Young yet mighty was my impression of Trilly!'s latest EP, Awaken from Reincarnation. Hailing from Smyrna (right outside of Atlanta,) the 18 year old is nothing short of a poet. Many of his interludes, songs and verses reflect the pain of his youth - from loss of friends, suicide, lack of familial support for his dreams and the forging of his own path of success. Trilly! defines success for him as, "waking up everyday being able to do what I wanna do and change other people's lives."
Awake from Reincarnation is a very cohesive project without one skip. Trilly! is on his way of being a master at telling his story, thoughts, dreams, feelings and ambitions. A couple of my favorite tracks were, "Don't State" and "Doubt It." Both tracks highlight pain and trying to find footing/grounding in different ways and somewhat along similar topics.
"Don't Stare" serves as Trilly!'s critique of the supposed leadership figures for the youth. He points to different ironies in lyrics like, "parents wanna lie to me, teachers keep on doubting me, counselor think he counselin, thinkin gas as loud as me, pastor know everything like he born in B.C., everyone think I'm ignorant because I was born in the century, be little me…" It reminded me of Tupac's song "Ghetto Gospel," where he states, "we've left them a world that's cursed and it hurts." Trilly's lyrics represent the symptoms of the cursed world that has been left for the youth to deal with and part of the curse is not respecting and valuing the youth goals and dreams.
The track "Doubt It," points to the lack of familial supports with lyrics like, "fam fucks me over the most, trust NOBODY." Simultaneously, Trilly! provides lyrics of, "I'm just tryna get my mom right." These almost opposing lyrics made me reminisce on the similar relationship I had with my mother in my youth and still currently but also how the youth often have to put on for their parents. It's ironic because because the youth do this through their creative means that their families do not often support. Even when the parents or family aren't being supportive there's always an inkling of, "getting your moms right" - that's a lot of weight and worry to carry but is very much a reality for a majority of our youth.
Another interesting aspect of Awaken from Reincarnation is, "Wise Words from Lisa" and "More Wise Words from Lisa," where this Lisa character's voice and support is woven in thru the intro and interlude. Her voice and support represent the opposite of what Trilly! shows us/tells us within his other tracks. Although Trilly! seems to be yearning for his mother's support of his dreams, Lisa seems to be that figure delivering that support and love.
I'm excited for what Trilly! does and how he continues to enhance and elevate with his craft. He is a definite underground Atlanta gem moving in the undercurrents similar to his predecessors like JID and Grip. Tap in!
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0ZkliB7XBUC62k8qDsEC7O?si=uHL_JobjQSW6bw2RPzw3vQ Apple: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/awaken-from-reincarnation/1474113121?uo=4&app=music SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/ohwowtrill/sets/awaken-from-reincarnation