Credited features on 2019’s most important projects alone would make a strong case for Smino to be the most influential artist in music. Dreamville’s Revenge of the Dreamers lll? Smino was there. Cousin Stizz’s Tying to Find My Next Thrill? Smino was there. Chance the Rapper’s Big Day? Smino was there. Pivot Gang’s You Can’t Sit With Us, Kemba’s Gilda, Femdot’s 94 Camry Music, SiR’s Chasing Summer, Jay2’s 4 Tha Wait? Obviously, he was there. And though partial to collaborations revolving around the Chicago hip-hop scene that he – as an honorary citizen of the windy city – is such an instrumental piece of, the St. Louis-repping enigma’s range both geographically and stylistically is perhaps the most telling thing about his aesthetic. No one has ever sounded like Smino. And there’s good odds that no one ever could again.

 

His music is built on impossibly effortless transitions between variations of his sing-songy rap delivery. And beneath the foggy mire of his Southern twang and endlessly creative wordplay is a lyricist as clever and poetic as any in music. Put him on a hip-hop track and he has the hardest verse. Put him on an R&B ballad and his unique and honest vocal delivery makes his the most emotive and memorable. Put Smino anywhere and he shines. 

 

He’s shined so much this year that it’s easy to forget that amongst all the features and videos across hip-hop and R&B, he’s put out two singles of his own. Summertime banger, Reverend was a reaffirmation of his growth as a solo artist – one of the best in hip-hop. And now, with new single, Trinaand its accompanying visuals, we’re all reminded yet again of just why everyone in music wants a piece of Smino.

 

The dude is a star. And Trina, in special company of his biggest career track, Anita – and even alludes to it as both an undeniable hip-hop hit with a similar name – is the next evolutionary chapter in Smino’s growth into one of hip-hop’s most important names. 

 

Trina is bubbly and repeatable enough to be a mainstream hit and even score on the pop charts. But it sacrifices nothing as a genuine hip-hop banger. In an era were the theatrical and unique reach the furthest and highest, Smino’s Trina summits hip-hop’s ladder and extends a post-genre border to a distance only an artist as indefinable as Smino could. And as if somehow that wasn’t all enough, there’s also a video.

 

With a whole lot of talk of something bigger in the works and annual album releases the last two years, we’ll be watching closely to see if Smino has something even more to offer 2019: a year that he has absolutely owned.