Photo Credit: Gabe Barden
WillOnWater
Within hip hop, there’s a generational gap that has often become a topic of discussion, separating the more lyrical “golden era” of the late ‘90s and early ‘00s with the flashier trap era of today. The argument largely exists in the thought that newer artists are disrespecting the craft of the genre by putting less effort into their rhyme schemes. While that may be true to an extent, it is not universal, and artists like Milwaukee emcee WillOnWater prove that on projects like his latest album, T(r)ap Water.
From the album’s intro, “Like The Sun” onward, you can tell that Will is above the status of a dime-a-dozen trap artist, proclaiming that everything around him “came from grinding and grieving.” Bars like those give depth to the artist’s game, showcasing insight to the person behind the microphone. In reality, T(r)ap Water is the first complete project since 2017’s Smiling And Dying, when he was making his name under the moniker of WillTheGlide.
“On this project I wanted to do a little bit of everything. I had the real upbeat trap sound that I had been working with, and I wanted to give people some of the vibes that they had liked from me before” Will explained. “I had more of an emo feel with Smiling And Dying. Now I’m just experimenting with sounds, and doing something more melodic on this project.”
With the time away from the public eye, Will revamped his creative process, which is another testament to the profound final product. Much of contemporary trap music is concerned with flooding the marketplace with content rather than replay value. The streaming era doesn’t help matters, promoting quantity over quality with the existing payout structure. Creating T(r)ap Water helped Will develop a home studio, preventing another lapse in content.
“Before, I was working at different studios with all sorts of people, getting product out to the world. What I learned was that the process was slowing me down.” explained Will. “So I was like ‘screw it, I’m going to do it myself.’ I recorded the whole project at home. It was a lot of learning from YouTube University.”
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In many ways T(r)ap Water is more than a clever title, but a metaphorical splash in the face for both WillOnWater and hip hop in general. If more artists could combine the lyrical aspect to contemporary trap in the way that he does, the generational conversation surrounding the substance of hip hop might evaporate altogether.
