotables in all of hip hop. While this record is right there with Trippie’s worst lyrical performances, at least his high energy fixes what’s salvageable.
Where the bread and butter of this record comes from, is its collaborations. While every track attempts to be a banger, Trippie usually needs some star power to turn his untamed energy into what could be a chart-topping hit. With nine tracks featuring at least one other artist, we get a sizable amount of attempts at these defining anthems. The singles “I Miss The Rage” with Playboi Carti and ” Holy Smokes” with Lil Uzi Vert do a great job at showing Trippie having the time of his life through their lively soundscapes and star-powered guest spots. Fortunately, the party doesn’t end here as new guests like SoFaygo, Polo G, and Ski Mask, The Slump God, work as well as reoccurring collaborators like Lil Durk. We even see Trippie reunite with fallen legends in XXXTENTACION and Juice WRLD, which has mixed results due to “Danny Phantom” with X feeling like another track that should have never left the Florida rapper’s vault while “Matt Hardy 999” is a vibrant thrill ride that embodies everything that Juice and Trippie as a duo stood for. Out of all the features, the most electrifying was Drake’s on “Betrayal,” who has brought his feud with Kanye West to new heights through his jab-filled performance. Overall, these features may not bring Trippie Redd to the promise land some thought he would reach, but they still add an excitement factor not many trap records in 2021 can match.
In conclusion, Trip At Knight may not be the artistic revitalization many expected to see from Trippie Redd, but it has at least showed he still has the ability to create competent and enjoyable music. From the lengthy tracklist to the rancid lyricism, this project may be flawed, but you can’t deny that it’s entraining for nearly every second. Going forward, I hope Trippie can build off the sound and flare he’s built up here, as if he can refine this formula, he may be able to rise amongst the top of the trap genre again.
Rating: 4.8/10
Key Strengths:
- Entertaining for all 50 minutes
- Exciting features
- Playboi Carti inspired soundscape challenges Trippie to create a new whole sound
- Trippie stays energetic and inspired throughout the duration of the LP
Why Isn’t It Rated Higher?
- Tracklist has way too much filler
- Trippie delivers one of the worst lyrical performances of his career
- New sound still has a long way to go to be truly captivating and less redundant
Tracklist Ranked:
- Miss The Rage (Feat. Playboi Carti)
- Captian Crunch (Feat. Babyface Ray, Sada Baby, & Icewear Vezzo)
- Matt Hardy 999 (Feat. Juice WRLD)
- Betrayal (Feat. Drake)
- MP5 (Feat. SoFaygo)
- Demon Time (Feat. Ski Mask The Slump God)
- Space Time
- Holy Smokes (Feat. Lil Uzi Vert)
- Finish Line
- Super Cell
- Vibes
- Rich MF (Feat. Lil Durk & Polo G)
- Molly Hearts
- I Phone
- New Money
- Danny Phantom (Feat. XXXTENTACION)
- Supernatural
- Baki
Written By: Mr. Fantastic
