Michael Lamar White IV (born June 18, 1999), known professionally as Trippie Redd, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. His debut mixtape A Love Letter to You (2017) and its lead single "Love Scars" propelled him to popularity. Trippie Redd's singles "Dark Knight Dummo", featuring Travis Scott, "Taking a Walk", and "Topanga", all reached the Billboard Hot 100. His debut studio album Life's a Trip (2018) and second album ! (2019) both reached the top five of the Billboard 200, while his fourth mixtape, A Love Letter to You 4 (2019), topped the chart. Most recently, his third studio album Pegasus (2020) reached number two of the Billboard 200.
Michael Lamar White IV was born on June 18, 1999, in Canton, Ohio. His father, Michael Lamar White III, was in prison at the time of his birth, and his mother, Tonya White, was left to raise him as a single parent. White has a younger brother nicknamed "Hippie Redd" and had an older brother who made music under the name "Dirty Redd". Dirty Redd was killed in a car accident in 2014, White talked to Rolling Stone about the time following the fatal accident. White grew up in Canton, though he moved to Columbus, Ohio, several times. His interest in music began when his mother played Ashanti, Beyoncé, Tupac, and Nas while White was growing up. He later listened to artists such as T-Pain, KISS, Nirvana, Gucci Mane, Fountains of Wayne, The Ataris, Green Day, The Offspring, Cute Is What We Aim For, Simple Plan, The Summer Set, Hit The Lights, Marilyn Manson and Lil Wayne. White began rapping after being inspired by Taevion Williams, another rapper who went by the stage name Lil Tae. White began taking his music career seriously and began recording music, releasing "Sub-Zero" and "New Ferrari" in 2014 but soon deleting those songs.
