Lil Pump likes to brag about having sex with partners from other countries. The rapper likes to brag about having cars from other countries, too. And there’s a fair amount of bragging about jewelry, cash and recreational drug intake. None of that wide-ranging boasting is terribly unusual in hip-hop.
Lil Pump’s style and sound aren’t all that unusual either: he deploys some of those popular bird-call trills and he has a habit of dropping leaden “oohs” and “yeahs” on the beat. Pump makes trap, with those skittering metallic drum programs, skeletal minor-key TV-crime-drama mini motifs, and deep-structure sub-bass sounds.
Lil Pump was — and this is crazy — actually born in the 21st Century (in 2000). He’s 17.
That might explain the grid-like feel to some of his flow. He takes barely accented repetition and turns it into a thing. Listen to his big single “Gucci Gang,” which is based on the speedy repetition of that title, without much differentiation. The rapping stands out in contrast to the rapping of guests like Gucci Mane and 2 Chainz, whose phrasing is more choppy, inventive and varied.
Pump, who comes from Miami, Florida, is at his most interesting when he’s at his weirdest, like on “Flex Like Ouu,” which sounds like some menacing narcotized square-dance calling. And the aptly titled “Crazy” sounds grimy, overdriven and overcaffeinated.
See Lil Pump at The Dome at Toyota Presents Oakdale Theater, 95 S. Turnpike Road, Wallingford, on Monday, Dec. 11, at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $25. 203-265-1501, livenation.com.
