A few years ago, you’d be forgiven for thinking that BabyTron and his Detroit-area trio ShittyBoyz were an elaborate spoof. With mixtape titles like Dookie Brothers 2 and an entourage regularly referred to as the Dog Shit Militia, Tron and his collaborators veered dangerously close to branding themselves as a parody-rap outfit. But riding an upswell of listenership, Tron seems newly keen on the big-time and, on his new tape Bin Reaper 3: New Testament, it’s clear he’s ready to be taken—if not seriously—at least serious-ish.
BabyTron first appeared on the Detroit scene in 2019 with ShittyBoyz compatriots StanWill and TrDee. Alongside scam-rapper Teejayx6, they ushered in a wave of deadpan, reference-heavy flows about embossing debit cards and ripping off the elderly. But where Teejayx6 favored narratives and occasionally detailed instructions, BabyTron and the ShittyBoyz preferred sample-heavy beats and mile-a-minute non-sequiturs about basketball, cartoons, and money-making. In the years since, BabyTron, the clear break-away talent, has released over a dozen projects either solo or with his group and garnered a cult following. Enter Bin Reaper 3: New Testament, a natural title for the fourth entry in his Bin Reaper series, following last October’s Bin Reaper 3: Old Testament.
If the serialized title and relative promptness of New Testament’s arrival suggests an album of castoffs, BabyTron does his best to prove those presumptions wrong. The more commercial beat selection, high-profile features (including Lil Yachty, Babyface Ray, the ever-present ShittyBoyz, and a high-energy turn from Rico Nasty), and BabyTron’s own giddy confidence all suggest a premeditated stab at crossover stardom. Fortunately he’s still rapping about NBA stars, SpongeBob, video games, and (for some reason) Shameless, but it’s accompanied by a newfound sheen and his biggest cosigns yet.
The South Park-referencing “Mr. Hanky,” for instance, features a harder beat than BabyTron has ever attempted, filled with sinister piano and sampled vocals. Overtop, he delivers droll schoolyard taunts by way of the car dealership: “This life shit up and down, kinda like a seesaw/Aston Martin with the horses, pull off in a yeehaw/Threw your album in the dumpster, that shit sounded weak sauce.” Gone are the days of ShittyBoyz’s dinky production: Producer Bye Kyle! brings an air of professionalism to the beats, which are often darker and more aggressive than BabyTron’s past instrumentals.
Frequently on New Testament, BabyTron sounds invigorated, continuing to deliver some of the best one-two punch(lines) in rap. On “RIP Hutch,” also featuring Remble and Rico Nasty, he raps, “Got it off the hustle, off the muscle, I ain’t buy fame/Feelin’ like Sub-Zero, masked up in these ice chains.” BabyTron has always flexed, but fresh off his inclusion in XXL’s 2022 Freshman Class and an uptick in streams on both his newer material and extensive back catalog (particularly 2019’s “Jesus Shuttlesworth”), his big-upping and trash-talking carry new weight. This is the first BabyTron album where a line like, “Shit, I’m getting 30 for a verse, I got the gift of gab” is even halfway believable.
New Testament’s primary issue is its runtime. At 26 tracks, and with this much gimmick, there’s bound to be some skips. BabyTron doesn’t stray from his dry, wry flow very often, instead leaning on mid-song beat switch-ups for most of New Testament’s dynamic changes. His uncanny deadpan is versatile enough to handle jarring instrumental shifts, but often fails to engage on slower cuts, as on the mid-tempo, jazz-inflected “Beetleborgs,” featuring Cordae. It’s a snoozer, and Tron doesn’t seem capable of altering his affect enough to make a mellow song sing.
At its best, though, Bin Reaper 3: New Testament marries BabyTron’s idiosyncratic regional style with newly focused ambition. On “Next Level 2,” when asked “Tron, what make you different?’” he replies, “‘Without I, you can’t even spell commitment. Do you get it?” BabyTron may rap some silly stuff, but at 22, he’s discovered the central truth to leveling up as an offbeat act: You gotta commit to the bit.