“You can take me anywhere and by the time I leave they gon’ f*ck with me.”

Justin Trayle Bell a.k.a “CEO Trayle” has a truly unique voice, unlike anything I've ever heard. He's got the voice of a grandpa who's been hooked on weed forever but in the coolest way imaginable. His current music? Light years ahead of the competition. His diverse beats and patterns distinguish him from his competition. He's one of the few street artists who can go toe-to-toe lyrically and in storytelling with all the boom-bap rappers.

There isn’t another rapper who, I can confidently say, I can make a playlist dedicated to without getting bored after a few listens. Every song grabs my attention. He’s a hidden gem.

Trayle's philosophy, as shared in an interview with MrJayHill, is straightforward: "You gotta do what the f*ck you gotta do." He emphasizes that his responsibilities extend beyond himself. Cutting ties with someone means impacting his entire family, for whom he is the breadwinner.

In an interview with DGB Media, Trayle recounted his journey beginning in the Bronx, where he spent the first 13 years of his life. Moving to Birmingham, Alabama during the summer before his 7th grade year, he remained there until 11th grade. At 17 years old, he made another move, this time to Atlanta.

Reflecting on his influences, Trayle credits 50 Cent for his raw talent and persona, and Gucci Mane for his humor, flow, and relatable underdog status in both music and real life. He also loves Chief Keef. When he was young, he first heard Keef when a girl from Detroit was on aux. Deeply rooted in the underground scene, she often put him onto upcoming tracks. She played “3Hunna” and Keef instantly knew it would be a hit. Trayle says Keef had nothing and succeeded with nothing. So, why couldn’t he?

Trayle’s upbringing in the Bronx was a time of unparalleled freedom. His neighborhood was busy, with constant activity that allowed children to enjoy true independence. Trayle still encountered hurdles during his childhood. Money was tight, and with his mother putting in long hours at work, he often found himself at loose ends.

Rather than twiddling his thumbs, he took it upon himself to tackle the day-to-day challenges like figuring out meals when there was nothing in the pantry when he’d return home from school. Despite his young age, Trayle was thrown into the role of the de facto head of the house, handling tasks like taking out the trash and looking after his siblings. Standing at a towering 6'3" today, it's hard to imagine that he was once considered short for his grade. He was always full of energy, causing mischief left and right, all while being "little as hell and bad as a motherf**ker."

Trayle's backstory holds a surprising twist related to the tragedy of 9/11. It's reported that his mother was originally scheduled to be at the Twin Towers on that fateful day. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, she couldn't make it. The reason? Trayle had found himself in trouble at school, resulting in a suspension for an incident involving a thrown book out of a window. As a result, his mom prioritized picking him up instead of going to the Twin Towers, inadvertently altering the course of their lives.

Trayle's journey took another unexpected turn when he found himself living with a foster care family for a period in Queens. Initially, he struggled to adapt and wanted to return to his mother's house. Feeling lost and uncertain, he explored every possible avenue to reunite with his family, all while dealing with the unfamiliarity of his new situation.

As time passed, Trayle's perspective shifted. He grew to value his time with the foster care family. He thought of them as a Cosby-type family, recognizing the warmth and stability they provided.

Living back at his mother's house, Trayle's bond with his foster care family remained so strong that he once ran away just to reunite with them, emphasizing the impact they had on his life. He had a foster brother who was five years older than him as well as two foster sisters. He also has one biological younger sister.

Eventually, Trayle and his birth family relocated to Birmingham as his mother wanted a fresh start for the family. Initially settling in Riverdale for a year, they ultimately made Birmingham their home. This was where all of Trayle’s “older cousins” put him on to the Project Pats and 8Ball & MJGs of the industry.

Although Trayle hated living in the middle of nowhere, he was finally getting comfortable. Just in time for his mom’s idea to move to Atlanta! She thought it was too slow and they moved to Washington Road in Atlanta once they saved enough money. Atlanta was the perfect in-between of New York and Atlanta. You may recognize Washington Road in his track “Making $ In Me,” where he raps about trapping at the Texaco gas station.

