WVCC Reviews TRPL-Z: BAD THOUGHTS 2019
“Now..How can I proceed to weave this web of lies like apple pies in AmeriKKKana?”
TRPL-Z – AmeriKKKana
With these words Miami Artist TRPL-Z drags you by the neck into the Industrial Garbage Container which is his mind. It’s in this tagged up receptacle that he paints pieces of poetry that pollute your thinking while cleansing the soul. The dreaded microphone murker known to his Family and Friends as Zack attacks your ears with a voice which sounds like shattered glass in a dirty South Beach alley. But just like when the Florida sun hits those broken pieces of glass in the right way, his vocal tones have a way of shining, that make what most would discard as jagged and dangerous into a device he uses to design murals of gritty beauty. It’s elegant irony how this brother who may strike many as a Beach Bum upon first meeting, has composed an album that is so good, and decided to call it BAD THOUGHTS.
I’ve mentioned in past blogs how I was first introduced to Z by way of local MC’s recommending his music to us for the #WVCC #CyphLyfeRadio Shows. Since the referrals came from spitters I respect in the scene, I pressed play with anticipation, looking forward to hearing a new Miami Hip Hop Artist that was getting the respect of our peers. I wasn’t disappointed one bit as I played his video for “VICE CITY”, a single produced by Colombian Beatsmith THE EQUATION BEATS.
The BoomBap sound and fact he was repping Vice City in the track automatically had my attention ( I mean, we are VICE CITY CYPHER). Above all that…the brother could spit, and had his own unique style and voice. In the weeks that followed I reached out to Z and asked him to bless us with some more vids which he had on deck and ready to share, and we started getting some great feedback from our listeners. With all that said, I wasn’t ready for what I witnessed the first time I met the man in person.
I’m walking up to a Cypher of about 15 MC’s at Arts Park in Young Circle, Hollywood. A gathering we hold every 3rd Monday of the month called #CipherIntheCircle. As I step in I hear this rugged voice that sounds like sledding on a pane of glass down a hill of gravel. I turn and see this hispanic dude, with long locks that look like they haven’t been washed in ages, going berzerker over a beat. The ease with which he freestyled was evidence this was no “New Jack” to the game. It wasn’t until the end of the Cypher that I finally added 1 + 1 and realized this is the artist I had been playing on our show every week ( He looked much smaller on my PC Monitor). I introduced myself, dapped him up and exchanged contact info so we could build in the future. To say he made an impression on me in that circle is an understatement.
The following week, the homie blessed #WVCC with an exclusive joint to premier on our #NewBlazeTuesdays Show. A Spanish / English Banger called LA TISA feat. Latin Spitters DOBLE 9, RAUDEL ESQUADRON, & South Florida shooter CHOCO VALENS. While I was bumping the track I started scrolling the suggested songs that Youtube slaps on the side of the screen and saw that Z had recently dropped an Album that was barely touched by views. Being the curious cat that I am, I pressed play on BAD THOUGHTS 2019, and have bumped it at least once a week ever since. I was pissed that another great album had been released in the South Florida Hip Hop scene and gone grossly overlooked. I was determined to shine some more light on it. Hence this article….
I wanted to do whatever we could as an Underground Hip Hop platform to shine light on this artist and his music so I hollard at the homie and we ran a quick interview.
WVCC – Whats good Z….Tell our listeners where you from homie.
TRPL-Z – Born and raised in Miami FL to Cuban parents.
WVCC – Oh Shit…after seeing the Vice City Video I thought you were Colombian B. lol. So lets get the typical interview question out the way….How long you been spitting and what got you started in the craft?
TRPL-Z – Although I was an avid hip hop fan since as early as i can remember I would write poetry since a very young age, probably 12 or 13 years old. At 19 I started writing my first rhymes with my close friend Hog Pullock. We performed once and i forgot everything i had written so Hog saved my ass by free styling for a whole 20 minute set lol, i still appreciate that and thankfully through practice it never happened again.
WVCC – I’ve been bumping your album for past couple of weeks bro. Mind sharing the Inspiration behind BAD THOUGHTS?
