Horrorcore (also called shock rap, horror hip hop, horror rap, death hip hop, death rap, or murder rap) is a subgenre 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 ...
based on
horror-themed and often darkly
transgressive lyrical content and imagery. Its origins derived from certain
hardcore hip hop and
gangsta rap
Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, is a subgenre of rap music that conveys the culture, values, and experiences of urban gangs and street hustlers, frequently discussing unpleasant realities of the world in general th ...
artists, such as the
Geto Boys, who began to incorporate
supernatural
Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
, the
occult
The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...
, and
psychological horror themes into their lyrics. Other early originators and influences on the genre include
Gravediggaz,
Flatlinerz,
Three 6 Mafia,
Brotha Lynch Hung,
Necro, and
Kool Keith
Keith Matthew Thornton (born October 7, 1963), known professionally as Kool Keith, is an American rapper and record producer known for his surreal, abstract, and often profane or incomprehensible lyrics. Kool Keith has recorded prolifically both ...
.
Unlike most hardcore hip hop and gangster rap artists, horrorcore artists often push the violent content and imagery in their lyrics beyond the realm of realistic urban violence, to the point where the violent lyrics become gruesome, ghoulish, unsettling, or inspired by
slasher films or
splatter films. While exaggerated violence and the supernatural are common in horrorcore, the genre also frequently presents more realistic yet still disturbing portrayals of
mental illness and
drug abuse
Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definitions ...
. Some horrorcore artists eschew supernatural themes or exaggerated violence in favor of more subtle and dark psychological horror imagery and lyrics.
Horrorcore has incited controversy, with some members of the law enforcement community asserting that the genre incites crime. Fans and artists have been blamed for numerous high-profile instances of violent criminal activity, including the
Columbine High School massacre,
the
Farmville murders, murders of law enforcement officers, and gang activity.
Characteristics
Horrorcore defines a style of hip hop music that focuses primarily on dark, violent,
gothic,
transgressive,
macabre and/or
horror-influenced topics such as
death
Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
,
psychosis
In psychopathology, psychosis is a condition in which a person is unable to distinguish, in their experience of life, between what is and is not real. Examples of psychotic symptoms are delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized or inco ...
,
psychological horror,
mental illness,
satanism,
self-harm
Self-harm refers to intentional behaviors that cause harm to oneself. This is most commonly regarded as direct injury of one's own skin tissues, usually without suicidal intention. Other terms such as cutting, self-abuse, self-injury, and s ...
,
cannibalism,
mutilation,
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death.
Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
,
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
,
torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
,
drug abuse
Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definitions ...
, and
supernatural
Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
or
occult
The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...
themes. The lyrics are often inspired by
horror movies and are performed over moody, hardcore beats.
[Meyer, Frank. (October 28, 2004]
Frankly Speaking: Halloween Horror-core Hip Hop
g4tv. Retrieved 2008-09-14. According to rapper
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...
, "If you take
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...
or
Wes Craven and you throw them on a rap beat, that's who I am". Horrorcore was described by ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' in 1995 as a "blend of
hardcore rap and bloodthirsty
metal
A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...
". The lyrical content of horrorcore is sometimes described as being similar to that of
death metal
Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...
, and some have referred to the genre as "death rap".
Horrorcore artists often feature dark imagery in their music videos and base musical elements of songs upon
horror film scores.
History
Origins
''
LA Weekly'' listed
Jimmy Spicer's 1980 single "Adventures of Super Rhyme" as the first example of "proto-horrorcore", due to a lengthy segment of the song in which Spicer recounts his experience of meeting
Dracula.
The group
Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde specialized in horror-themed music.
Dana Dane's song "Nightmares" related a frightening narrative.
Since 1986,
Ganxsta N.I.P. has performed horror-themed lyrics that he has described as "Psycho Rap", but he was not commonly considered to be horrorcore until the term came into mainstream prominence.
Ganxsta N.I.P. has written lyrics for other groups, including
Geto Boys, who were also an influence on the early horrorcore sound.