When he first arrived in Atlanta, it was very different from Alabama. Everyone had mohawks and sang to Rich Kidz. Everyone was on some “Texas sh*t” and was rapping about guns with deep voices. When he moved to Atlanta, everyone was singing. He said it was good because the two complemented each other well and he implemented a mixture into his music to create a unique sound.

“You didn’t have a childhood out [in Atlanta] if you didn’t sing ‘Rich Kidz’ and go to parties and put a mohawk on your head and dye your hair blonde,” said Trayle in an interview. Trayle often found himself teased for talking differently. Some would ask him, "Are you from Africa?" to which Trayle would reply: "No, I am from New York City."

ATLiens were ruthless, Trayle was made fun of for what he thought were regular clothes. However, it was no sweat for him. People call him the “chameleon” because he can blend in anywhere and adapt no matter where he is and when circumstances change.

“You can take me anywhere and by the time I leave they gon’ f**k with me,” he’d say. He never thought of himself as a bully, but, he always has to stay protected. People stand behind him because they know what he’s been through.

In an interview with DGB, he was asked the biggest lesson he has learned in life. Trayle said, “When I got shot, I had to breathe real slow.” During a DJ Vlad interview, Trayle recounted a harrowing experience of being shot seven times during a home invasion. The first thought that popped into his head was to remain calm. He felt like that is what kept him alive because he could have panicked, and it would have exacerbated his injuries and potentially hindered rational decision-making, potentially making the situation worse.

After the incident, he had to remain calm on the floor, bleeding. This moment taught him to breathe through everything day by day. He advises that if you are working on something, every day, take a breath and never quit. If you need to go into the closet and breathe, do it. Trayle believes that it is necessary to be consistent. Whatever you want to happen will happen. If what you’re expecting to happen hasn’t yet, whatever you’re doing isn’t for you. These are true words from the one and only CEO Trayle.

Unlike many of today’s up-and-coming artists, Trayle deters from hard drugs and never uses them to mask the pain and cope with being shot. He doesn’t pop Percocets. Fun fact, according to Trayle, his song “Percocet Pain” is not about Percocets, it is about using his music to deal with pain rather than using Percocets. He says, “This is a Percocet for your ears!”

Trayle compares his mindset to rapping, mentioning that he's been in the game since he was 13 years old. Now at 27, he's witnessed people younger, older, and his age go crazy. He never wanted any help. He said he’s known Metro Boomin for over ten years through Sonny Digital, but never felt the need to use him for what he had. He’d rather become successful on his own.

So, how did Trayle get to where he is now? Where does this story lead? In an interview with Our Generation Music, Trayle briefly talks about his come-up. While in Atlanta, he met Gunna’s DJ named “Taurus.” Taurus introduced him to Chicago legends “G Herbo” and “Booka” and told Trayle to move there. Once he arrived in Chicago, everything was up.

He built up his network and was eventually invited to a dinner with Gunna, Booka, and Taurus at a fancy restaurant. After they ate, Gunna invited him to come back with them to the studio. There were almost 30 people packed into the studio. It didn’t dissuade Trayle. They all started kicking it, listening to music. Suddenly, Gunna told Trayle to “hook up to the aux, slime” and Trayle went through a list of his favorite tracks.

Everyone in the studio lit up. Booka and Taurus already knew the songs, Gunna was dancing, and everyone was turnt. At one point, Gunna even said, “What you want?” and played unfinished tracks, opening the door for Trayle to hop on any song he desired. The whole night was batsh*t crazy. Lil Wayne and Turbo walked in at one point, and Trayle jumped on tracks all night. From this moment forward, most of YSL stood behind him.

To this day, many rumors have floated around surrounding whether or not Trayle is indeed in YSL. In an interview with Shirley Ju, CEO Trayle was asked if he’s in YSL. She brought up how he had changed his Instagram profile picture to Gunna’s DS4Ever album cover after the release. Trayle shrugged off the question and replied, “He did it for me.”

