Liltrxptendo's Independent Music Journey.

I want you to show me what I need. Say you want me to. I never heard of you. There's a call now and I need someone to help me. Don't have my back now when these niggas try to come for me. If you don't turn back now tell me where do we go? Whoa. Well, from touring the country at just 17 years old to racking up millions of streams as an independent artist, this DMV musician is building a name for himself on his own terms. Isaiah Holland, better known as Lil Trap Tendo, is here now to tell us all about his new music and his journey. Welcome into Good Day. Isaiah, it is so good to have you. Thank you. Or Lil Trap Tendo. Let me make sure I get it right. Thank you. Thank you. So, first of all, the name, right? Where did this come from, the inspiration behind that? And we'll get into your music. I was like... 13 years old, playing the Nintendo 64. Okay. And I was just like, hmm, why not Little Trap Tendo? And then it just stuck with me. It was Little Trap at first, it was Trap Tendo, but then I was like, you know what? Why not Little Trap Tendo? So I just kind of got that name by... I'm doing that, and it was just really cool. It just clicked, something that you're passionate about. That's interesting. Okay. All right, so you're from Prince George's County originally, but you live in Frederick. Tell me about this music journey of yours. It started when you were 17, and you were doing big things, recently signed with a record label. How did this all begin for you? Thank you. Really, it all began when... Because my mom, she used to make music, so it was just like off the bat, like music and client, like everything, whether it was my parents, grandparents, it was everything, just music off the bat. So it was just figuring out how to really blend it all together. And then as a young, making my first music when I was 13 and up. So just really just building it up from there. What kind of music did she like to listen to that you grew up under? So R&B, neo-soul. Um, yeah, so a lot of soul music, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson. And how would you describe your sound as a result of this? Um, I would say it's a blend of neo-soul, R&B. Um, some jazz to it a little bit, um, blending into that, but really just a neo-soul R&B. Okay. All right. Let's talk about your breakout record, Voicemail, which racked up millions of views. This is a record that you wholeheartedly believed in, but were you surprised when you saw how quickly and how much it took off? Yeah, I was, I was, I was very surprised. It happened honestly overnight where I dropped it, not thinking anything. And then next minute I know It went from 10,000 streams to 100,000, then a million, and I was just like, oh my goodness. And then now it's gained so much, so I'm grateful for it, always. What do you think it was about that record that resonated with your fans and with listeners? What was it about? Um, just really like missing somebody that you haven't seen in a while, whether it was long distance or, you know, up close, just just missing somebody, you know, like sending them a voicemail. Hey, I miss you. You know, can you come back and really just, you know, keeping it like that? Yeah. Is that what you like to sing about and write about is is just some of your experiences, your life experiences or just everyday things that people can relate to and that people go through? Yeah, just like the life experiences, whether it's hard, Heartbreak, love, struggles, you know, like everybody goes through. So just really just building it all together so people can relate to it to where, hey, I'm not like picture perfect, you know? Yeah, yeah. You are almost done with a new album called Fallen, and you have a new single that listeners are going to be able to get their hands on soon. Tell me about it. So the new album Fallen has some really good producers, musicians and everything. It's just... Really just building it all together with the new track that's coming out this Friday. It's called Far Gone. It's It's a good song, you know. It's an R&B song. Um, It really just blends it all together, I think. You know, just making sure it's a very subtle, you know, feel. It's featuring this other artist called N'Sha Eamon. And she's amazing, too. But it's just, I think it's a really good blend, you know. Okay. I'm going to ask you, too, as an independent artist, I can only imagine how challenging it can be to start out and then to get your name out there and to get your music. And like we said, now you're signed to a record label that also works with Jhene Aiko and some other greats. What would you say is one of the biggest challenges of being an independent artist? And what did you do to just overcome that? Really? To overcome it, it took a lot, honestly, whether it was just making cover arts myself, making beats myself, promoting it myself and everything, just kind of doing everything myself in a way to where it wasn't too much, but it was like, okay, let me figure it out and go as I go. Perseverance. Yeah, it wasn't too bad at all. It was just figuring it out at a young age, and now it's still figuring it out, But at the same time, just. Building it, you know, with more people on my side and team. And would you say that social media or just that avenue, just being able to get your music out there, just helped you? Yeah, social media has helped a lot. Yeah, it's helped a lot, whether it's social media or... Or, um... TikTok and everything, it's helped a lot. It's helped tremendously. Yeah, it's pretty cool to see how this digital era that we're in has really helped to create more exposure for some of the talent that otherwise may not get seen by some of the higher-ups or the record labels. But this is wonderful, Isaiah. We're so proud of you. Again, you're from Beltsville, Maryland, but you live in Frederick. Again, Prince George's County from there, too. We're proud of you. All the best to you. And where can we find that new single when it comes out? You can find it on all platforms, Spotify, Apple Music. SoundCloud, YouTube, yeah, you can find out on everything. Anywhere where there's music. Is that right? A little trap tendo. Thanks for joining us. Thank you, thank you. All right, Steve, over to you.