[
In 1988, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince released " A Nightmare on My Street", which described an encounter with Freddy Krueger,][ and the Fat Boys recorded the similarly themed " Are You Ready for Freddy" for the film '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master'' and its soundtrack. 1988 is also the year Insane Poetry (at the time called His Majesti) released "Armed & Dangerous", followed by their debut single as Insane Poetry, "Twelve Strokes Till Midnight", one of the first examples of music specifically made to be horrorcore.][ The following year saw the release of '' Boomin' Words from Hell'', the debut album of ]Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
-based rapper Esham, who would become particularly influential on Midwest
The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...
horrorcore (though he rejects the term, preferring "acid rap").
Although Kool Keith
Keith Matthew Thornton (born October 7, 1963), known professionally as Kool Keith, is an American rapper and record producer known for his surreal, abstract, and often profane or incomprehensible lyrics. Kool Keith has recorded prolifically both ...
claimed to have "invented horrorcore", the first use of the term appeared on the group KMC's 1991 album
Three Men With the Power of Ten
'. Nonetheless, Kool Keith brought significant attention to horror-influenced hip hop with his lyrical content as a part of the Ultramagnetic MC's and his 1996 debut solo album, '' Dr. Octagonecologyst''.
In 2024, writers at Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
described Nas' 1994, debut studio album, '' Illmatic'', as "shocking, borderline horrorcore (before horrorcore was a genre)". The album showcased Nas's early-'90s style of rap and was credited with generating significant hype for the MC.
Rise in the hip hop genre
The Geto Boys' debut album, '' Making Trouble'', contained the dark and violent horror-influenced track "Assassins", which was cited by Violent J of the horrorcore group Insane Clown Posse in his book '' Behind the Paint'' as the first recorded horrorcore song. He writes that the Geto Boys continued to pioneer the style with their second release, '' Grip It! On That Other Level'', with songs such as "Mind of a Lunatic" and "Trigga-Happy Nigga". The Geto Boys' 1991 album, '' We Can't Be Stopped'', was also influential on the horrorcore genre and contained themes of paranoia
Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of co ...
, depression, and psychological horror, especially in the track " Chuckie", and " Mind Playing Tricks on Me".
While rappers in the underground scene continued to release horrorcore music, including Big L, Insane Poetry, and Insane Clown Posse,[ the mid-1990s brought an attempted mainstream crossover of the genre.][
According to the book ''Icons of Hip Hop'', horrorcore gained mainstream prominence in 1994 with the release of Flatlinerz' '' U.S.A. (Under Satan's Authority)'' and Gravediggaz' '' 6 Feet Deep'' (released overseas as ''Niggamortis'').][Passantino, Dom (Jan 7, 2005]
"Top ten Hip-Hop gimmicks of all time"
. ''Stylus Magazine
''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog.
Addi ...
''. Accessed November 4, 2007.[Fernando Jr., S. H. (September 18, 2007)]
"The Pick, The Sickle & The Shovel"
''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
''. Accessed November 4, 2007. The Flatlinerz and Gravediggaz, along with the Geto Boys, Insane Clown Posse and Kool Keith, remain the most important artists in the development of horrorcore as a specific genre.
In 1995, an independent horror film called '' The Fear'' was released with a soundtrack consisting entirely of horrorcore songs, including Insane Clown Posse's biggest radio hit, "Dead Body Man" and a title track ("''The Fear (Morty's Theme)''") by Esham.[ 1995 also saw the release of Three 6 Mafia's debut album, '' Mystic Stylez'', which touched on heavy drug use, ritualistic sex, ]mass murder
Mass murder is the violent crime of murder, killing a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. A mass murder typically occurs in a single location where one or more ...
, torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
, and Luciferianism
Luciferianism is a belief system that venerates the essential characteristics that are affixed to Lucifer, the name of various mythological and religious figures associated with the planet Venus. The tradition usually reveres Lucifer not as Satan ...
. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (formerly known as B.O.N.E. Enterpri$e and also referred to as simply Bone Thugs or Bone) is an American hip hop group formed in 1991 in Cleveland, Ohio. Consisting of rappers Bizzy Bone, Wish Bone, Layzie Bone, Krayzie ...
