Trippie Redd has always existed in the middle ground. Ever since his rise to prominence in the Soundcloud trap scene of 2017 on the back of his A Love Letter To You mixtape series, he’s never quite been the pioneer that Lil Uzi Vert and Playboi Carti were (both of whom Trippie Redd called “some of the G.O.A.T.s from our era” in a recent interview with XXL) nor the joke that rappers like 6ix9ine and Lil Pump were. Even in his constant emulation of Lil Uzi Vert and XXXtentacion he never quite achieved the same massive success of those artists nor the similarly inspired Juice WRLD. For the past 5 years, Trippie Redd’s been riding the popularity he gained from being “the guy that sounds like Lil Uzi.” To his credit, he does occasionally make interesting music, but with the recent release of his highly anticipated single “Miss the Rage,” he now appears to be appropriating the sound of a different, more interesting contemporary, and they’re featured on this very song.
On Christmas of last year, Playboi Carti dropped Whole Lotta Red, one of the most polarizing and notable albums of the year. It was unexpectedly loud, punkish, and bizarre, immediately announcing a new sound that was certain to influence other artists. “Miss the Rage” is perhaps the first noteworthy proof of this influence. Even its release process, from its snippet origins to its rushed release due to leak terror, emulates Carti’s album. The beat is electrifying, utilizing the warping synthesizers and knocking bass from songs like “Rockstar Made” and especially “M3tamorphosis” from Whole Lotta Red. The greatest folly of the single is that both Trippie Redd and Playboi Carti adopt deliveries more alike to those on Playboi Carti’s self-titled mixtape from 2017, which is on the opposite end of the trap spectrum. Their sleepy, repetitive flows are in stark contrast against the stadium-ready beat. As thousands of fans noted following the release of the song, Trippie and Carti simply don’t match the energy of the beat. One has to wonder if the threat of leaks forced a premature release from Trippie, preventing better verses from being recorded, a theory supported by the underwhelming cover art.
To close, here’s a sentence I never thought I’d say: the version with Mario Judah is better.