A Review of Trippie Redd's "LIFE'S A TRIP"

Initial Thoughts:

Canton, Ohio rapper Trippie Redd looks to build off of the success of his previous two projects ("A Love Letter to You" and "A Love Letter To You 2") with his debut album titled, "LIFE'S A TRIP." When I think about Trippie Redd's music I think about his vocals. Trippie Redd has two signature flows, the first appears on "Bust Down" where he raps over a dark beat while he adlibs in the background. The second appears on "In Too Deep" where he sings in a punk rock, raspy-type tone and adlibs in the back as well. Another thing about Trippie Redd's music is his distinct adlibs. His adlibs usually a phrase with the syllables dragged out. One example of this is on the song "Poles 1469" featuring 6ix9ine, where in the hook he says,
".223's and I put 'em to your nose (to your nose, to your nose, to your nose)"
This style is unique to Trippie Redd in the rap game. From this album expect a lot of dark beats, adlibbed phrases, and changes in cadence. Now let's look at the track list! "LIFE'S A TRIP" provides us with fourteen songs, with three of them coming with features from Diplo, Young Thug, Reese LAFLARE and Travis Scott. For a debut album, this is the right number of features because a debut album should be more about what the artist can do that can make them stay in this game. I'm excited to see what we get on this Trippie Redd debut. Now, let's get to the review! 👂🏾

Review 👂🏾

Together
This song starts off with an overall mellow beat made by light guitar strumming which could belong on a country song, and Trippie Redd showing off his vocal range. He's mellow but switches his cadence to the raspy-ness he's known for as he sings some notes. This isn't a hip-hop song, there's no elements about it that sound like hip-hop. I would place this song in more of the country and rock category and I found it impressive that Trippie Redd could stay true to those genres. A good song to show off the versatility Trippie Redd has.
+1.5

Taking A Walk
This beat is more of a smooth hip-hop song. The beat has some altered piano, with a soft bass and a nice tempo on the drums. We have Trippie Redd rapping with some well-timed cadence switches. These aren't the type of songs I had expected from Trippie Redd however, I am pleasantly surprised by the mood of the album thus far.
+1

Wish- Trippie Mix (ft. Diplo)
On this song we have a beat that sounds a bit like late 90's or early 2000's pop. The type of bass along with the tempo of it brings me back to that time period. I have a hard time calling this song a hip-hop song as well. This shows more of Trippie's versatility.
+1.5

Missing My Idols
Missing My Idols gives us the second hip-hop song on this album thus far. The high paced high hats with the occasional faster high hats mixed with the sturdy bass is gives us another calm and a bit of an old school hip-hop. This is one of the few times I can remember Trippie Redd actually rapping besides "Can You Rap Like Me?" off of his first project "A Love Letter to You." This song proves to add to Trippie Redd's versatility.
+1

Forever Ever (ft. Young Thug and Reese LAFLARE)
First off, we hear what I believe to be a new Murda Beatz tag with the use of Kodak Black saying, "I ain't really finna tell y'all how to get away with murder and shit" which is a tag I like. Now to get to the actual song, we get a slow jam hip-hop song. Young Thug is on the hook which is solid. Trippie Redd is on the first verse which is a good verse as he shows off his vocals again. The song transitions to a Young Thug verse which is also solid. We get a Young Thug hook followed by a Reese LAFLAME verse which is also solid. Overall this song comes together really well in terms of structure and cadences.
+1

Bird Shit
We have another slow song from Trippie Redd. Although we have high paced high hats, the bass being mellow and slow adds to the slow, chill vibe of the song. The lack of adlibs is noticeable from Trippie Redd on this song, but it doesn't feel like something is missing from this song. Another song with good execution from Trippie Redd.
+1

BANG!
There's more of that mellow guitar from earlier in the album on this song. There's also what sounds like a ukulele and some high hat. We get a beat switch towards the middle of the song as we get an appearance from a hard bass. Trippie Redd's vocals once again sound great with the cadence switches from a mellow singing to raspy singing to his normal voice. I would classify this song as a hip-hop song with some country feels.
+1.5

