Fat Trel
Washington, D.C., Washington, D.C., United States | INDIE
Music
Press
What did rapper Fat Trel do on the day that his mixtape, No Secrets, was released?
“I woke up, took a shower, brushed my teeth, got my smoke on and all that, played a little Madden…” He didn’t really look online to see what people were saying about No Secrets until later in the day, at which time he saw “a lot of people going crazy — and also a lot of hatred.”
Still, despite any hate he may have come across, Trel was in a good mood on Tuesday night, while hanging out with Wale and the rest of the Board. His "life of the party" attitude is one of the inspirations for the track "Trel Got em Laughing," which is on the new project. And then, of course, the creation of the track has a little something to do with the fact that Lil Wayne uttered the sentence "Trel got em laughing" on his 2009 mixtape, No Ceilings.
"As soon as I heard it, I was like, 'Oh, we gotta sample that,'" says Trel. "Some people may think he's talking about me and some will know he not — I don't care. We did it because 1) It's Lil Wayne, and 2) It's hot, and I trusted my Basshedz [production crew] were gonna kill it."
I met up with Trel last night, when he very generously took time out from looking at models and celebrating to talk to me about his favorite tracks on No Secrets.
"Champagne Wishes": Trel says the track, which makes mention of riding and underage driving, lets people know that he can hold his own behind the wheel. "Coming up in certain parts of the city, I started driving when I was 11, 12 years old. And they were UUVs, unauthorized use of a vehicle. Now I'm in a place in my life that I never have to drive, so people think I can’t drive, but I’ve been driving before my mother had a car. And [the track] is related to one of the greatest movies ever made, New Jersey Drive.
"Fame & Fortune," feat. Jay Hayden: "People don't understand how I think, why I rap how I rap, this is all new to me. It was always a dream, but I never pursued it — I was young. Now people say, 'You're on a good road," but everything is new to me.
"Just My Kinda Girl": "The lyrics are really explaining what kind of girl suits me. I'm not making a 'girl song,' I'm not doing it how everybody else is doing it. When girls meet a certain singer, they’re like, 'He don’t act like how he sings.' If you listen to my girl song, that’s how I-ma treat you. And the beat is bananas." - Channel 7 & 8 News (tbd.com)
I keep waiting for an album or mixtape from a DMV artist that i can slam. ‘No Secrets’, the latest effort from Fat Trell dropped on August 31st, 2010 with three other prominent local artists and it (like the other three aforementioned projects) is not that album.
When i first put it on, the beat that dropped for the title track courtesy of Vybe Beats sounded like a dirty south street anthem with sirens in the background and a pulsating flanged synth; it was the perfect way to spark the audiological herb.The two things that will pretty much guarantee you a hot project are hot beats and good delivery. No Secrets gives you both. Fat Trel is versatile showing off his dirty south flow on ‘Trappin like a fool’, a track done by Josey Wales. But then gave you an east coast flow that would make BIG and Nas proud on the next track done by the Basshedz ‘Deep Thoughts’. The other impressive thing to me about this album is that it’s radio friendly single heavy, after some light editing of course. ‘Freak a Melody’ feat. Wale, ‘Fame and Fortune’ feat. Jay Hayden, ‘Trel Got ‘em Laughin’ feat. Black Cobain, ‘Patron in My Cup’ feat. Meatchi, and ‘You Don’t Know Me’ prod. by B. Marz all stand out on this project. Four of the five beats mentioned were produced by the Basshedz. The chemistry behind their tracks and Trel’s flow is great. The Board Administration has definitely found something special in that collaborative effort.
Truthfully I’d never heard of Trel prior to this project. He’s got a new fan. This project is already on rotation in my ipod. I think that says it all. - The Washington Examiner
RAtheMC and Fat Trel were two of four local rappers to release new mixtapes today.
By David Malitz
Clear out some room on your iPod because local rappers have decided that Aug. 31 is the day to inundate you with new tunes. Four local MCs have released new mixtapes today. All are linked below.
RAtheMC - "Heart of a Champion"
Kingpen Slim - "The Beam Up 2"
Black Cobain - "Now"
Fat Trel - "No Secrets"
By David Malitz | August 31, 2010; 4:00 PM ET - The Washington Post
Discography
Fat Trel: No Secrets (2010)
1. No Secrets
2. Trapping Like a Fool
3. Deep Thought
4. Cold Blood
5. Freak a Melody (Featuring Wale)
6. Cremate Em
7. Just My Kind Girl
8. U Playing
9. Fame & Fortune Featuring
10. Trel Got Em Laughing
11. Patron in My Cup (Featuring Meatchi)
12. Making G's
13. Champagne Wishes
14. Everybody Laughing
15. U Don't Know Me
16. Throw it Up (Featuring Raheem Devaughn)
Photos
Bio
Martrel Fat Trel Reeves was a child far more ambitious and cognizant of his surroundings than the norm. At age seven, he professed ambitions to be a rapper, while peers delivered the proverbial I have a Dream Speech about aspirations to be nurses, doctors, lawyers, and fire fighters. As peers sat excited by the endless possibilities of the future, Fat Trel sat perplexed by the harsh realities of DC; the placed he called home.
Fat Trel exited high school at age 15, caught up in the lure and necessity of street life; a road more traveled when the have-nots impose an immediate call to action. Unconvinced high school education would support his family or cultivate his ambitions, Fat Trel hit the ground running in pursuit of achieving the only dream hes ever known...to be an emcee and has not stopped running since.
Since signing with The Board Administration (2010), Fat Trel has further nurtured his organic rapping and storytelling ability and graced audiences from DC to LA with creative word play and pulverizing flow.
Fat Trels flow is raw and uncut, some would say as graphic and grimy as the streets of DC, but both memorable and captivating nonetheless. He holds no punches and tells each story with such relativity they appear verbatim, in a matter of fact nature, that illustrates he is genuinely home grown and not caught up in the idea of being from the streets.
Fat Trel is no stranger to adversity and sees every opportunity onstage as an opportunity to educate people with an infectious rap delivery that has universal appeal. Fat Trels infectious movement continues to build fan bases from the United States to places as far as London because his education and mastery of the school of the hard knocks is simply incredible and like no other.
While hes only 19, Trels messages demonstrate wisdom, street smarts, and know how far beyond his age. This coupled with his unparalleled ambition, rap by any means necessary approach and The Board Administrations No Days Off work ethic will inevitably turn Fat Trels childhood ambitions into a reality and solidify him as a household name.
Trels upcoming mixtape, No Secrets scheduled for August 31, 2010 release features Board Administration label mates Black Cobain and Ms. Sasha and features from Raheem Devaughn, and Wale.
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