Trippie Redd’s Mansion Musik is repetitive, shoddily produced, and lacks any real structure. It is, however, consistent in that regard. From the opening seconds of the aggressive title track until the equally raucous 24th (the more mellow “Colors” officially closes things out), the Ohio rapper’s fifth studio album serves up over an hour of unrelenting, ear-splitting, and largely identical trap and rage-adjacent beats.
No matter how energetic this musical mayhem may be at points, it needed to be metered far more accordingly—or better yet, more sparingly—than what’s been sequenced here. By the time that “Dark Brotherhood” rolls around, which features the album’s second unenthused Lil Baby guest verse and one of Trippie’s laziest choruses (about how he’s going to keep it “litty like a titty”), fatigue has long since settled in. And, unfortunately, there are 17 more songs to go, most of which barely switch things up any more than the nearly indistinguishable seven which came before.
When taken on a track-by-track basis, things aren’t much better. The distorted synths on “Psycho” are pitched so high that they resemble wailing ambulance sirens, which is a nicely frenzied touch, but the track’s backing 808s are sloppily mixed. Even when a stray interesting compositional idea pops up, like the heavy metal guitar riffs that nearly swallow up “Krzy Train,” they’re drowned out in an amorphous pile of other elements.
Trippie’s flows, while occasionally tuneful, are frequently marred by grating vocal inflections, as when he hoarsely delivers claims that he’s “real, real, real icy” on “Van Helsing.” His pen game is somehow even more off-putting: “All my dawgs bang, hang with Michael Vick,” he boasts on “Muscles” with a try-hard menace that’s difficult to take seriously. Still, it’s one of the few moments of “humor” that penetrate through the album’s resoundingly frigid demeanor.
Trippie’s faculties as a songwriter and performer, though, seem downright exceptional compared to any of the 21 guest artists featured here. Most of them—like C-tier level talents Big30 and Rich the Kid—can hardly keep up with Mansion Musik’s blunt-force pandemonium. There’s something to be said for the pure single-mindedness of an album such as this, which vehemently strikes the same numbing note over and over again. Yet, considering how hard it tries to conjure an atmosphere of wild danger, what’s perhaps most disappointing about Mansion Musik is how predictable of an experience it ultimately amounts to.
Since 2001, we've brought you uncompromising, candid takes on the world of film, music, television, video games, theater, and more. Independently owned and operated publications like Slant have been hit hard in recent years, but we’re committed to keeping our content free and accessible—meaning no paywalls or fees.
If you like what we do, please consider subscribing to our Patreon or making a donation.
you must be sped, go listen to taylor swift
Hardest Album in rap since TM101. He’s done an astounding job fusing the foundations of trap music’s southern, Midwest, and Memphis roots with the modern hip hop sound including artist like Lil B and Chief Keef who led the way in the genre’s evolution.