Till 2018, Trapland Pat’s dream was to be a soccer star. However a drug cost led the small Indiana faculty the place he performed huge receiver to revoke his scholarship, sending him again to his hometown Deerfield Seashore, Florida. Ultimately, he picked up rap, and in early 2021 scored a modest breakout with the gleefully chaotic “Large Enterprise.” Part of Pat’s attraction was his wild-ass look. Bonks, a coiffure standard in South Florida’s huge Haitian neighborhood, sprout from his head like tree branches; his eyeballs rattling close to come out of the sockets like a real-life Looney Tune. This larger-than-life picture was offset by grounded raps largely centered on reminiscences of operating across the streets of Broward—reminiscences that have been not often cartoonish, and virtually all the time primarily based in actuality.
Of the multitude of musical types modern within the state proper now—Jacksonville’s drill-leaning scene, Rod Wave-like heavy-hearted crooning, Michigan-inspired punchline warmth checks—Pat’s music is most indebted to the croaky melodies of Kodak Black. His latest mixtape, Trapnificent, is a distillation of his South Florida roots, blended with just a few wrinkles that make him stand out from the many different Kodak descendants current within the space. The bounce of the beats and the best way Pat casually delivers hardened avenue tales might be traced to late ’90s B.G. and Mannie Recent data: “Free All My Zombies” is an thrilling glimpse at that affect, along with his vocals switching between plain-spoken and flippantly melodic over sputtering percussion and a funk bassline.
It’s a properly that Pat goes again to repeatedly with good outcomes, whether or not solo or with like-minded rappers in his orbit. His rapping is sharp on “Put That Shit On,” swinging forwards and backwards between designer-flaunting and wistful recollections, all delivered over a slinky instrumental. “4 & A Child” is equally stuffed with colour, dropping listeners proper into one among his former days on the nook. He bonds with Baton Rouge’s Fredo Bang on the hard-hitting “Astronaut Standing,” as they thread collectively their mutual influences and coast on charisma.
What holds Pat again, although, is that he isn’t a constant lyricist. His tales of drug dealing and quick cash sometimes undergo from poor scene-setting and lyrical banalities. Tracks like “Mad” and “Hellcat,” the weirdly out-of-place collaborative monitor with Brooklyn drill artist Eli Fross, are so generic that it might be unimaginable to inform the place he hails from when you didn’t already know. On the most effective Trapland Pat songs, it’s straightforward to establish that he’s a South Florida rapper even when exterior influences are in play. Normally it’s a small contact: The graceful interpolation of Rick Ross’ “Keep Schemin’” on “Motions,” or the best way his Florida drawl turns into extra pronounced in the course of the woozy lilts on the finish of “Losses.”
However for essentially the most half what offers the tape its hyper-specific regional really feel is fellow Broward County-bred Haitian Pepperjack Zoe, who produces a bulk of the venture. His beats incorporate the Money Cash-inspired grooves and piano-driven components standard within the South, however essentially the most memorable ones have a shiny, twitchy really feel that recall kompa rhythms. On “Dream,” it’s the quick, danceable tempo; on “Boondocks” it’s the best way the synths merge with the skittering drums. Rapping over these beats, Pat sounds relaxed unloading Kodak-inflected methods—the signature singsongy stream, the moody lyrics paired with breezy vibes. It’s extraordinarily regionally and culturally particular, like a lot thrilling and promising new rap music. It might not be soccer stardom, but it surely’s an excellent pivot.
