Rising urban contemporary artist Ella Mai follows up her brilliant, breakout single “Boo’d Up” with another surefire bop, “Trip.” Upward trajectory indeed.

Who’s got next in urban contemporary music? That would be Ella Mai who ‘blew up’ in 2018 with her single, “Boo’d Up”. Amazingly, “Boo’d Up” was actually released in 2017.  But, why should she care when the single took off? It took off is the important thing. Her latest single, “Trip” should take off as well. If it doesn’t, it’s a travesty. This is contemporary R&B at its finest.

“Trip” commences with a beautiful, piano-driven introduction. The piano remains throughout the course of the song, something that can be underrated in modern R&B.  Peeps – don’t forget about the “ivories!” Moving on, Ella Mai has a stunning voice.  Her tone is distinct, and her vocal performance is nuanced and well-rounded.  After going percussion-less for the first verse, the beat arrives on the first pre-chorus. Then, the beat drops out on the first post-chorus, providing more contrast.  Even more of the ‘c-word’ occurs on the second verse, where the beat is strong from the onset.  These are all examples of the excellent pacing that occurs on the record.

There’s more goodness.  The songwriting is honest and poetic:

“I put my feelings on safety / So I don’t go shootin’ where your hearts be / ‘Cause you take the bullet tryna save me / Then I’m left to deal with makin’ you bleed”

The chorus is catchy and memorable:

“But I think that I’m done trippin’, I’m trip-trippin’/ I’ve been sippin’, that’s how I control / This feelin’, you keep givin’ / You keep on hittin’ it ooh, oh / Maybe it’s your love, it’s too good to be true / Baby boy, your love, got me trippin’ on you / You know your love is big enough, make me trip up on you / Yeah, it’s big enough, got me trippin’ on you, trip-trippin’ on you.”

There’s also a brief, but effective bridge. Also, there’s some nice, if subtle changes during the outro, which is similar to the chorus.  Some of the best moments are actually a bit gimmicky, but in a great way.  These are the rhythmic, vocally harmonized lines that show off Mai’s personality.  The best example of this occurs on the post-chorus when she sings, “My bad, my bad for, trippin’ on you (trippin’ on you).”

Final Thoughts

If you couldn’t already tell, Ella Mai has a surefire bop on her hand.  Honestly, as a big R&B fan who isn’t always fulfilled as much as of late, “Trip” gives me hope that the genre I love still have plenty of life left.  This is a well-written, well-performed, and well-produced.  Awesome follow-up to “Boo’d Up.”

Ella Mai • Trip – Single • 10 Summers / Interscope • Release: 8.3.18

Photo Credits: 10 Summers / Interscope