Deep Dive: Detains

One of the main up-and-coming hyperpop artists out of Tennessee is Trippie Redd’s right-hand man, Detains.

Growing up in Alabama and now living in Tennessee, Detains is an underground artist who considers himself a man of many genres. Rock, hyper-pop, R&B, and traditional rap are his go-tos. He puts it this way:

“I would describe my music as a Monopoly board. (The) different genres are all little pieces.”

On top of Detains being highly versatile, his music also tends to be made through freestyle when he’s in the studio. The young artist says that he pulls from his own situations to tell a story in his music. To Detains, what happens moments before entering the studio could end up being his next greatest hit.

Out of the many collabs Detains takes part in, his favorite artist to collaborate with multi-platinum rapper Trippie Redd. The two recently collaborated on a song titled "Deadisland", from Detains most recent EP, Undaunted.

With the two artists being as close as they are to each other, it would only make sense that there’s synergy when they’re in the studio together.

Detains (left) and Trippie Redd (right) posed for a video shoot of the song "MP5"

He expresses his desire to collaborate with other artists in the future:

“I don’t know if he’s ever gonna hop on it, but I want to do a song with Cochise” the Tennessee artist said. He also wishes to work alongside rapper Ski Mask the Slump God in the near future.

So where exactly does Detains pull much of his musical inspiration from?

He offers that much of it comes from the late artist, XXXTENTACION.

“I’ve listened to X my whole life, even when (his stage name) was Heroine Father” Detains said. “I feel like every time I listen to X, I can relate to the message and that’s why I like his music so much.”

The artist goes on to say that XXXTENTACION is what inspired him to explore love songs, but most importantly, hyperpop. Thus, Detains niche sound is what it is today.

Detains also feels as though Trippie Redd has had a huge impact on his music style:

“I took inspiration from Trippie off his (album) Trip at Knight. He inspired me to get into those types of sounds and make those types of songs.” His love for rock music has all to do with Trippie's rock-inspired tracks.

The million-dollar question remains: what does Detains have to say to new artists who are trying to discover a sound of their own?

Experiment, experiment, experiment.

“Some (stuff) might not sound good. That's why you have to experiment. Do different noises (and) different sounds (to) see what sounds good on the mic.”

The rapper encourages underground artists to never be afraid to try new things out in the studio; even if some stuff doesn't "sound good".

Detains has many songs and albums in the works as of right now. Video

shoots in Florida and LA, a new album, titled Sovereign, in the making, and much more.

The artist has so much in store for listeners, but he keeps the main thing the main thing: his music is meant to be a place for people to feel a connection, and for everyone to be inspired to take on life head-on.