On a Thursday afternoon, at the tail-end of his press run, Trapland Pat tells me that he hasn’t grown tired of doing the work: “I’m taking the stairs instead of the elevator.”

Seated at a crowded restaurant in New York, he explains how time is of the essence. Of course, according to the laws of Instagram, instant gratification and the pursuit of perfection have set impossibly high standards to follow. And despite his optimism, he’s still learning how to pace himself. 

Since his inception, Pat has been endowed with a larger-than-life personality that endeared him to everyone. His foray into rap is marked by a score of increasingly popular singles that feel like on-brand takes of his region’s sound. Florida culture – bonks, a diamond-encrusted permanent grill – permeates the work. And yet, Pat’s most distinguishable feature would have to be his signature wide-eyed facial expression; an image that’s borderline cartoonish and likely to be remembered. 

With Trapnificent, the South Florida rapper’s chameleon-like flow and unique lingo bring balance to his extremely trapped out world. Tracks such as “Free All My Zombies” are peppered with tongue-in-cheek one-liners that reflect a story of survival and resilience, detailing Pat’s personal struggles and willingness to overcome everything that life has thrown in his direction.

Where rap’s newcomers have spent the last few years trying to crack the code on viral content, Pat has been laser-focused on perfecting his craft. “Everybody knows when they got time to ease they mind and relax,” he affirms, carefully inspecting his wing platter for accuracy behind a toothy grin.

How are you? 

I’m feeling good. I’m vibing. You from New York, right? 

Nah, I’m from North Carolina.

What part of North Carolina – Greensboro or something? 

What you know about Greensboro, man!? That’s my hometown – I’m actually here right now. 

I see that shit in my analytics sometimes. It’s people over there that listen to my music.

We need to get you out here for a show. 

Hell yeah. It’s country out there ain’t it? 

Something like that, but I feel like every state has a countryside.  

The people that I know stay over there are real country. Everybody that go down there to perform at them clubs be getting they shit took, boy. They chains be getting snatched. 

Let’s shift focus here, haha. Who was Pat before music?

An athlete I guess – played a lot of sports and stuff. Just an outgoing person. A real funny guy: always cracking jokes, making people laugh, a class clown.

Is personality important in today’s rap landscape? 

Yeah, ‘cause nowadays people that listen to you wanna really know about you. They wanna know what distinguishes you from other artists, so you can become they favorite artist because you so different. You don’t do shit the same as other people. Shit like that. 

What makes Trapland Pat different? 

Every time you hear a song by me, it’s a different kind of cadence. It’s random, you never know exactly how I’m gonna come on a song. 

Sonically, I feel like you accomplished that with Trapnificent. The synergy between you and PepperJack Zoe is undeniable. 

Hell yeah. We been going hard for a lil’ minute, doing songs together for a long time, since I started. 

The project is still growing on me but I’m a fan of  “Free All My Zombies.” 

I like that song a lot too, man. “Way too much traffic on the highway / Now we on jets, no wait, this the fly way.”

My favorite part is, “Why you feel untouchable, ‘cause he ain’t get touched yet.” That’s a valid point. 

That’s how a lot of people go to feeling untouchable when they haven’t been in a situation to be touched. 

Can you describe what a summer in South Florida looks like? 

That summer weather will drain you out there. Real hot and dry, rainy, too. It be raining a lot, off and on. A lot of traffic, but at the same time you can enjoy yourself. You gotta spend a lot of money out here, expensive summers type shit: you gon’ be spending money left and right.

What does Trapnificent mean to you? 

It’s trapping to the max. You know how somebody would say, “this shit magnificent,” this [album] is trapnificent. 

The project title, and artwork for that matter, is very Boondocks-like, especially the “-nificent” part. Are you a cartoon person? 

Hell yeah. I used to watch a lot of cartoons when I was younger. As I got older, Ion watch too much TV. 

Looking back, did watching cartoons play a role in your development as an artist? You have an extremely animated personality. 

You know how some people like to watch TV for peace of mind – I never looked at cartoons as a bad thing. In a year or two, I feel like I’m finna start relaxing more and get back into cartoons. I used to be into Dragon Ball Z and all types of stuff. I never got into Naruto and stuff like that, but everything on Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, all that. I used to be locked in.

Why are we waiting two years to relax? 

Now, it’s about mashing the gas and perfecting the craft – trying to make sure I’m dropping quality. You know when it’s time to chill. Everybody knows when they got time to ease they mind and relax. 

[Trapland Pat stops the interview to inspect his wing platter]

What is it like doing this — press, and all the exterior shit that comes with the music business? You’re barely finding time to eat. 

[Laughs] Ion even look at [the music business] like that. I’ma hard worker so I like to work hard. It can be a lot sometimes but I feel like it’s harder to get in [the game]. I’m taking the stairs instead of the elevator. 

Has fame impacted your life for better or worse?

The most challenging part is pleasing your fans. You can drop something and think that they gon’ like it but that’s not guaranteed. It’s all about timing. That’s how shit really work – I’m still learning that now. So much music be getting released. 

What about signing with Alamo Records / Bang Biz felt like the right decision to make at this stage in your career?

I felt like we came to an agreement that was negotiable. I feel like they can win and I can win, we both can benefit from this situation. After that, we just been working. You know when shit be genuine, you have that feeling. Ion have no bad feelings about the direction I’m going in so I just followed through. 

Have you always been this optimistic about your future? 

I just try to stay positive with stuff. Whatever you dishing out into the world, that’s gonna come back to you. When you thinking negative, bad, and sad, you only going to get in a more messed up mood. Think positivity and positive shit happen.

Do you have any other interests outside of music? 

I wanna be a big entrepreneur, get into that real estate stuff, have a couple of charity events, too, for cancer, because my aunt died from breast cancer.

I’m sorry to hear about your aunt’s untimely passing. Community-driven initiatives are great ways to build rapport with fans. 

I like natural connections. 

Has it become harder to find those natural connections as you’ve progressed in your career? A lot of artists talk about how fake the industry is in song.

You just gotta know that some shit is not too deep. People got their own lives, shit they gotta get done. I never think too hard. I feel like if something was meant to happen it’s gon’ happen regardless. Life ain’t perfect, so you gotta adjust in order for shit to go on.

What’s changed the most for you since releasing 2021’s Thru Da Door? 

I feel like my delivery, the way I start and finish a song is way different: my layout and stuff. I already matured from the last project I just dropped. Ion even like listening to Trapnificent now. I already had so many songs recorded after that.