This album was released on November 12th last year. T.R.3 is an artist I’ve covered a few times on this blog before. The last project I heard from him was his Triangles album, which was pretty great. My favorite release from him so far is definitely his GRIEF extended play, which is kinda why I’m excited to check out this latest project. According to him this is easily his most vulnerable piece of work to date, and that’s what I loved about GRIEF so much. I think I’m gonna really dig this project. Hopefully it doesn’t let me down. I’ll be pretty surprised if I don’t end up liking at least a handful of the tracks here.
The album begins with How Ya Been?, which features production and vocals from Ariano. The beat is really pretty, and the singing from Ariano sounds really good. This actually reminded me a lot of something Kendrick Lamar would’ve made around 2012 sonically. The actual verse from T.R.3 is really good. I mean, the subject matter isn’t really something that I would normally be super interested in, but I think it’s really well done here.
You got me wrapped around your finger, lookin' deep inside your eyes
The warning signs, they screaming "danger," how the fuck I get entangled?
Gettin' mangled by your thighs, by no surprise I cannot breathe
If you take my soul, can you babysit these casualties?
I think this is a really nice intro. The production is soft and melodic, and the vocals are pretty sweet. The verse itself from T.R.3 is pretty enjoyable too. The song is pretty good. It’s followed by Weightless, which features production from 8een and a verse from Naomi the Goddess.
The beat kinda sounds like the type of thing KAYTRANADA or Elaquent would make. This song definitely has Tyler the Creator & Kali Uchis vibes to me. I don’t think T.R.3’s vocals on the hook sound amazing or anything, but they’re definitely sufficient to me. I think he sounds better singing than Tyler does. The verse from Naomi the Goddess sounds pretty good, especially when she starts spitting with a more melodic delivery towards the end of her performance. Her flow was nice. I fuck with this track overall. There’s not really anything about it that stands out in a bad way. It’s pretty good. Track 3 is called All or Nothing, and it has another feature from Ariano. The melodic, guitar-driven production is actually pretty fantastic. I think this instrumental sounds gorgeous. T.R.3’s vocals on the hook actually sound pretty great too. His flow is also really nice on the first verse. This shit is catchy as hell honestly. Ariano sounds good as fuck singing on the bridge, and the way T.R.3 comes in right behind him is awesome. There was a questionable anti-vax line, but other than that I really fuck with this song. I think this track is dope as hell. The next track is called I Know, and it’s produced by Ariano. This is one of the tracks on this album that I don’t really see myself returning to. Nothing about it stands out in a particularly bad way, but it’s just not a very exciting listen to me. The beat is very polished and well-crafted, but it’s just not really that interesting. The sung hook on this track is fine. The melody is decent, and the vocals themselves don’t sound bad at all. It’s just not really anything special to me. Same goes for the actual rapping.
Mix the shrooms with the tea
Findin' balance in my vices, make it hard to believe
That sittin' still will bring me peace
If I learn to decline any offer 'cause what's meant for me
Is already mine, no superstition, I'm itchin' to love you more
If I scratch it then I'ma bleed
If time don't heal the trauma, then baby you gotta leave
I mean, I think the lyrics are kinda cool, but the flow feels a little dry, and same goes for the vocal delivery. I think it’s a fine song; it’s just not something I’m gonna be listening to again in the future. The following track is entitled 2 Good 4 This World, and it features two artists named Coley Xavier & Moody. Since I’m not really familiar with either of those artists, I don’t know which parts of the songs are performed by them. I really enjoyed everything about this track though. The production from Jango is really nice, and the vocals on the hook from T.R.3 sound pretty good to me. I don’t know if that’s Moody or Coley Xavier singing on the first verse, but they did a good job.
Cloud boy don't wanna be on this Earth
Rather be high, sit and observe
No adjectives, adverbs, no words
Can describe how bad I wanna fly away
Drift off to another place
Outer space might not even have enough space for me either
Whoever that was rapping on the second verse did a really great job too. His flow was smooth as hell. This is definitely one of the better songs on the album to me. I think it’s really dope. The following track is called Peace Be Still, and I’m kinda torn on this one. I think the production from Elavy is fine, and the singing is okay, but it’s really just the rapping that I like. That’s the only aspect of the song that really stands out in a good way to me, and it’s mostly because of his flow and aggressive delivery. The rest of the song is a bit too mellow for me. It’s a really slow track. It’s just kinda boring until the rapping starts. I don’t think it’s a bad song at all, but it’s just not something that I’m ever gonna wanna listen to again. The next track is called Makaveli, and it features an artist named 7EEN.
