Rapper Trippie Redd’s new album, !, released on Aug. 9 is certainly something to be ‘exclaiming’ over. It’s not another “Love Scars,” my personal favorite era of Redd’s music, however, is stunningly able to grow on the listener. 

At first look, it may not be pleasing to hear an automated voice repeatedly stammering “exclamation mark” as the opening to the first song, named after the album, !. However, the music becomes clear once it gets past this overwhelmingly annoying segment.

With totaling 12 songs exclusive to the album, the best ones can be singled down to either “!,” “Throw it Away,” or “Be Yourself.” “Throw it Away” is a favorite due to the mesmerizing reverb following the song. 

The lyrics are versatile and match well with the beat, being a topic that many listeners can easily relate to. The main chorus is along the lines of, “She take my love and throw it all away, yeah,” most likely relating to one of his ex-girlfriends, prominently an artist known as AYLEK$.

“!” focuses on another relatable topic to listeners, who feel that they are giving too much to everyone else and not allowing themselves to breathe. “I can’t keep focusing on anybody

I have to focus on myself/I can’t keep focusing on anybody/In order to get closer to myself.” Here, Redd provides great life advice within his lyrics, as he continues to do with “Be Yourself” in simply just the title.

A couple weeks after the release of ! Redd ended a second relationship with his long time girlfriend Coi Leray, leading to snippets of his unreleased album, A Love Letter To You 4 being shown off on his Instagram. Leray was featured on !, as well as Playboi Carti and Lil Baby. 

Though Redd may be heartbroken, this breakup is great for fans like me who are just waiting for a kick-start to his creative juices in order to make new music.  

Rating: B-