Audio Dope

It’s always an exciting moment when this man drops! Dropping nothing but consistency since he’s been in the game and now dropping what he’s so appropriately named ‘Audio Dope’ so doesn’t matter how you take yours, sit back and let’s get HIGH!

This is the brand new album by MC and Umbrella Collective member -Big Trip with Production from
-Mallori Knox
-Mickey Diamond
-Jamil Honesty
-Hobgoblin
-GoodPhella
-Mos Beats
As well as features from
-Pro Dillinger
-Mickey Diamond
-Snotty

And across this 9 track package, the moment you open it you inhale those dope fumes and feel the effects immediately! Trip is cutting it up with a sharp blade filled with ridiculous hustle, poetic street stories, infinite charisma and a way with words that force the sonic dealers to pay above the asking price for his name alone!

It’s always insane to me to hear how nice Trip gets on the beats! From his trademark guttural vocal signature to his experience in the game! At this point It’s effortless for him. He even says so on -Money’s The Root when he says ‘it’s like riding a bike, once you nice you nice’ and he’s been that for years now! There’s a reason he’s a member of the legendary collective and he’s showcasing that more than ever over this literal ‘dope’ shit on these nine tracks!
He’s smooth with the lyricism, always packing a vivid storytelling that makes each sentence feel like a brand new hallucination high as if you’re in the streets with him! Pair that with his gritty nature and powerful presence and you’ve got an MC that in his own words ‘ain’t condoning no sucker shit!’

I also love his interesting use of ‘features’ while there is the occasional use of them (especially towards the end) across the album we get more snippets and loops that are incorporated throughout the record such as Pro Dillinger on a few tracks! It’s actually dope because it makes you feel the brotherhood of the umbrella in the atmosphere without hearing verses from them! Definitely unique in its execution!
I thought this variance was a nice touch and it helped give even more surreal vibes to the record as a whole!

When we discuss the production aspect we take a look at the handful listed above who came together to create absolute magic on the cuts! A list of production credits I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see on the MainStage together and yet here they are and they definitely killed it!
If we talk instrumentals such as -Reservation 4 2 which has this beautiful Jazz feel to it that incorporated Swift Jazz Horns in that introduction that later evolves into those infectious plucked strings, shimmering piano keys and what sounds like a smooth violin usage in the background as well as some minimal drums to act as a backboard to the rest of the instrumentation!

We have tracks -10000 Grams which starts off with the intensity of Pro Dillinger and that later evolves into this supreme boom Bap track that’s as gritty as can be! From those sadistic bass strings, heavy-handed drum beats and delicate piano keys that add a level of tension to the song cutting through the girt!
This song feels like a prime 2020 Umbrella energy like they back on their magnum opus shit! Especially considering the fact this one has all three names of Trip, Dillinger and Diamond dropping bars! Phenomenal just doesn’t cut it!

Even the track -Only Heaven Knows which has this delicate nature to it that I adored! The most ambient-inspired track on the album! From those echoing chords that pair hand to hand with those mesmerising drum notes and immersive bass lines!
Also those piano keys that amplify the atmosphere of the song into angelic territory! Although a stripped-back track compared to the rest, I found myself coming back to that one more than the others!

Snort it?, shoot it?, smoke it? It doesn’t matter how you consume this ‘Audio Dope’ as long as you fuck with and let it give you a high you ain’t ever felt before! Let’s go!