CEO Trayle Shares New Single: Bit With The Fangs Featuring Gunna, Prepares For Happy Halloween 5 Mixtape
The rising ATL rapper prepares for Happy Halloween 5, his next mixtape and the latest in his signature series.
On the heels of his acclaimed Vier EP, CEO Trayle continues his busy year – his third mixtape of 2022 arrives on October 31 via 10K Projects.
Earning the respect of the trap scene with his sly wordplay and sneering delivery, CEO Trayle is Atlanta‘s most fearsome rap villain. Like all villains, monsters, and things of ill-repute, Trayle thrives during Spooky Season. Continuing an annual tradition that has inspired some of his best work, CEO Trayle announces Happy Halloween 5, his next mixtape, arriving on its namesake day. The upcoming mixtape features some of Trayle’s most expansive production to date, with contributions from Dun Deal, OG Parker, Go Grizzly, Trauma Tone, and Trayle’s frequent collaborator Stribb, among many others. Trayle keeps the Halloween theme going in his songs, using his sly wit to present himself as a nightmarish figure to haters and apps across the globe. Happy Halloween 5 arrives on October 31st via Do What You Love, LLC / 10K Projects.
Along with the announcement of the mixtape, CEO Trayle shares “Bit With The Fangs,” a collaboration with Gunna and Nechie. “Bit With The Fangs” is the blessing that Trayle received from the YSL superstar, following last year’s hit “OK Cool” (Remix), which racked up tens of millions of streams. Produced by Stribb, who delivers a hazy atmosphere with ominous organ and hard-hitting percussion, the song finds Trayle unfurling elegant triplet flows as he dismisses triflers and haters with a curled smile. Gunna imitates Trayle’s stop-start motion before launching into his hypnotic melodies. Nechie comes through with his high-pitched snarl, while Trayle completes the three-man weave with panache.
“Bit With The Fangs” arrives weeks after Vier, a four-track EP released in July alongside a Q&A with The FADER. The title of the EP translates into the number four in German, a number with mythical and historical significance in Trayle’s life–beyond being the source for his explosive nickname C4. Nine years ago, on July 4th, Trayle suffered seven gunshot wounds as he successfully fought off an attempted home invasion. Trayle survived, but he suffered emotional scars that he still processes every day. The rapper explored his trauma and expressed gratitude for the little things on his recent single “July The Fourth,” the EP’s closing track. Vier followed in the wake of Trayle’s 8-song mixtape, The Collection, home to highlights like “Of Course,” the tape’s closing track.
CEO Trayle is following in the footsteps of his hero Gucci Mane, crafting street raps that are at once down-and-dirty and refined. The 28-year-old artist always stays true to his muse regardless of what’s fashionable, creating music that went against the grain in his home city of Atlanta during the heyday of the triplet-driven melodic trap. His music found an audience in Chicago, still home to his largest base of listeners, and among publications like Pitchfork, Audiomack, and many more, for his gritty bars and sinister steez. Trayle’s trajectory skyrocketed after he released “Ok Cool,” a viral hit that generated over 60 million streams and earned a remix from Gunna. “Ok Cool” landed on Happy Halloween C4, a 16-track opus with appearances from Babyface Ray and Doe Boy.
With much more music on the way and much further to rising, CEO Trayle is primed to take over the rap game.
CEO Trayle has a rare sense of vision. The prolific Atlanta-based rapper and CEO/founder of 1080 Trademark Records see the music industry the way a great point guard does a basketball court. He understands cause and effect, knowing how dropping one frosty, minimalist single will shape the perception around his next project. But occasionally he exceeds even his own expectations. His breakout single, “OK Cool,” a deadpan rebuke to an ex, earned more than 60 million streams, even though Trayle didn’t foresee it as a blockbuster when he made it. The momentum from that track, and its Gunna-assisted remix, paved the way for The Collection, a thrilling, visceral release that showcases the 28-year-old MC’s multi-genre fluency.
