Over the course of 2017, South Florida has become a hot commodity in hip-hop. Rapper Trap Beckham is one of the voices from the Sunshine state and has been paving his own lane by customizing the original wave that put Florida on the map. Florida’s diverse rap scene continues to create subgenres — from their own style of trap music to their spaced-out cloud rap, Yet, Beckham finds himself taking his career down the road less traveled in 2017.
The Miami Bass movement was on its deathbed before Beckham f.k.a Yung Trap Beckham dropped his 7.14.12 mixtape. With monumental rappers like Uncle Luke, 2 Live Crew, and Future as his muses, the Jacksonville native’s love for Miami Bass and addiction to the studio helped build the foundation for his own “New Bass” sound.
As he heads down the same groundbreaking path Luke once took, Trap Beckham aims to revive what was left of the nostalgic sound that put the 305 on the map. Once the Beckhams, gave him their blessing, Trap went on to make twerk-worthy anthems like “Birthday Chick” and his more liberating smash hit “Lil Booties Matter.”
“I take the Beckham serious,” Trap said about his name change. “Victoria and David Beckham approved it, and now I’m a ‘Beckham.’ That’s where the name came from: me just kickin’ it like soccer.”
On a relaxing Sunday afternoon, the Def Jam signee put his duties as an advocate for little booties worldwide on hold to travel down into the depths of Southwest Miami-Dade for a studio session in Goulds with an artist named Young Quay. During the ride, Beckham’s manager, Grand Prix, described Trap’s die-hard passion for recording with one meme. “You know the memes that were going around with the clown in the sewer,” he said. “All you got to tell Trap is ‘I got studio down here,’ and bruh will try to slide down the sewer.”
When we walked inside the studio, the heavy stench of Backwoods and weed smoke greeted us followed by the owner of the studio, Quay, and his crew. Trap’s right-hand man DJ Pretty Ricky and Nappy Boy Entertainment’s newest artist Manny G were vibing on the couch with numerous blunts and cups of Hennessy floating around while Trap recorded his verse in the booth. It had only been two days since his new EP Life Is Lit had hit the ‘Net, and Trap was already working on something new. However, he’s definitely not rushing into his next project.
“Sometimes I be having to slow down,” Trap said. “I have to live life and then make music about it. Then it’ll just start becoming empty music with nothing to talk about or nothing that anyone can relate to.”
After three years of dropping mixtapes and touring, Ernest “Tuo” Clark of Da Internz took notice and realized Beckham’s full potential. Once they started working together, Trap eventually signed to Def Jam Records in 2016, and began work on the first recording of what would become his hit single “Lil Booties Matter.” He sent it off to Tuo, who put the finishing touches on the final record.
“We were in the studio just drinking,” Trap recalled. “My dawg Pretty Ricky was in the lab doing drops and he was like ‘Ay Trap, I feel like Uncle Luke Jr doing this. Lil booties matter! Lil booties matter!’ I stopped the record.. and was like ‘yo that’s the song.’ Then I just started making the beat around the vocals. We sent it out to Da Internz and they put the extra sauce on it to make it the “Lil Booties Matter” that we’ve got today.”
Afterward, Beckham hit the road to record the rest of his Life Is Lit EP, which is a mixture of street bangers like “Backwoods” and, of course, upbeat strip club anthems. He spent time in Atlanta where he finished up “Lil Booties Matter” and recorded “Cold” then dipped out to Los Angeles to record other tracks like “On The Rocks” and “Dog Sh*t.” The 8-track EP also features comical skits from DC Young Fly, who debates the difference between lil booties and no booties and encourages everyone to vote at the same damn time. However, according to Beckham, this is just the beginning.
“I feel like I’m adding my own element to the wave,” Beckham said. “It’s going to be appreciated over time. I feel like I’m going to be apart of the conversation when people look back on these times and talk about the waves. Florida is going to be a melting pot in five years because everybody is getting artists from Florida now.”
After a couple hours in the studio and a fast-food run, Beckham is ready for his next gig at PT’s Showclub. At 2 A.M., Trap and his squad walked into the Hialeah strip club truly feeling like Uncle Luke Jr. He made sure to show love to all the fans who came to see him perform, and all lil’ booties in the building.
It goes without saying that life with Trap Beckham is way too lit. He’s one of the few Florida artists signed to a major label who keep the legacy of Miami Bass alive in his music with plans to embrace the sound in the future. With his new anthem for average-sized booties, Beckham has the potential to become this generation’s Uncle Luke.
Shortly after his ratchet strip club performance, Trap dropped his new video for “On The Rocks,” which comes in support of his new EP Life Is Lit. Watch it below.