Trip Lee: Rise

Although he’s a Christian rapper, the project can simply be marked up as great music. Versatility is key in this project, as it shifts from different topics and sonical sounds that promote the right message on a song. It’s his best work to date as he implements new structure.

The album starts off with the title track “Rise.” This is the initiation to start glorifying God and not wasting your life. “Shweet” takes us back to the Hip-Hop feel of the album as Trip shares a brief story of his upbringing and through the chorus he wants us to think about what we brag about. Rather than bragging about the material things, why not brag about our God? “Manolo” is a fan favourite and is one of the most requested songs to hear during a concert by one of the Reach Records artist.  Featuring Lecrae, the track takes on a strong and well-constructed trap elemented approach. While in the studio, Gawvi and Trip worked on the chorus for the track and turned it into something that the listener would love to sing along with. Sampling Christon Gray’s “Even With Evil With Me,” Gawvi slows down the production as Trip lifts the spirits of describing how great his life is with God and killing all things tempting from around him on “You Don’t Know.” I had the pleasure to speak to Gawvi and he had this to say about adding the drums towards the end of the song: “I wanted to give the track that feeling I had when I heard Jay Z’s “Show Me What You Got.”

“Beautiful Life” is a track that was written for Trip’s son. The song is centred around the love that he has for his son and the happiness that has been given to him by receiving his son in life. “All My Love” takes us through a story in which a guy falls in love with a girl over the Internet. A man who is at an all time low in life and has to choose between the long distance love of an Internet love, or his wife. “Is this worth it? Because his wife said he gotta choose, she like ‘it’s her or me, your family you got to lose,” Trip Lee raps. Ultimately, the track takes a story approach where the main character Jay is at a “crossroad.” The album ends with the triumphant track “Sweet Victory.” Suffering from an illness that keeps him tired 95% of the time, Trip tells us even though he may be weak and limping, His God pushes him through every situation. The victory will be when he meets with his creator and has infinite rest.

Overall, Trip Lee, Gawvi, and Alex Medina did a great job with the setup of the album. The album takes us from feeling encouraged, realizing that we need a saviour in our life, and understanding what our purpose is during our time on earth. We learn how difficult life can be, but how we get our strength from the higher power. Getting up and living for the glory of God is what Trip teaches us through his musical talent. Blending in different instruments, sounds, and production styles, the album keeps the listener’s attention through versatility.