The voice of Trippie Redd – AKA 20-year-old Ohioan rapper Michael White – is nothing if not inconsistent. Sometimes he showcases a strange, deeply melodic croon, one that manages to feel rich and strained, soulful and flat, all at the same time. Elsewhere, he deploys a softly guttural gurgle, or a bratty whine. This slippery identity extends to his message – which feels confusing and contradictory. “Say no to suicide”, he mutters melancholically (and apparently earnestly) on Snake Skin, before scoffing that his rivals are so intimidated that they “gon’ kill theyselves they see me stuntin’”. Be Yourself, meanwhile, initially comes over like a self-acceptance anthem, before ordering its subject to “change” and “kill yourself”. This sense of instability echoes throughout White’s second record, leaving the listener scrabbling around for some kind of congruity. They won’t find it in the music. ! opens with painfully abrasive Diplo-produced EDM, graduates to harmonic, undulating trap, and then Kanye-style production, via a Barry White sample. Throw It Away moves thrillingly from 90s R&B to an Oasis-style acoustic riff. Riot sees shimmering guitar reverb overlaid with zombie-like chanting. Guest voices include young pretender Playboi Carti’s chipmunk slur (on the irresistible They Afraid of You) and the Game’s old-school west coast rasp. As part of the sonically esoteric but staggeringly high-selling emo-rap brigade, White knows how to blur the boundaries of hip-hop, to send shockwaves through its foundations. Compellingly unpredictable, ! is doubtless part of the genre’s forward march – but it’s hard to get past the sense that White has sacrificed a coherent artistic identity in the name of progress.