Trippie Redd - LIFE'S A TRIP (2018)

On the ballad “Together,” Trippie Redd belts woefully, “Together we can fight all these demons in my head,” ostensibly addressing the legion of self-identified outcasts who have flocked to him since his 6ix9ine collab “Poles 1469,” his feature on XXXTENTACION’s “F**k Love,” and his own ultra-dramatic breakup anthem “Love Scars.” The Ohio rapper is openly reflective of the hurdles his generation faces—the allure of drug use, the pain of young love, the yearning for social currency—but the album is ultimately an affirmation of his perseverance, and shows his musical whims stretch beyond rap. Though he does bar up in a more traditional sense on “Missing My Idols” and the Travis Scott collaboration “Dark Knight Dummo,” his melodies are as influenced by emo as his lyrics are. He's nasally and unhinged on “Underwater FlyZone,” where he sings over soft, unaccompanied guitar strums, but Trippie seems most at home when his croon turns to an outright scream, as it does most notably on “BANG!”