American rapper, singer and songwriter Trippie Redd emerged in 2015 with a series of viral singles that combined the defiant attitude of trap with the energy and emotional depth of punk and metal, placing him at the forefront of the new wave of cloud rap artists dominating the U.S. hip-hop scene.
After releasing home-produced mixtapes and videos throughout his teen years, Redd moved to Atlanta upon graduating high school. Making crucial connections with the city’s underground rap scene, he befriended Lil Wop and Kodie Shane, recording early projects that would generate local buzz and secure a recording contract with Strainge Entertainment. Early 2017 saw Redd issue his debut mixtape, A Love Letter to You, picking up millions of views across Soundcloud and YouTube while prompting the now-deceased XXXTentacion to invite Redd in for a collaborative single: ‘Fuck Love’ became Redd’s first appearance on the Hot 100, peaking at No 28.
The rapper’s second mixtape found similar success, leading to collaborations with Baauer, Joji and Rich Brian and stoking anticipation for the debut studio album that would soon follow. Life’s A Trip, released in summer 2018, debuted at No 4 on the Billboard 200: featuring contributions from Young Thug, Reese Laflare and Diplo, the record produced the Platinum-selling lead single ‘Dark Knight Dummo’, featuring Travis Scott. The record was praised for it’s experimental nature, leading XXL to describe it as “indulgent, polished and deeply personal”. Charting highly across America, Europe and Australia, Life’s A Trip announced the arrival of a uniquely gifted artist poised to dominate contemporary hip-hop.