How You Feel
The guitar in this song sounds distinctively like a rock guitar. This song is less about lyrics and more about the vocals coming from Trippie Redd. While the lyrics are lacking, the overall message is Trippie Redd wants to know how someone feels. The notes Trippie Redd hits on this songs sound like they belong on a rock album, which is super impressive and once again shows his versatility. This isn't a hip-hop song, it's definitely a rock song.
+1.5

Dark Knight Dummo (ft. Travis Scott)
One of the singles on this album and everything from the beat, to the vocals to the music video (music videos don't count for ratings) is on point about this song. This sounds more like the Trippie Redd from the first two projects because of the dark beat. We have a bass that lingers for a bit before disappearing for a quick second and coming back. The high hats are perfectly on tempo and the Travis Scott feature is on point as well. The ranges in Trippie Redd's voice helps to build momentum before each of the two verses (one from Trippie Redd and one from Travis Scott). The ranges in Travis Scott's voice also help gather momentum towards the end. Overall the best song off of the album thus far.
+2

UKA UKA
This song is a faster paced song from the previous ones in the beginning of the album. We have a high paced bass, with a high paced high hat. Trippie Redd raps on the verses while, singing on the hooks. Trippie Redd's flow is great and his ability to stay calm with this high paced beat is impressive. I am also a big fan of the cadence switches from hook to verse. A great song from Trippie Redd.
+1.5

Shake It Up
On this beat there's a light piano before we are ambushed by bass and high hats. The cadence that Trippie Redd uses in the first few lines is a new one from him. He then goes into his high cadence when he says,
"Yeah, she gon' shake it like a red nose
Yeah, to the wall to the window
Put that ass in reverse just like Uno
Told her I'm a big dog just like Cujo"
A short song, but a great one.
+1.5

Oomps Revenge
The beat sounds like a slow jam out of the nineties. Trippie provides a good verse dedicated to his brother. He dedicates it to his brother when he says,
"I used to feel alone, but I know my brother's soul is with me
I know Oompa's soul is with me"
A solid verse from Trippie Redd as he gives us a solid flow with a calm cadence. The hooks sound like verses, but it doesn't take away from the overall song.
+1

Gore
We get another good song from this album. The beat is a mellow one with a soft sturdy bass and less prominent high hats. Trippie changes his cadence again from singing at his version of high pitched on the hook to just rapping on the verse. I'm not looking for bars from Trippie Redd, but he does provide some when he says,

"That's that heat wave, let the heat blaze
Left and came back, like LeBron Heat days
Keep the peace, ay, gotta keep the peace way
'Cause it get real, nigga, for Pete's sake"

Another good song from Trippie Redd.
+1

Underwater FlyZone
The final song off "LIFE'S A TRIP." We get an angelic guitar as the only apparent instrument on this song. We have Trippie Redd leaving us with his vocal range to close out the album which I think is appropriate since the last five songs have gotten away from the beginning of the album in terms of cadence.
+1

"LIFE'S A TRIP"

Raw Score: 14/14 | 100%
Quality Score: 18/ 14 | 128.6%

This is Trippie Redd's most versatile body of work and the most impressive album I have reviewed thus far. This album reminds me a bit of the debut album of the late XXXTENTACION (R.I.P.) titled "17" where people had a perception of Trippie Redd like XXX before the release of their debuts and both artists went in a totally different direction. Like XXX, Trippie Redd had a perception of only being able to make hype, turn up music. But this album shows another side of him. Trippie hasn't just shown he can make different types of hip-hop songs, he has shown he can make songs from different genres. I also think it's no coincidence that Trippie Redd was on one of the most successful songs off of XXX's "17" titled "Fuck Love." The standout songs off this album are "Together," "Wish - Trippie Mix" featuring Diplo, "BANG!," "How You Feel," "Dark Knight Dummo" featuring Travis Scott, "UKA UKA," and "Shake It Up." I also appreciate how Trippie Redd used the features on this album as none of them really overpowered him. Overall, beat selection, cadence selection and feature selection were all great for this album.
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