Trippie Redd’s Pegasus flew a little too close to the moon

Trippie Redd’s seventh album, Pegasus (2020), is an ambitious 26-song beast. Fueled by appearances from countless prominent rappers – including Quavo, Future, and Lil Wayne – the album shifts and moves in a way only an album with this many songs and opportunities for diversity can. However, with the hour and fourteen-minute runtime, Trippie Redd may have overshot his attempt at creating a musical experience and overwhelmed his audience instead.

Trippie Redd begins the album in a trance-like state, with various songs about love and drugs blending into each other. The first song, “Let It Out,” brings us into a hazy, dreamy phase, with echoing vocals layered behind Trippie’s voice and a harp-like strumming of a guitar. The song’s themes of love help establish this first phase of Pegasus as the trance-like, numb-from-love introduction to the album.

The next few songs relay this similar message of “numb love” with equally atmospheric and emotional content, with some highlights being the anticipated “Love Scars 4” and the single, “Excitement.” “Love Scars 4” continues the “Love Scars” series he began in 2017 on his debut album, A Love Letter to You. This fourth installment in the series brings a new perspective on love not seen in the previous three installments: a positive, apologetic view towards his girlfriend, and more importantly, the mutual respect they share for each other. On previous “Love Scars” songs, Trippie Redd emphasized not running after a girl who isn’t into you, and portrayed women as objects that could be used and swapped out each night. Here, however, Trippie shows a more mature version of himself by accepting his shortcomings and telling his girlfriend “Know that I love you, baby / Know that I trust you, baby.” 

“Excitement,” featuring Future, conveys a similar message of maturity in Trippie’s description of women by casting them in a positive light, as well as being open and vulnerable about his feelings. Even though the song is very sexual in nature, Trippie’s actual choice of words shows immense growth from the type of language seen on his first few albums, which would generally focus on one night stands with different women he didn’t respect each night. His newfound ability to tone down the disrespectful language typical of rap and increase the emotional vulnerability in his word choice runs deeper than Pegasus, and could signify changes that lie ahead for the rap scene as a whole.

After this song, there is a shift in the tone of the album as it transitions from a love-centered, dreamy beginning to a now frustrated, depressed midsection. “Mood,” featuring Chris Brown, captures this tone when they sing about a girl expecting the worst from them,“Why you acting mad for? Did everything you asked for / Blaming me is so unfair / Don’t be a bitch, don’t call me “Asshole” when you get mad / What type of shit is that?” The stark change from praise and adoration to now abrupt anger and disappointment mimics the ups and downs of relationships, especially for people as famous as Trippie Redd and Chris Brown, who are constantly surrounded by the temptations of drugs and cheating. The album thus far has been a quiet, soft lull but “Mood” abruptly ended that peace and has now ushered in a more intense, dark subject matter and tone within the rest of the album.

This next section of the album marks a bit of an odd expanse of filler songs under 2 minutes intermixed with a few stand-out songs. Out of twelve songs here, only five are worth giving a second listen to, which doesn’t look too good for Trippie. This mid-section is a perfect example of the short-comings of the album; in trying to create an all-expansive masterpiece, Trippie ended up overwhelming and diluting his audience with songs that lack substance. Luckily, though, Trippie has found immense success through the songs that do stand out, since nearly all of them feature another artist. “Spaceships” features Young Thug and speaks of a toxic relationship where the two never seem to acknowledge their future together and has been commended by many. “Never Change” features Future and talks about staying true to yourself and your friends in the midst of changes and betrayal – a message which gets driven home through the rest of the album. “No Honorable Mention” features Quavo and Lil Mosey and is my personal favorite, as the three voices and flows fit together so well throughout. “I Got You” features Busta Rhymes and brings some R&B flow to a primarily rap album, and “Sleepy Hollow,” a single from the album that gained immense success prior to Pegasus’ release, which also had several fans keeping the dialogue on Trippie’s album-to-come. 

The final five songs off the album bring Pegasus to a proper close by addressing his rise to fame on “Kid that Didd,” his battles with mental illness on “Hell Rain,” his drive and motivation to never stop trying on “TR666,” and finally his love for his girlfriend on the final track, “Sun God.” Personally, I greatly enjoyed these final few songs for how raw and emotionally-charged they are, especially “Hell Rain,” which features Lil Wayne and HoodyBaby. “TR666” also struck me a certain way, as Trippie Redd and Swae Lee collaborate on the track to sing about never giving up on anything in life, but the most stand-out feature of the song (in my opinion) is how the track opens with a bible verse from Isaiah 54:17, “No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper / And every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment / Thou shalt condemn / This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord / And their righteousness is of me, says the Lord.” The fact that Trippie chose to incorporate a religious element on his album at all speaks to his character, let alone this specific verse which ties in perfectly with the message of the song. As a new Christian, I am very grateful that a prominent artist in the not-so religious genre of rap decided to incorporate a bible verse in a non-disparaging way. By including a bible verse in the intro to a song, Trippie is helping break down stigmas surrounding Christianity in the notoriously hedonistic and “sinful” scene of rap, which is vital for the survival of religion in an increasingly secular generation. Through this exposure, it’s possible that Trippie may have influenced someone to accept Jesus into their life and challenge any assumptions they may have had before.

Overall, Trippie Redd’s Pegasus was a bit sloppily put together and way too ambitious, but for what it’s worth, I’d consider it a success. The 26-song piece includes some important themes of regeneration and motivation, love and respect within relationships, and understanding one’s worth. Pegasus helps us understand that life isn’t perfect or pretty at all, but through taking the bull that is life by the horns, you can change your outcome.

Written by Amber Ellertson