Trippie Redd

Born in Canton, Ohio, Trippie Redd, whose real name is Michael Lamar White II, rose to prominence from the second half of the 2010s with melodic rap that blends trap, emo rap, cloud rap, contemporary R&B, and rock inflections. Initially spotted in the SoundCloud ecosystem, he developed a writing approach centered on plaintive voices, sung hooks, and contrasts between abrasive energy and more sentimental tones. After early projects released in the mid-2010s, Trippie Redd quickly broadened his audience with the mixtape A Love Letter to You in 2017, followed by A Love Letter to You 2 the same year. His career subsequently straddled mixtapes and albums, with Life’s a Trip in 2018, ! in 2019, Pegasus in 2020, Trip at Knight in 2021, and Mansion Musik in 2023. Meanwhile, the A Love Letter to You series remains an important landmark of his discography, up to A Love Letter to You 5 in 2023. Trippie Redd has also collaborated with artists like XXXTentacion, Travis Scott, Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert, Juice WRLD, Travis Barker, or MGK, which illuminates the unique place of his work at the crossroads of emotional rap, aggressive textures, and a sometimes more marked pop-punk sensibility, notably on Neon Shark vs Pegasus in 2021.