People say rappers are the new rockstars. Trippie Redd takes the sentiment too literally on his newest album, ‘Pegasus: Neon Shark vs Pegasus Presented By Travis Barker (Deluxe)’, or, to save everyone the tongue-twisting trouble, ‘Neon Shark vs Pegasus’. Seeing that emo-rap and punk-tinged rock have been on the verge of colliding for years, a cross-over of this magnitude was written in the stars. It’s not surprising that Redd and Barker were the ones to bite the bullet – the former has had an infatuation with guitar-dominant trap and graveling vocals, the latter has always had a soft spot for rap – how could anything go wrong? Well, the best way to understand ‘Neon Shark vs Pegasus’ is to flip the question on its head and ponder, what works? The answer is spelled out across an obnoxiously tedious 14 tracks, that only prolong a predictable hypothesis – almost nothing.
‘Neon Shark vs Pegasus’ is the latest instance of the mainstream’s tiring obsession with double-album-deluxes, and I desperately hope Trippie’s mistake is the final nail in the fad’s coffin. Although ‘Pegasus’ is divided into two projects, it’s daunting just looking at the staggering 40 track abomination in its (possible) final form, knowing full well Trippie doesn’t have the ability to produce quality music that frequently. ‘Neon Shark vs Pegasus’ thrives off of Trippie’s quantity over quality business model, and suffers for it. Even with a more compact tracklist, deja-vu inducing filler like ‘SEA WORLD’, and ‘IT’S COMING’ manage to sneak into the record. It’s a celebration of common denominators that are recycled repeatedly, as Trippie isn’t afraid to show he’s in over his head.
It’s as if Trippie has sworn a sacred oath as he takes it upon himself to bridge a cultural gap in a way that requires the least amount of talent and stylistic knowledge possible. On ‘Neon Shark vs Pegasus’ Redd makes the mistake of thinking noise, and lots of it, automatically contributes to a legitimate attempt at rock, when in reality, it’s just a recipe to leave audiences with a dizzied head. Trippie’s constant competition with Barker’s anthemic arrangement leads to an obnoxious clusterfuck on ‘MEGLADON’. Redd’s vocals have never been the most palatable, but here, he ups the ante and sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard. Trippie invites his peers to join in on his teenage temper tantrum on ‘DEAD DESERT’. In unison with Scarlxrd, Redd screams his brains out in the hopes of breaking the audience’s eardrums long before they’ve had a chance to process the directionless mess that is ‘Neon Shark vs Pegasus’.
The record boasts a high-profile feature list, as collaborations on ‘Neon Shark vs Pegasus’ feel like exclusive guests to Redd’s very own nightmarish boy’s night in. Trippie and his friends dress-up as Satan-worshipping emo’s that have convinced themselves they have what it takes to hold their own after listening to one too many blink-182 records, without having the originality to support such a leap of faith. ‘PILL BREAKER’ is really this who’s who of genreless vagabonds, as Redd, Machine Gun Kelly, and blackbear blend into this shapeless Voltron of rockstar wannabes. The eye-roll-fest continues on ‘RED SKY’ where Trippie and Machine Gun Kelly vent to their hellish overload on this glorified nice guy anthem packed with toxicity and cringe.
When a handpicked selection of Redd’s merry band of misfits aren’t leaning on cheap cliches like a crutch, Trippie is being outshone by his more confident and adept contemporaries. It’s embarrassing how handily Chino Moreno of Deftones fame, outperforms Trippie on ‘GERONIMO’. Moreno’s contributions are easily some of the most emotionally heavy and gripping to land on the album, as Redd simply sits and watches from a distance, daydreaming of reaching the same level of vocal viscosity.
It’s important to note that no one involved leaves without a dirty conscious and tarnished reputation, but I can at least appreciate Travis Barker’s efforts to fulfill the quota of the LP. Barker consistently attempts to carry Redd over the finish line, even if his compositions tend to feel more like scant ideas he’s made through sheer boredom, rather than a creative drive. ‘WITHOUT YOU’ boasts one of Barker’s most lethal arrangements with its blistering percussion and attitude-filled guitars. ‘FEMALE SHARK’ is another instrumental highlight with its tight-knit drums and the buttery-smooth swagger of the guitar, it’s a much-needed change of pace that keeps the listen fresh and Barker on his feet. Barker is the puppetmaster who orchestrates the album’s shining moments, and the second he takes his foot off the pedal, things go downhill.
I’ve come to learn that every annual, or, depending on how attention deprived he feels, biannual, Trippie Redd release demands a hefty dose of skepticism. Admittedly, I didn’t head into ‘Neon Shark vs Pegasus’ expecting poetic scripture, but that doesn’t stop some of Redd’s worst lyricism to date from causing physical jerks. The worst offender is ‘MEGLADON’ which is portrayed as a devout love anthem, despite making my skin crawl. Trippie is a little too comfortable playing the role of a fiendish stalker, as his obsession borders kink status as he likens himself to a shark. By contrast, ‘SWIMMING’ isn’t nearly as gross, but remains infinitely drabber as it’s Redd’s most tedious inclusion. The bulk of the LP devolves into less sinister, yet offensively generic tales of love, and I can assure you, you’ve heard it all before, and better.
It’s not all bad. ‘Neon Shark vs Pegasus’ attempts to run before it can walk, so, naturally, when the crooner takes a step away from the glitz and glam of rock, and back into his comfort zone, Redd forks out the closest thing the LP has to highlights. Even if it’s one of the most incomplete songs, Trippie sounds infinitely more comfortable on the stripped back, ‘LEADERS’, than he does on the record’s more true-blue rock cuts. The relative success continues on, ‘DREAMER’. Without Barker’s orchestration, the track feels drab, but it’s another moment where Trippie strays from the wholehearted embrace of rock, as he condenses his best vocal attributes into a focused ballad. It breathes life into a performer that is constantly outshone by his counterpart, even if in the grand scheme of things, neither are essentials to the Trippie Redd catalog.
‘Neon Shark vs Pegasus’ shoots for the stars, and crash-lands mere moments after takeoff. It’s not as if there’s a gem waiting to be discovered beneath the haphazard foliage of the album, as it reads more like a first draft than a final edit. Trippie Redd’s problem is Travis Barker, Travis Barker’s problem is Trippie Redd, together, it’s a dysfunctional match made in hell. ‘Neon Shark vs Pegasus’ holds onto Barker’s instrumentals for dear life, knowing that if at any point it lets go, it’s already clear deficiencies would define it. At the very least, I can applaud Trippie for not making ‘Neon Shark vs Pegasus’ such an arduous and bloated listen, even if it feels like it lasts an eternity through its sheer monotony. ‘Neon Shark vs Pegasus’ certainly isn’t Redd’s worst record, but it might just be his most embarrassing.
Pegasus: Neon Shark vs Pegasus Presented By Travis Barker (Deluxe) – Trippie Redd, Travis Barker – 2/10
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