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MN: Would you consider “Trigga” to be your most intimate album?
Trey: I consider it to be my most honest album. It’s really about what’s happening right now and the experiences I’m going through right now in love and relationships and when I’m not in love and relationships. The thing with R&B singers is that you’re really expected to be in love with somebody. And for myself, I’m definitely expected to put out those sensual ballads every time around. This time, I kind of strayed away from it a little bit. This album has a lot of tempo and it shows a different side of me. You know, I still keep the R&B alive and still really staying true to my R&B core, but I’m kind of going a little bit left with that. You know, mixing a little bit of what I do with what’s going on right now in music. As far as production is concerned, you know how you hear Katy Perry and Juicy J on trap joints, but it goes pop? You hear Mike Will Made It on a track with Miley Cyrus, but it goes pop. So with this album, I kind of just stayed true to what’s going on right now and it was kind of easy to do because I made the album while I was actually living my life. I didn’t have deadlines or A&Rs over my head every second or my label heads like, ‘What’s going on? We need to approve this, that and the other.’ It’s the most creative control that I’ve ever had.
MN: You once expressed that each album that you’ve put out so far was sort of a reflection of the phase of your life that you were in at the time that you recorded it. How would describe the phase that you were in when putting out this new project?
Trey: I mean, the stage that I was in when making this album is that I was chilling. It was the first time in my life that I didn’t have to be on tour. As an artist when you’re coming up and trying to get into the game, it’s different from when you’re established and you got your own money and your family is situated and taken care of. It’s different. I’m more financially stable than I’ve ever been. My younger brothers both just graduated high school a couple of years ago so they’re now in college and have become young men, versus being teenagers that I gotta call and check in on with my mama, you know what I mean? As far as pressure is concerned making an album, I put all of the pressure on myself to make the best album that I could—not to make a better album than this artist or that artist. It was more so me competing with myself and trying to make an album that stayed true to what it was. I was living what I was feeling. I was unapologetic. There are one night stands. There are some relationships that I’ve been in where I f*cked up. It’s relationships that I’ve been in where I’m still best friends with the girl that I was in a relationship with. I have a song that’s titled “What’s Best For You” and it’s like, if I can’t give you whatever you need, then I want what’s best for you regardless—even if it isn’t me. Then, there’s another song where I’m like, ‘sh*t, where you going? You’re not supposed to leave me—ever—no matter what I’m doing. It’s kind of just giving you every emotion.
MN: Can you tell me about your partnership with Target and what fans can expect to get on the deluxe edition of “Trigga?”
Trey: Definitely, special shout out to Target for stepping in and becoming a partner on this album. The thing is when I do an album, I record a large number of songs. On the standard album, it’s 13 songs. Then, on the deluxe album, there’s 17. Target gave me the chance to put three more, so it makes it a little bit easier to not part ways with songs that you love. The tone of those records are definitely matching up with the album, while still having different messages.
The exclusive deluxe edition of “Trigga” is in stores today.
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