Review 4: Trae tha Truth - 48 Hours Later (2018)

Rating: 8.1/10

Chopped and Screwed version by DJ Tramaine 

(Please see here for my introductory guide to Chopped and Screwed Music!)

I've known for a while that I'd been reviewing a record from someone part of or affiliated with the Screwed Up Click, but I've approached it with some trepidation. For one thing, whilst Trap music from Atlanta is well known and is thoroughly engrained into modern musical discussions, even if it is looked down upon in some circles, the Houstonian hip-hop tradition is much less known or appreciated outside of rap circles (besides global superstars like Travis Scott and Megan Thee Stallion), despite exerting a huge influence on global music today. As such, I wanted to give a basic introduction to the Chopped and Screwed genre to introduce my writing in this area, as well as provide a helpful entryway to someone interested in listening to the genre.

Trae tha Truth is a long established Houston artist; He began his career in 1998 as part of the Screwed Up Click. Trae contributed to the Houston rap scene greatly in the 2000s, perhaps most notably in his duo with fellow Houston rapper Z-Ro, called Assholes by Nature (ABN). But in 2009, a radio personality suggested he was responsible for a shooting at a major Houston event via his lyrics, and in the fallout he was more-or-less ostracised by the Houston music industry. He then signed to T.I's label Grand Hustle Records in 2013 (based in Atlanta). 

Trae tha Truth's 48 Hours Later is the third of four in the series of mixtapes, preceded by 48 Hours (2011), Another 48 Hours (2016) and succeeded by 48 Hours After (2021). They're named thusly due to each being rapped within just 48 hours, which is an incredible feat of endurance and skill. The original 48 Hours kept a gritty beat profile, not dissimilar to Bun B's solo output (they also have similarly deep voices) in Trill (2005) and II Trill (2008). But by the time of Another 48 Hours, Trae had adapted his beat selections to post-DS2 Trap which has come to dominate, in long 808s, more minor (as in sad sounding), simplistic, dark, and spacious beats. By 48 Hours Later, he and his producers (mostly Moxiii) perfected this formula even further. Furthermore, Trae's deep voice – one of the deepest in the genre, perhaps most similar to Pop Smoke and Jeezy – lends a natural gravitas to his voice, allowing him to sound menacing with ease. The combination of his deep vocals, the post 2015 trap sound, and elements of his Chopped and Screwed roots is an instant recipe for success. 

I see this mixtape series is effectively a tribute to the Chopped and Screwed subculture and tradition. In 48 Hours Later, this is most obviously shown in the samples from other members of the Screwed Up Click: he samples Fat Pat and Big Pokey from a Screwed Up Click concert on 'Friends' and 'Imma Get Dine' - from their last concert before Fat Pat's 1998 murder. In fact, on all of the songs, there is a sample like this, almost all on the choruses. They're also slowed, which makes a nice contrast to his fast paced rapping. It's a featureless album, and so the samples help to break up the songs and gives him some structure to work around. On his lyrics, there's quite a range of topics: his journey to success, attacking haters and asserting his status and hustle, and tributes to DJ Screw and Trae's affiliates who have passed away. The aforementioned samples are a tribute in themselves: for example, the final song, 'Barre' samples Big Moe on a DJ Screw Tape, and Big Moe passed away in 2007, and Trae largely. 

Remember that Trae actually knew and worked with these artists who have passed away and he is tributing - whether in his lyrics or via their samples, which adds additional keenness and sadness to the tribute, particularly in 'Barre', which is largely devoted to the passed away members of the Screwed Up Click. The second half of this song has his only singing on the mixtape, singing about how he's still representing them. As for attacking his haters, Trae's unrelenting and ominous flow – in conjunction with the beats – is such that you look forward to his next bar, like the mesmerising verses on 'Imma Get Dine', when the beat sounds a little like a haunted house (think Luigi's Mansion).

But don't mistake it: the mixtape isn't characterised by pure aggression whatsoever: as such it isn't a surprise when on the penultimate song, 'Fo I Die', takes a more sensitive turn when Trae raps about fatherhood. He raps about his son and daughter (unborn at the time of recording, per the lyrics) and how they motivate him, and how he wants to support them. Again, he uses a sample is used: from a Fat Pat and Lil' Keke freestyle. 'Fo I Die' is perhaps of particular note due to said daughter being abducted by her mother for several months in 2024-5: she is now safely home with Trae.

Whilst there's no officially sanctioned Chopped and Slowed version of 48 Hours Later, I have found one by DJ Tramaine. His style opts for keeping the same order of the songs, and he keeps the songs as distinct: they don't bleed into each other at all. His DJ vocals don't add much, just saying his DJ name at the beginning of some of the songs. His style works well! He's quite conservative with his chopping: he doesn't repeat very many lines or phrases, and often limits it to a single word. It could have been an option to be more aggressive with his chopping, on more notable lines, but I think this is in keeping with his more approach which holds back on making wide-scale changes to the project, which I think works well. Whilst it's slowed down of course, it isn't slowed down too much, which was definitely the right choice: if it was slowed down much more, the samples in the choruses – which are already slowed in the original mixtape – would just be too slow. And if he had slowed these choruses down less or not at all, their effect likely would have been lost. I won't include my consideration of any Chopped and Slowed version in my rating, as its quality heavily depends on the individual DJ, but in this case I recommend the DJ Tramaine version strongly.

Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of this project for me is the dichotomy between the two version: listen to the original mixtape, and you get a medium-high tempo grindset music for most of the project – workout music at its very best. But listen to the Chopped and Slowed version, and you get a much slower, late night drive or chill session music. The Chopped and Slowed edition doesn't so much as enhance the original, but rather, it transforms it into a different beast, which is just as enjoyable as the original. It really is like two mixtapes in one.

Overall, it's a very strong mixtape. The spacious, moody beats give Trae plenty of room to do his thing, and his voice has great synergy with the beats. In my opinion, this marks the pinnacle of his mid-late 2010s projects: I really do think that he's at his best when working with post-DS2 Trap. There aren't features overcrowding the project, the mixtape doesn't overstay it's welcome, and it has a consistent sound and focus throughout: he's still holding it down for the Click, representing Houston and the culture, and showing impressive adaptability into modern trap.