My favorite aspect of this song is definitely the production from Angeloimani. It’s not as lowkey as some of the other instrumentals on this album. I mean, it’s still pretty mellow and melodic, but it sounds heavier than the other beats. The hook on this track is actually catchy as hell to me too. I don’t think T.R.3’s vocals on the first verse sound particularly great, but they’re sufficient. The verse from 7EEN is pretty solid too. I mean, it’s definitely not gonna stop anyone in their tracks, but it gets the job done. I probably would’ve preferred a rapped verse from T.R.3 himself, but 7EEN did a decent job. Overall, I think this song is really dope. The production is great and the hook is catchy as hell. Track 8 is called Pink Rose Interlude. It’s longer than about half the songs on the album despite being labeled as an interlude. The guitar-driven production from StoneSoWavy is really sweet sounding, and same goes for the vocals from T.R.3. This is actually one of the better songs on the album in my opinion. After hearing it I understood why it was labeled as an interlude though. There’s no rapping on this song; T.R.3 spends most of the song riffing with some high pitched vocals. I understand why some listeners might find this track boring, but personally I like it. It kinda reminds me of Andre 3000’s Prototype, albeit with less impressive vocals. It’s a dope song though. I fuck with it. It’s followed by Love Language, which is produced by Ariano.
This song has a pretty awesome, layered beat featuring multiple instruments. I think I would’ve enjoyed this song more if T.R.3 performed it in a lower vocal register, but I still find it entertaining as it is. The melody sounds pretty good over this beat. This is gonna sound like an insult, but I don’t necessarily mean it in a bad way; his vocals reminded me of Elmo on this song. I mean, I guess that’s not a good thing, but it’s not something that bothered me personally. This isn’t really one of my favorite tracks on the album, but I definitely enjoyed it overall. I think it’s pretty good. Track 10 is called Instant Gram, and it’s produced by JayRewind. I don’t really care for this track. It’s not bad at all. I just don’t really get much enjoyment out of it. The production is very mellow, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I just don’t feel like T.R.3 brought the right amount of energy to it to make it interesting. Nothing about this song stands out to me in a good way. I wasn’t really feelin’ the rap verse towards the end of the track. His flow sounded a little awkward. I also could’ve done without that reference to the outdated Lil Wayne line that has an F bomb in it. This might be my least favorite song on the album. I don’t know. I haven’t chosen a favorite and least favorite track yet. I really did not enjoy this one at all though. I think it’s pretty mediocre. It’s followed by Second Chance, which features an artist named Youni Soul.
The production from Yogic Beats is really nice. I’d actually heard this song before checking out the full album. The hook sounded really familiar when I played this project, and then I remembered that this was released with a music video on YouTube like half a year ago. Anyway, I fuck with this track. I like how T.R.3 performed this song in a more natural sounding vocal register. The hook is really good. This song is definitely going in my happy playlist. It’s a really cheerful sounding song, which I appreciate. It sounds like something that would play as the credits roll after a huge, dramatic event. This is how I felt after I got out the hospital in 2021.
I think I got a second chance at life
I honestly love this song. The feature from Youni Soul is very good. His melodic flow sounds really great. There’s really nothing that I don’t like about this song. I think it’s dope as fuck. The penultimate track is called Reign Man, and it’s produced by StoneSoWavy. I think this song is just okay. I’m just not really crazy about T.R.3’s vocals on this track. It’s not that they’re bad or anything. They just don’t stand out as being particularly great. I also just don’t find the melody that enjoyable. Nothing about this song stands out in a bad way—the production is actually pretty good. I just don’t see myself ever having the desire to play this song again. It’s decent overall though. The closing song is entitled Roots, and it’s produced by Ariano. I think the instrumental is pretty great. The primary guitar loop sounds really good. The sung hook is pretty solid, and same goes for the opening verse.
Made in your design, told you I'ma shine
Ain't nobody got a little light like mine
Baby, I been rollin', rollin', rollin', blowin' time
Baby, I been rollin', gettin' high, I'm so divine
I actually like the singing on the second verse. The way the instrumental kinda switches up for this part of the song is really nice. I think this is a pretty cool way to close the album. It’s a good song.
This is a good album. There were a handful of songs that I won’t be returning to, but none of them were flat out bad. The only moments that stood out as being especially lame were the anti-vax bar and the F bomb, but other than that this is a pretty innocuous listen. I appreciate how a lot of T.R.3’s projects are performed in completely different styles. This doesn’t really sound like any of the other projects I’ve reviewed from him. This is much more R&B-adjacent. The beats are really soft and mellow, and T.R.3 is singing a lot on most of these songs. He’s not gonna blow anyone away with his vocals, but they’re pretty sufficient for the most part. Lyrically, I wasn’t super interested in what was happening on this project, but sonically I found it to be pretty enjoyable. If you’re a fan of T.R.3 I think you should be satisfied with this release. Unless you’re just really not a fan of his singing, which I guess would be somewhat understandable. I personally enjoyed it though. I think this shit is dope.
Favorite Song: Second Chance
Least Favorite Song: Instant Gram
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