Star Value

Somewhere in the incoherent, semi rhymes of the chart topping single, “All Gold Everything”, was the catapult that launched new rap star, Trinidad James, into the public eye. Seemingly overnight, the young rapper went from being a small time southern rapper to features in publications like The Source Magazine. He is not accused of having released the song of the year—some hard-core, brilliantly lyrical, gem of a track. Instead, James prides himself on simply making a very catchy tune with catchy phrases, the catchiest of which may be “Popped a molly I’m sweating, Whoo!” This phrase, along with the other equally questionable lyrics is characteristic of the new subset of rap music (ratchet, if you will) that has taken popular culture by storm. James is indeed a pioneer of the newfound trend of anti-lyricism. While criticized for being detrimental to hip-hop, this trend only represents the more superficial aspects of life that are enjoyed by all, leaving the deeper allusions to other subsets. Many have called him a one hit-wonder, and so far he is indeed the Carly Rae Jepsen of the rap scene, but James insists that should people dig into his work, they’d find a consistent body of quality music. n