Album Review: Trippie Redd and Travis Barker-NEON SHARK vs. Pegasus

Trippie Redd has spent the early stages of his career solidifying himself as the hip hop version of the really smart kid in high school who could get A's if they wanted to, but just doesn't have the desire to apply themselves. The 21-year old has the dynamism to rap, sing and use his voice as an instrument in a way that's not unlike what Young Thug's been doing for the bulk of his career and in the instances where he shows off the full extent of that special skill set ("Dark Knight Dummo", "Topanga", his incredible edition of Trap Symphony), he's proven to be an absolutely electrifying artist that can rival the best hip hop has to offer. Of course, that version of Trippie Redd isn't the one who usually makes into the studio-particularly during the last couple years in which he's grown increasingly complacent as his profile continues to rise. Just a mere four months after releasing the hilariously bloated Pegasus, he's back it with the sister album NEON SHARK vs. Pegasus-which unsurprisingly confirms that not even a switch in genres and collaborating with a respected music veteran in Travis Barker can stop Trippie from coasting through yet another project.

Anybody that has even a moderate degree of familiarity with Trippie's work is aware that rock, punk and emo have had a huge influence on his sound. These styles of music have helped shape everything from his colorful image to the raw, often rage-and-pain fueled emotions that sit at the core of his material. His understanding and appreciation of these genres is what makes the failure of NEON SHARK vs. Pegasus particularly discouraging. 

Every variation of rock music that's explored here fizzles due to Trippie's reliance on using the same cold, overly autotuned vocal approach on each track. The pop punk songs are completely devoid of angsty energy and catchy hooks while the blatantly Deftones-inspired material (Chino Moreno even shows up for a brief guest spot on "Geronimo") is far too muddled and flat to capture even a hint of the essence that makes their dreamy atmospherics so mesmerizingly beautiful. Even the couple of tracks on NEON SHARK vs. Pegasus that do work ("Swimming", "Dead Desert") can respectively be chalked up to the efforts of Barker digging deep into his bag of tricks to manufacture a quick 2-minute jolt of bouncy pop punk adrenaline and guest artists Scarlxrd and Zilakami of City Morgue bringing a much-needed urgent, angry pulse to a nu metal worship track doing enough to cover up Trippie's lethargic presence.

This record is just a half-assed waste of time that does nothing but prove Trippie can release a shit project in another genre and streamline his palpable laziness into an easier to digest package (NEON Shark vs. Pegasus' 14 tracks clock in at roughly 39 minutes, which is a little less than half of the gaudy runtime of the 26 tracks that occupied the OG Pegasus). While Trippie is still plenty young enough to work out the kinks and finally deliver on his loads of untapped potential, he's definitely starting to run out of chances to prove himself. He's been on a steady downward trend since A Love Letter to You 3 and it's getting to the point where it feels like he isn't even really trying to put out quality music anymore. It's infuriating to continue to watch his talent go to waste and until the day comes when he finally figures it out-if it ever does-he'll continue to just be the guy who made a handful of incredible songs at the beginning of his career then just shamelessly cashed checks for uninspired work before fading away into obscurity.      

Grade: D+

Standout Tracks

1.Dead Desert (feat. Scarlxrd and Zilakami)

2.Swimming