Frat rap is a
subgenre
Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
of
hip hop music
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...
that emerged in the late 2000s. It is sonically easygoing with a straightforward rhyming style and singsong cadence accompanied by a lyrical focal point on
coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
hedonism, which can include
campus
A campus traditionally refers to the land and buildings of a college or university. This will often include libraries, lecture halls, student centers and, for residential universities, residence halls and dining halls.
By extension, a corp ...
lifestyle, debaucherous
parties
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...
,
recreational drugs
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or plea ...
, and women. Frat rap quickly became commercially popular among a predominately white, college-aged, suburban male audience in the northeastern United States.
Asher Roth's 2009 song "
I Love College" is considered to have initiated the subgenre. Notable frat rappers such as
Mac Miller
Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known by the stage name Mac Miller, was an American rapper. He began his career in Pittsburgh's local hip hop music, hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of 15. In 2010, he signed ...
and
Lil Dicky
David Andrew Burd (born March 15, 1988), better known by his stage name Lil Dicky, is an American rapper, singer, comedian, and actor. He first received recognition after the music video for his 2013 song, "Ex-Boyfriend" became a viral video, v ...
later became successful in mainstream hip hop.
History
The subgenre of frat rap was invented by
Asher Roth with the release of his song "
I Love College" in 2009.
The subgenre grew rapidly and achieved commercial success within hip hop by 2010. In 2010, 18-year-old
Mac Miller
Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known by the stage name Mac Miller, was an American rapper. He began his career in Pittsburgh's local hip hop music, hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of 15. In 2010, he signed ...
released two mixtapes ''
K.I.D.S.'' and ''
Best Day Ever'' that made him an overnight success and launched him to the forefront of the frat rap phenomenon.
In 2011,
Aer's debut EP ''What You Need'' debuted atop the iTunes Hip-Hop/Rap albums chart, and
Mac Miller
Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known by the stage name Mac Miller, was an American rapper. He began his career in Pittsburgh's local hip hop music, hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of 15. In 2010, he signed ...
drawing more than 50,000 fans to
Government Center in Boston.
's first two albums, ''People Keep Talking'' in 2014 and ''Happy Camper'' in 2016, landed at number 2 and number 1 on the
Billboard rap charts.
Lil Dicky
David Andrew Burd (born March 15, 1988), better known by his stage name Lil Dicky, is an American rapper, singer, comedian, and actor. He first received recognition after the music video for his 2013 song, "Ex-Boyfriend" became a viral video, v ...
's 2015 album ''Professional Rapper'' was certified as a gold. By 2015, frat rappers were collaborating with mainstream rap artists such as
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
,
Quan, and
Fetty Wap.
Many of the most successful frat rap artists rejected the title and culture of frat rap and went on to release music that departed from the subject matter and sound of frat rap, being commercially successful in mainstream hip hop. Originally starting out in frat rap,
Mac Miller
Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known by the stage name Mac Miller, was an American rapper. He began his career in Pittsburgh's local hip hop music, hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of 15. In 2010, he signed ...
later changed his sound and later became the most successful former frat rapper in mainstream hip hop,
with a review of Rolling Stone stating that Miller had shed his frat rap reputation with the release of his album ''
Swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...
''.
Description
The name frat rap is derived from a shortened form of the word
fraternity
A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...
, which is a
university
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
social club.
Frat rappers and their audience were predominantly white, college-aged, suburban males,
with the
New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
region of the United States producing the most frat rappers.
The songs had basic rhyming style, a sing-songy cadence, and lyrics about debaucherous parties, doing drugs, and women.
Notable artists
Frat rap was heavily dominated by white rappers, including Roth,
Sammy Adams,
Hoodie Allen,
Chris Webby
Christian Talcott Webster (born October 13, 1988), better known by his stage name Chris Webby, is an American rapper. Webster has released many mixtapes such as the DJ Drama-hosted ''Bars On Me'' (2012) and his EP ''There Goes the Neighborhoo ...
, OnCue, Cam Meekins,
Lil Dicky
David Andrew Burd (born March 15, 1988), better known by his stage name Lil Dicky, is an American rapper, singer, comedian, and actor. He first received recognition after the music video for his 2013 song, "Ex-Boyfriend" became a viral video, v ...
,
Aer,
Mike Stud,
Mac Miller
Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known by the stage name Mac Miller, was an American rapper. He began his career in Pittsburgh's local hip hop music, hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of 15. In 2010, he signed ...
,
Lil Wyte, and Huey Mack.
References
{{reflist
Hip-hop genres
2000s fads and trends
2010s fads and trends
American styles of music
Frat rap