Trayle has an alter ego called "Big Boss C4," though he's not one to discuss it openly. He morphs his voice into a demonic voice and talks to himself like an angel and a devil, similar to how Eminem and Dr. Dre rapped on “Guilty Conscience.” The only difference is that Trayle raps with himself, which requires immense talent.

This highlights Trayle’s lack of features, especially in his recent songs. He's realized he doesn't need features. His talent allows him to rap back and forth with himself, creating an immersive listening environment and enabling him to flow smoothly.

On May 4th, 2020, Trayle released “Ok Cool.” At first, he thought it was a throwaway song and had no plans of releasing it. It was a break-up track and Trayle said that he was just messing around when making it. This was until he started hearing “OK Cool” online. Somehow people had gotten ahold of a recording. Allegedly, Trayle’s friend was on live during the original clip of the track. One of his viewers had asked him for a recording of the song, and it spread like wildfire.

Trayle knew he had to upload it ASAP to capitalize on the opportunity. He originally dropped it as a single and it took off right away garnering over a million listens in the first couple of months. He proceeded to upload the music video and it was over. The track blew up on TikTok.

What’s sad is that “OK Cool” is what he is known for. Whenever I bring up “CEO Trayle,” people know him from this track and this track alone. They say, “He’s alright.” Even Trayle says that it’s a double-edged sword. Although the track did well, people categorize him as someone who just says “b*tch” a million times because that is the only song they know by him. Trayle also clarifies that he respects women, but people think otherwise when listening to the tune. He says people will always find little things and amplify them to stir the pot.

He explains that it’s hard to keep fans interested. Once you find a song that hits, you have to find the next to keep fans interested. Additionally, Trayle hasn’t signed to a label and has no plans to. He was the CEO/Founder of a label called “1080 Trademark.” There’s not a lot of available information about the label, however, the LLC was registered in Illinois and was dissolved on August 12, 2020. Trayle explains in an interview with The Fader, “If I was to feed into how they want me to then I’ll f*ck up rap.” The problem is he won’t, he’s too real for the industry. He lets his music speak for himself.

If you've reached this point, it's time to give his music a try. Here are some tracks I recommend:

July the Fourth - CEO Trayle

In "July the Fourth," We witness a raw reflection on his journey, where he navigates through hardships with resilience and determination. Trayle paints a vivid picture of his past, from hustling to escape poverty to moments of familial struggle. The lyrics resonate with authenticity as he recounts personal anecdotes, such as buying his first firearm and the bittersweet memories of childhood.

Alter Ego 2 - CEO Trayle

This track unveils a dialogue between conflicting facets of Trayle's persona, grappling with internal conflicts and external pressures. The track dives into the duality of his character, highlighting the tension between ambition and morality. Trayle confronts his alter ego, engaging in a compelling discourse on identity, loyalty, and the pursuit of power. The lyrics resonate with raw emotion, capturing the confusion of a man torn between two worlds.

Song Cry - CEO Trayle

In "Song Cry," CEO Trayle lays bare the challenges of discerning genuine allies from fake friends. He reflects on past betrayals, emphasizing his commitment to only uplift those who stand by him. Trayle's resilience shines through as he navigates the complexities of his reality, encapsulated in the line: "Did that just 'cause I'm real, know too much blood done spilled."

Pardon My Playa - CEO Trayle

“Pardon My Playa” touches on confidence and swag, as Trayle embraces his status and unapologetically asserts his dominance. The track embodies his persona as a self-made entrepreneur, navigating the streets with finesse and authority. Trayle's lyrics are sharp, painting a vivid portrait of a man once again, unapologetically living life on his own terms.

We So Young - CEO Trayle

This song offers a reflection on Trayle's past, contrasting moments of innocence with the harsh realities of street life. The track highlights themes of loss, trauma, and resilience, showcasing Trayle's ability to find strength in adversity. His lyricism is poignant, capturing the essence of his journey with authenticity.

Make sure to check out Trayle’s most recent album The Collection Vol. 2 below, and follow @CeoTrayle_ on Instagram and @ceotrayle_ on X!

Written By Eli Grehn

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