's '' E. 1999 Eternal'', released in the same year, contains tales of the occult throughout, specifically on songs such as "Mr. Ouija 2", "Mo' Murda", " East 1999", and "Da Introduction". Tension would soon rise between Bone Thugs and Three 6 over their presumed similarities in style and use of dark imagery.
In 2009, dark music-themed website Fangoria named Tech N9ne
Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971), better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced "tech nine"), is an American rapper and singer. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold ...
's 2001 album '' Anghellic'' as an iconic and influential album to the genre, the artist, and hip-hop as a whole.
Horrorcore is generally not popular with mainstream audiences, though in some cities, like Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
, it is the dominant style of hip-hop, with Detroit-based performers such as Insane Clown Posse and Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...
, as well as Twiztid, having been commercially successful throughout the US. Horrorcore has thrived in Internet culture. Every Halloween since 2003, horrorcore artists worldwide have gotten together online and released a free compilation titled ''Devilz Nite''. According to the January 2004 BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
documentary ''Underground USA'', the subgenre "has a massive following across the US" and "is spreading to Europe".["Underground USA"](_blank)
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
. Accessed November 4, 2007 ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' in 2007 referred to it as a short-lived trend that generated "more shlock than shock".
Present-day horrorcore
In 2019, experimental
An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...
trio clipping. released '' There Existed an Addiction to Blood'', described as a "transmutation of horrorcore". GORE STREET (AKA: BODIES ON GORE STREET) is a more recent horrorcore collective, being formed in 2023, that mixes scream rap with violent imagery and horrorcore. Notable members are Craig Scissorhands, rejectedreyna, and YAUX.
Controversy
In September 1996, Joseph Edward "Bubba" Gallegos, an 18-year-old from Bayfield, Colorado, killed his roommates after ingesting methamphetamine
Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...
and listening repeatedly to horrorcore rapper Brotha Lynch Hung's song "Locc 2 da Brain". Brotha Lynch Hung is considered a horrorcore pioneer and even created his own horrorcore sub-category called "Ripgut" which is known for even more graphic lyrics dealing with hardcore gore, torture, and cannibalism. After attempting to kill his ex-girlfriend and taking two other students hostage, Gallegos was in turn killed by police. Gallegos was said to be a massive fan of Brotha Lynch Hung and his minister suggested that the music played a role in the killings, although he provided no evidence to back up that claim. Similar claims have been made about other violent acts and music, although there is "wide disagreement among experts over what effect—if any—music with violent content has on listeners".
In 1999, horrorcore group Insane Clown Posse (ICP) was considered a potential influence on school shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. ICP responded that if the shooters had been " Juggalos" (fans of ICP), they would have "gotten the whole damn school". However, Brooks Brown, the best friend of Dylan Klebold and a friend of both the shooters, was a Juggalo and had introduced Klebold to Insane Clown Posse's music.
Some police departments in the United States claim that Juggalo gangs have been linked to violent crimes. Arizona Department of Public Safety Detective Michelle Vasey has expressed concern at what she describes as the Juggalos' high potential for violence, stating, "The weapons, they prefer, obviously, hatchets ... We've got battle-axes, we've got machetes, anything that can make the most violent, gruesome wound", and, "Some of the homicides we're seeing with these guys are pretty nasty, gruesome, disgusting homicides, where they don't care who's around, what's around, they're just out to kill anybody". A 2017 Denver Police Department
The Denver Police Department (DPD) is the full service police department jointly for the Denver, City and County of Denver, Colorado, which provides County police, police services to the entire county, including Denver International Airport, and ...
guide claimed that even Juggalos who are not affiliated with a gang are prone to commit "murder, shootings, kidnapping
Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...
, rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...
, necrophilia
Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction or acts involving corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its ''International ...
, cannibalism, assault
In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...
, and arson", and that "such acts give a Juggalo a sense of pride and street credit amongst peers", although it acknowledged that the author had not "been able to find a significant source of collected data on the Juggalos" to substantiate those claims. Allegedly horrorcore-related criminal activity has, in rare cases, even included ad-hoc domestic terrorism, such as when a Juggalo-led terrorist cell calling itself the Black Snake Militia attempted to raid a National Guard
National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
...
armory in 2012.
See also
* Halloween music
References
{{Horror fiction
Hip-hop genres