Trippie Redd is once again reminding people who are apparently unfamiliar with decades-strong Goth aesthetics that he does not “worship the fucking devil.”
In a clip shared to social media, Trippie, who rolled out the collabs-stacked fifth entry in his A Love Letter to You series last August, pointed to how long he’s been fond of dressing in black. Worth noting here, of course, is that many artists are known for having taken on a black-on-black approach with their style. The late Johnny Cash, for example, was dubbed The Man in Black for that very reason. Simply put, the look is nothing new, yet it continues to rile people up for reasons best described as sheer ludicrousness.
"Bro, I don’t worship the fucking devil," Trippie said in the clip, seen below. "I don’t know why you n***as keep saying that shit. Stop saying I worship the devil, bro. Like what the fuck? I can’t wear all black? I been wearing all black. That’s my thing. I just don’t get it. Stop saying I worship the fucking devil!"
Deeper into the clip, Trippie highlights the absurdity of trying to “bully” someone into a religion, especially someone who’s already on that path.
“I already fuck with God,” Trippie said. The recent 9lives collaborator also showed off multiple black-on-black items in his house, adding that he’s always loved “horror movies” and “video games,” all of which contributes to his familiar look.
“I’m just a weirdo,” he said. “I like to get tatts on my face. I like to wear all black. I like to look goth. Shit’s a lifestyle.”
Elsewhere, Trippie added that he likes to “be the gloomy one in the room” because he’s a “real sadboy” and “loner.”
Fans will note this isn't the first time Trippie has spoken on this topic. Way back in 2018, he detailed the intention behind his use of "666" imagery while urging those quick to believe anything they read to "do your research" instead of leaping to conclusions.
"A lot of y'all are blind to reality," he said at the time. "Six protons, six neutrons, six electrons. Melanin in black people's skin. Do your research. Now, why I say TR666? Because Trippie Redd is Black, but Trippie Redd is also dark. I make dark music, but I'm Black, so I use it as a metaphor. Make sure you do your research, man, because these people could be telling you, like, 666 is the mark of the beast."
You would think we all would have moved past this kind of thing by now, what with it being 2024 and all, but that’s sadly not the case. For decades now, any instance of an artist dabbling in such an aesthetic is often met with a small but vocal group of people trying to link it all to conspiracy theories centered around the improbable idea of devil-worshiping. Sometimes, this even leads to other public figures participating in such theories, such as Meek Mill's remarks about Trippie last November.
Lil Uzi Vert, who has also found themselves the target of such talk over the years, had a worth-quoting response to its continuation back in August.
"Any type of religion is some type of a cult,” Uzi told GQ's Frazier Tharpe. "Being Christian is a cult."
