The Brixton native reflects on his past troubles and sees the beauty in his burgeoning success on this excellent debut K-Trap isn’t the tough driller we once knew. Blowing up with hard-hitting viral songs such as 2022’s ‘Warm’ and his feature on Krept & Konan ‘s 2019 song ‘I Spy’, the Brixton native would once flex his ties to the street and warn “opps” to never mess with him. Well, he’s still telling his foes to back up, but on his debut album ‘Smile?’, the once-elusive star opens up.
‘Smile?’ starts with renowned tastemaker Tiffany Calver , assuming the role of the rapper’s therapist. She asks him to “take the mask off while we talk” before he takes you on a journey where Trap (also known as Trapo) touches on pivotal topics in his life. He talks about his time selling drugs in south London; whether that’s on the mafia-inspired ‘Mobsters’ with Blade Brown, and the audacious ‘Old School Era’ or ‘Whoosh’.
But the best of these gritty highlights is ‘Whistle’. Over ethereal production, Trap asks his potential lover if she can fit in with his fast-paced lifestyle: “Do you chase the bag or just fuck it up? / Do you get up and go, or just cuddle up?” All of this is then contrasted by his tales of fame, affluence and success. On ‘Victory Lap’, Trap celebrated his nomination for Group of the Year at the 2024 BRIT Awards alongside fellow drill mainstay Headie One .
This mainstream recognition, he has said, has made him realis.