NEWS
EVENTS
Trinidad Jame$, 10 PC Mild & The struggle of the should-be one-hit wonder.
RnB/Hip Hop | Wednesday 11th September 2013 | 1Kervan
The industry, the media and the public were immediately divided by the perceived overnight success of 25 year old Trinidad Jame$ and his debut single All Gold Everything. The mixtape Don't Be S.A.F.E. from which is was taken was actually released 6 months prior, and it was the bombastic and grandiose visuals for All Gold Everything that helped send the single from Soundcloud and into the stratosphere. Rumours were confirmed by the artist, that he'd only started rapping 10 months prior to releasing his first mixtape, and the instrumentals were cobbled together from Soundcloud. What became Don't Be S.A.F.E. was essentially the first 10 songs Jame$ ever made; he was able to achieve what so many never do off of a hobby - banking a reported $2 Million record deal at Def Jam. From there it was easy to dismiss Jame$ as a one-hit wonder; another one of Hip-Hops annual flash in the pans. However Trinidad Jame$ refused to be denied, releasing another striking video that managed to encapsulate both an old-school and new school rap essence, breeding the soul of Pimp C with an EDM twist. The project Don't Be S.A.F.E was finally forced into the ears of the fans by the end of 2012. It showed an artist's who lyrically still had much to learn and accomplish, but one with an ear for beats and a personality clear enough to shine through them. Moments of introspection were present were hit-n-miss but overall Don't Be S.A.F.E was a solid first effort.
8 months later, numerous guest appearances, deep explorations into the fashion industry, and further polarizing the listeners, Trinidad Jame$ releases the sequel to Don't Be S.A.F.E., titled 10 PC Mild (named after his favourite order from a chicken wing shop in Atlanta). Promotion for the project revolved around Trinidad Jame$ imploring listeners for an unbiased look at his work and not to focus on his previous popular singles. Now with some success under his belt, 10 PC Mild differs from its predecessor with big name producers and features and budget - Cy-hi the Prynce, Childish Gambino, Gucci Mane, Young Chop and Danny Brown show up, but with varying results. Kanye West protégé Travis Scott shows up on Shut Up! to great effect, and Jame$ follows through with explosive energy. However what becomes typical of him is a reliance on repeating lines as opposed to rhyming. While this usually fits on an energetic trap songs, 2 bodies of music later, Jame$ has already exhausted his chances and it leaves an underwhelming after taste on an otherwise great single. On some of the songs his excessive use of repetition actually makes him a forgettable feature on his own song. This becomes most present on Ea, that goes on for far too long and isn't worth listening to for 4:25 minutes just to hear Childish Gambino's brilliant verse. For a rapper, Trinidad Jame$ manages to avoid rapping too much on his music, with generally shorter than normal verses and various skits in the 37 minute listen. 10 PC Mild was an attempt to show a progression in his skills both lyrically and as an overall artist, but if feels too much like he's trying to mimic the surprising magic of his last effort, but none of these new songs can match All Gold Everything. While that song had a brilliant chorus, some case on 10 PC Mild show a digression. The potenitally great Ro$ is stopped dead with the monotonous chorus of "They f*ckin' with me 'cos I'm real real/ they f*ckin' with me 'cos I'm real real/ they f*ckin' with me 'cos I'm real real/ they f*ckin' with me 'cos I'm real real/ B*tch!" - *FACE PALM.
Some progression is shown on 10 PC Mild, and fans of Don't Be S.A.F.E. won't leave completely underwhelmed. Material Thing$ Hard to Deal With is the highlight of the project. Something about the soulful sample that coats the rappers simplistic rhymes just works, however the song also allegorises where and who Trinidad Jame$ is less than 2 years from the start of his rap career, and that's not too far where he started (but with a lot more money to spend). The superficial aspects of the rapper have been taken care of with, but the overall substance has yet to meet the image he portrays. What's almost funny is the irony behind the title 10 PC Mild. Trinidad Jame$'s new music is easily digestible, but the lack of substance from the rapper only allows his energy to carry it so far - Mild describes the effort a lot better than the artist intended and we'll see if he is able to recapture what made his last effort so great.
