by Christian Thorsberg
As the up-and-coming Chicago rapper prepares to release his first full-length mixtape, I talked to 20 year-old Trey Harris – better known as KingTrey – about his successes, influences, music, and creative practice. The product of seven months of messaging and music listening, in addition to an in-depth January 2020 interview, this account of KingTrey’s journey is the second of a three part series.
“He taught me everything and he doesn’t even know it.”
If you weren’t a hip-hop-loving Chicago kid growing up in the early 2010s, it’s impossible to articulate the distinct influence of local rap on this era of public school culture, individual style, and music taste – the movers and shakers of this period being, largely, Chief Keef and Chance the Rapper.
Despite their sounds serving as each other’s antithesis on the spectrum of rap – a la “I just might share my next one with Keef / got the industry in disbelief they be asking for beef” – their hometown ties made for undeniable relatability and passionate fanbases. But as Chief Keef found mainstream stardom well before Chance, early allegiance to Lil Chano represented a more indie, eclectic taste of rap. As a budding musician with a lot to say, a young KingTrey found himself in this camp.
“When I was in 8th grade, everyone was listening to Chief Keef, ‘I Don’t Like’ and ‘Love Sosa’, and I was listening to ‘Juice’ and they were like ‘you’re weird,’ Trey says. “When people didn’t know about Chance like that, I was faithfully listening to him.”
But Trey did more than just listen – he studied. Watching interviews, analyzing crowdwork, dissecting vocal patterns, Trey emulated Chance all the way down to his idiosyncrasies.
“I literally studied the way he held the microphone in his hand,” says Trey. “He looks like he holds a microphone a good way, and I want to hold it like that too.”
Listening back to older KingTrey songs, one can quickly hear the role Chance played in
influencing and inspiring his sonics and delivery. On The Good Word and Crossroads, tracks like “Hillsong Intro,” “Those Days (Interlude),” and “My Time (Interlude)” appear cut from the cloth of the 10 Day mixtape, confessions of self-discovery narratives over soft, dreamlike ambiance.
“When you listen to the old stuff, you’ll recognize, ‘yeah Chance would’ve probably sung that,’” Trey admits.
But when it comes to cadence and delivery, I would argue that KingTrey emulates a different Bennett family artist: Taylor, Chance’s younger brother. His forefront placement of energetic lyrics; the swift nimbleness of his pace-switching; the wispy sung choruses over soothing, consistent beats – all make tracks like “Shining” and “Odds” incredibly Broad Shoulders-esque.
As a writer who’s list of hot takes includes the following – Broad Shoulders is the most emotional project to come out of the Bennett family – consider this comparison high praise.
The Mixtape: What We Know
Trey is all about maturation, and he speaks confidently on the topic. Rest assured, he explains, he’s come a long way since The Good Word, since Crossroads, since even Germany. On this project, experimentation and new sounds will be embraced, and love and singing will be explored. This is all the result of a more focused initiative on immersive soundscapes and attention to rich sonic atmospheres.
“I’ve always put lyrics above everything,” says Trey. “I wanted to get my message across. On this tape, I’m more focused on sound and wanting things to sound better.”
To achieve this, Trey’s creative process assumed a precise routine. Working carefully with his team and engineer, the relationship between beat and vocals was tinkered and managed until hitting just right. Formally a proponent of one-take recording sessions, Trey again channeled Chance to use his voice more as an instrument, scrutinizing multiple takes while pushing himself for perfection and adaptive creativity.
“Even if I did a take exactly right, I’d say, ‘It doesn’t sound how I want it to sound,’” Trey explains. “I try to do more things with my voice than I’ve ever done. I don’t sound amazing when I sing, but I can definitely use whatever voice I have to make it sound as good as it can be. I can focus on how I sing.”
We can look to KingTrey’s latest release, “Roadmap,” as a potential foreshadowing of sounds to come. In a Kid Cudi-esque atmosphere of distorted synth and brass, Trey alternates between singing and rapping, clearly molding his voice to curate a reflective mood. It’s mellow, it’s emotional, and it hits differently than anything he’s ever put out. If this is 2020 KingTrey, count me in.
But in addition to sound, the mixtape also pushes previous boundaries by featuring bigger artists, both local talents and creatives from markets across the nation. While he is still hesitant to name names, for Trey, having the sway and recognition to catalyze such collaborations may very well be the most personal and rewarding sign of growth.
“There’s a feature from a guy who I Facebook messaged in 2015,” Trey says. “I sent him an old song I made when I was a sophomore, trying to get a listen. At the time, this guy had a song with Chance that I was in love with. The fact that he’s on my tape now, I still haven’t even been able to grasp what I just did.”
This One’s Personal
On Germany’s final track, “Mixed Signals / Love Me,” Trey opens his heart to the listener, transparently rapping: “How am I supposed to love you / I still don’t know how to love me.”
When I ask Trey what this upcoming mixtape means to him, his thoughtful responses give way to bashful bliss. For an artist who was always message-first, words seem to fail him. It becomes clear that this project is bigger than the careful social media strategies he employs – this is about the music and journey, above all else.
“If no one listens to this mixtape at all, I won’t even be mad. It’ll just be for me. I love it a lot,” Trey says.
Of course, streams would be ideal and are surely anticipated – Trey refuses to get caught up in emotions for too long. In classic KingTrey fashion, with the tape nearly mixed and mastered, the next move is marketing its release.
“I don’t think I’ve even fully realized what I’ve just done with this tape,” Trey tells me. “I still have my head down and I’m working. I’m still trying to think about marketing, the final mastering session, the mixtape release show. My head is still down.”
As we await the official announcement of its release date, KingTrey is poised to make 2020 his biggest year yet. Despite his withholding of any potential spoilers, our talks always led back to one crucial thesis he wasn’t afraid to share:
“This mixtape will be better than any of my other works, ever.”
In the court of KingTrey, this may very well be his crowning achievement. We can only hope his mixtape includes invites to the coronation.
(photos courtesy of KingTrey)
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