5/10
Favorite Track: "Hellboy" Least Favorite Track: "Overweight"
Throughout the last couple of years, I have been very indifferent regarding my opinions on the discography of Ohio rapper; Trippie Redd. I will say however that I only really enjoy his music in smaller portion sizes. Trippie’s very recognizable melodic way of using his voice (almost as an instrument), while creative and different, is only listenable for so long. After, a few playthroughs of any given Trippie Redd project you will find yourself resenting this melodic style rather than appreciating the atmosphere that it attempts to provide. However to a certain extent, it’s definitely acceptable and it does really set Trippie apart from his Soundcloud contemporaries. Weather it’s this aspect or just his style and voice in general, Trippie also tends to lack replay value for me. As I previously stated, I enjoy him the most in smaller sample sizes. With that being said, don’t think I dont enjoy him at all because for the better part of the first half of A Love Letter To You 2 I think Trippie cut out and crafted a pretty decent collection of tracks. It doesn’t blow me away lyrically but from an artist like Trippie Redd that’s not really what I expect nor what I need to hear. Where his other projects seem to be somewhat lackluster besides his loud moaning voice and aesthetic for a lot of the beginning of this record, Trippie stays on top of everything he has to offer quite nicely, and provides this upbeat energy that he truly manages to rub off on his listeners. The first couple of songs in the tracklist also generally have very fun and off the wall beats to them, for example “Back of my Mind” and “Today”. As good as the beginning of this mixtape is, the intro is one of the weaker cuts in comparison. Not to say that “Bust Down” is unlistenable, but compared to some of the other tracks in the first half of this project it’s definitely pretty forgettable and underwhelming. Track #4 is a huge highlight for me. Trippie has a lot to say on “Deadman’s Wonderland”. The ghoulish and ghostly energy that he conveys with some of the echoing vocals fits very well with the complete subject matter of the track. Trippie discussing themes of how if he didn’t successfully come up and out of his city he would be a “deadman” works very well with the overall feel of the track, which has the energy of something out of a melodic horror movie. I also think that tracks #5-8 on this record are all arguably some of his best. Trippie takes a much more pop direction in his collaboration with Cydnee with a C on “Back of My Mind”. Her singing easily takes the cake as the best feature on the entire record, this combined with a fun verse and flow from Trippie makes the track a hit for me. It features some stuttering, epic sounding synths that are placed all over the beat that make the track feel sort of epic and cartoonish. After that we get track #7 “Today”. While I know some consider the subject matter of this one dumb and simple minded, I actually love the swagger and energy that Trippie pulls out on “Today”. The track is essentially just Trippie going through a list of things that he “does everyday”. It’s not the most complex track but I think it’s rather creative and funny. It also features probably my favorite beat on the entire album with it’s fun xylophone and bell notes, it fits the creative aspect of the song very well. We see Trippie going ballad on track #8 ; “Hellboy”. Trippie’s cutthroat verse on this one (where he actually raps) is probably Trippie at his most enjoyable. When he hops onto tracks where he actually raps his nasally voice and very advanced flow is reminiscent of someone like Kendrick Lamar or J.I.D. In this exposed state Trippie discusses where he came from and how he acquired a taste of success. It definitely became a highlight for me. This is the point where A Love Letter To You 2 really goes down hill. “Back Back Back” is essentially a compilation of everything I have ever disliked in a Trippie Redd project. He takes his whiney, moaning, singing aesthetic to the absolute extreme and to the point where it becomes very very un-enjoyable on this track and quite honestly the same can be said for the entire back half of the album. This isn’t even half as annoying however, as some of Trippie’s bars on track #11 ; “Overweight”. The refrain on this song is literally Trippie yelling “Big guap, overweight, bitch Bad bitch, suck on my dick, Thottie body, fuck on my, dick Big money, you’re overweight bitch”. I genuinely don’t understand what direction he was moving toward on this track. Track’s 12,13,14, are all equally as boring as “Overweight” is annoying. A Love Letter To You 2 should of ended at track #8 and I don’t understand why he just decided to include all these excess songs in a row that all obviously have less thought and effort poured into them then those that came before. Throughout my time listening to the entire back half of this album I just don’t couldn’t understand or wrap my head around why Trippie Redd doens’t simply rap more. Just like how the most enjoyable moments off A Love Letter To You were when Trippie tried his hand at more traditional rap, the most enjoyable moments off A Love Letter To You 2 feature the same thing. I get it, it’s his niche and his style and he doesn’t want to let go of it. I agree, that Trippies melodic moaning is what makes him himself and at the end of the day every artist should go with their own stylistic vision and what they feel is the realest version of themself, but until Trippie can intertwine his melodic singing style and his pristine, cutthroat rapping, he will forever remain missed potential to me.