TRPL-Z – The inspiration for Bad Thoughts came from a bunch of different places in my life, I wanted to portray myself as honest as i could with every song on the album. Feelings ranging from joy, to sadness, anger, and especially laughter. I feel that many people create these images of bravado and unrealistic measures of themselves in their music in order to appeal to the masses or make themselves out to be something that they are not and i did not want to do that with this album. I wanted it to be as rough and funky as possible, strictly boom bap and put as much of myself into a piece of music as I could.
WVCC – Being an MC from Miami, I’m sure I don’t have to point out that Boom Bap is not the prevalent sound out here. The beats on this joint are fucking Ill tho. Who took care of the production on the project?
TRPL-Z – Most of the album was produced by my good friend Gribble of SpitShine Productions at his place in little Haiti, where we recorded Amerikkana. The rest of the album I recorded myself at home, I added 3 songs that were produced by my Chilean homies SmallVillain and Jazz Desko, and that rounded out the project nicely.
WVCC – I see Black Hvnd Records on all your videos…put us on. Who is Black Hvnd Records?
TRPL-Z – Blak Hand Records started as a means to showcase underground music in Miami, from Punk to Hip Hop. I had the vision for it to be all inclusive, free of judgment and pretentiousness, a place for Alternative content, no matter what the outlet. In the fall of 2018 me and Hog Pullock began interviewing musicians and poets that caught my attention but we quickly learned that we didn’t really have as much interest in interviews as we did with making music. So we teamed up with Miami Native and high school friend of mine Br00tal to release what would be the first album released on our now newly formed Independent Label Blak Hvnd Records, entitled Blak Lawdz. After the album Hog and Br00tal broke off to work on their own projects under another label. Although it has been a setback, my vision for Blak Hvnd records remains the same, an all inclusive outlet for alternative music. We are currently working on a variety of projects including a mixtape featuring producers and MCs from Miami and beyond the borders of the continental US and my next solo album that is being produced by SmallVillain.
Needless to say, this dude is impressive with his skills on the mic, work ethic and vision for his music career and the local Hip Hop Scene. If you haven’t seen him rocking the Mic live yet, we are proud to announce he’s on the bill to rock at #SaturdayMicLive@Catalyst on December 14th. He’s been busy rocking all over the city in the past year and we are amped to see him bless the Catalyst stage for the first time. His track FOUR LAYERS off the BAD THOUGHTS project displays his love and respect for the Graffiti Art Scene of Miami. I think he’s going to fit right in at Catalyst.
Weather its at Saturday Mic Live, Cipher In The Circle or any other venue or medium, you definitely got to take some time to check out TRPL-Z for yourself if you are fan and follower of this culture, and consider yourself a supporter of South Florida Art in all its facets. The Album BAD THOUGHTS 2019 is a quick 25 Min ride of Gritty Lyrical Insanity. Think Hip Hop meets Hunter Thompson and His Attorney on the ride to Las Vegas through “Bat Country”. The album starts with a dope baseline and Audio Samples that give me MadVillian vibes. Thus starts a hail storm of crack rocks being thrown back at the unjust American “Justice System”, Crooked Cops, and our Federal Government who has been living with their Heads up their ass since the beginning of the millennium. He says “I follow Huey, but not the News” which I took as a call to all who are revolutionary minded to listen up and follow suite. You got my undivided attention now homie.
He follows up with a great mix of sounds, vibes and emotions. From rapping about Parking Lot Loitering before a show, Male vs Female Debauchery, Cheating ass skeezers and Homeboys who break guy code, and the sacred Art of Bombing, TRPL Z offers a great variety of topics to capture a huge swath of fans and displays a serious mastery of street vernacular which should get the respect of any rhyme addict.
We at #WVCC #CyphLyfeRadio happily bump this MC’s music and are looking forward to anything this brother drops out of his laer of Bad Thoughts.
For more new music, Tune In to #WVCC #CyphLyfeRadio on our Face Book Page @Vice City Cypher Tuesday and Thurdays from 9 – 11pm or follow me @Rudy Barro.
