Music as a reflection of the times has rarely been more apparent than in the music of Detroit-born rapper Trenell Carr and the hip-hop R&B group, the Wop Boiz. Echoing the gritty urban grind of Detroit and its beleagured residents, the images conjured up by the Wop Boiz’s sound are a stark reminder of the reality of life in the big city and all that the Motor City represents. Just prior to a recent appearance at a local Detroit hot spot, group leader Trenell Carr spoke with rolling out. –roz edward
What’s behind your music?
Our music describes where we are as a group and as individuals. Everybody is going through hard times right now, and they’re in bad situations. Our music is about our lifestyle, what we’re doing and how we’re do it — that’s wop. … My cousin — who started the group, Wop Boi Breed — was killed in 2009 and it was kind of hard to keep going after that, but his brother, Wop Boi Slim, convinced me that we had to keep it going for him. We had a gift and we had to use it.
What is it you like best and least about the industry?
It’s just the singing and seeing everybody bop to our music. … What I like least is how people don’t give back in this business. I know how it feels to struggle and lot of people that have made it know how it feels to struggle. Successful people get that lifestyle and they forget about [the struggle] and what it’s like in the real world.
What are your biggest accomplishments to date?
Formulating this team and seeing the team unite as one … we are all on the same page and it’s great to see the smiles on our people’s face[s]. I’m also really proud of our last album, Last of a Dying Breed Volume 1 and the album we’re about to drop.
What’s your take on the state of music?
In this industry a lot of music has really changed from how things originally were. The things that they talk about now aren’t really relevant. It should be like it used to be — original and from the heart, and not about the bling and what you’re going to be. The music used to come from the soul and it started here in Motown. That’s what our music expresses, how people feel now and what they’re going through now.
