Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images for Coachella
From shouting out Marilyn Manson to naming Nirvana and Kiss as inspirations, Trippie Redd has always been inspired by rock music. On “How You Feel,” a guitar-heavy ballad from his debut album Life’s a Trip, the Ohio-born MC samples Eddie Money’s 1977 hit “Baby Hold On.”
Trippie’s hook-heavy track features no percussion and particularly bold, expressive singing. The lyrics could be interpreted to be about a love interest or Redd’s older brother, who died in 2014. He sings:
If you were here, be so proud
All my thoughts are so piled
I guess I wanna know how, how you feel
Yeah, how you feel, yeah
I’m tryna pour my heart out
How the fuck I’m ‘posed to sound?
I guess I’m tryna know how you feel
Redd discusses his brother’s death and lingering impact on “Oomp’s Revenge,” another track off Life’s a Trip. He initially teased “How You Feel” on April 9 via Instagram, playing a snippet of the cut.
“Baby Hold On” was the first hit of Money’s career, which has lasted four decades and includes memorable songs like “Take Me Home Tonight,” “Walk on Water,” and “Think I’m in Love.”
Money hasn’t been sampled by many rappers, though French Montana did flip “Take Me Home” for his track “Tunnel Vision,” while Freeway used “Life for the Taking” on his track “Life.”
Read all the lyrics to “How You Feel” and the rest of Trippie Redd’s discography on Genius now.
