Trick Trick

Christian Mathis, better known by stage name Trick-Trick, is an African-American rap artist from Detroit, Michigan.

Trick-Trick grew up in Detroit, one of the most crime-ridden cities in the United States. Trick learned to love music from his mother who was once a backup singer for jazz legend Alberta Adams. He also grew up listening to gospel, soul and funk music at home; two of his early musical memories were Phil Collins and George Clinton. Later on in his childhood he began to listen to hip hop such as Public Enemy, N.W.A. and Run DMC.

Trick's nickname was given to him at a very young age for his competent schemes of attracting the girls of his neighborhood, though later on he changed his name to Trick-Trick to play off his best friend and label companion Click-Click. Trick began his journey in the rap business when he signed his first deal with Click-Click's label, Click Boom Records, in 1992.

As a teenager, his father leaving home led him to take to the streets and become part of a gang where he became involved in hustling. This eventually resulted in charges for murder and he received a prison sentence. When he was released from months in custody after later being found not guilty and went back to the streets as a grown man, he devoted himself to a new enterprise: the music world.

In 1995 on his first day out of Michigan correctional facility he recorded his first radio hit with The Goon Sqwad titled "Booty Bounce". The single instantly took the #1 position on FM 98 WJLB in Detroit and other surrounding stations. Under Innersound (an Atlanta, Georgia based record label) the single reached sales of over 400,000 and 30,000 independently. While continuing to record hits on the small independent label Click Boom Records, run by him and his friend Click-Click, after a while every single released charted no lower than #3 on Detroit radio.

In the 1990s Trick-Trick received scanning over 500,000 of singles alone and over two million mixtape sales with his Wonder Boy Entertainment label. In 2000 he gained world-wide attention in the documentary titled Street Life. In 2003, a week before a show that would either make or break Trick's dreams of being a star, he was arrested for murder in the first degree. He was later found to be innocent.

In 2004 he was released and promptly began working on his latest release titled The People vs. which would now be distributed by Motown/Universal Records. Trick-Trick's "Welcome 2 Detroit" single featuring Eminem, entered the Billboard Top 100 at No. 90. It is the first single off The People vs. and recieved a large amount of airplay on release.

The vocal style of Trick-Trick is often described as a thick, guttural tone edged with both menace and a refreshing sarcastic jest.