Trap music, also known simply as trap, is a subgenre of
hip-hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
music which originated in the
Southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...
, with lyrical references to trap starting in 1991 but the modern sound of trap appearing in 1999.
[ The genre gets its name from the ]Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
slang term " trap house", a house used exclusively to sell drugs. Trap music is known for its simple, rhythmic, minimalistic productions that use synthesized drums, and is characterized by complex hi-hat patterns, snare drum
The snare drum (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often u ...
s, bass drums, some tuned with a long decay to emit a bass frequency (originally from the Roland TR-808
The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, commonly known as the 808, is a drum machine manufactured by Roland Corporation between 1980 and 1983. It was one of the first drum machines to allow users to program rhythms instead of using preset patterns. ...
drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...
), and lyrical content that often focuses on drug use and urban violence.
Pioneers of the genre include producers DJ Spanish Fly, DJ Paul & Juicy J
Jordan Michael Houston III (born April 5, 1975), known professionally as Juicy J, is an American rapper and record producer. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he is a founding member of the Southern hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia, established ...
, Kurtis Mantronik, Mannie Fresh, Shawty Redd, Fatboi, Zaytoven
Xavier Lamar Dotson (born January 12, 1980), known professionally as Zaytoven, is an American record producer from Atlanta, Georgia. He has released collaborative projects with artists including Gucci Mane, Usher, Future, Young Dolph, Mig ...
, DJ Screw
Robert Earl Davis Jr. (July 20, 1971 – November 16, 2000), better known by his stage name DJ Screw, was an American hip hop DJ based in Houston, Texas, and best known as the creator of the chopped and screwed DJ technique. He was a centra ...
, and DJ Toomp, along with rappers T.I., Jeezy
Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. He is credited, alongside fellow Georgia-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music for ...
, and Gucci Mane
Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He is credited, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Jeezy, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music for mainstream a ...
. The style was popularized by producer Lex Luger, who produced the influential Waka Flocka Flame album '' Flockaveli'' in 2010, and cofounded the prolific hip-hop production team 808 Mafia.
Since crossing over into the mainstream in the 2010s, trap has become one of the most popular forms of American music, consistently dominating the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 throughout the decade, with artists such as Drake, Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...
, Future
The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ex ...
, Playboi Carti, 21 Savage, Migos, Lil Uzi Vert, Post Malone
Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His music blends various genres including hip-hop, Pop music, pop, Contemporary R&B, R&B, Tra ...
, XXXTentacion
Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy (January 23, 1998 – June 18, 2018), known professionally as XXXTentacion, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Though a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal troubles, XXXTentacion gai ...
, DaBaby, Roddy Ricch, Young Thug, and Travis Scott (among many others) all achieving No. 1s on the chart with songs featuring production inspired by the trap subgenre. It has influenced the music of many pop and R&B artists, such as Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...
, Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...
, Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...
, Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...
, The Weeknd
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...
, Sabrina Carpenter and more. Its influence can also be heard in reggaetón and K-pop
K-pop (; an abbreviation of "Korean popular music") is a form of popular music originating in South Korea. It emerged in the 1990s as a form of youth subculture, with Korean musicians taking influence from Western Electronic dance music, danc ...
. In 2018, hip-hop became the most popular form of music for the first time ever (according to Nielsen Data), coinciding with trap's continued rise in popularity. 2019 saw trap-influenced hits amass high commercial success such as Ariana Grande's " 7 Rings" spending eight weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and the country-trap song " Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X
Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), better known by his stage name Lil Nas X ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his 2018 country rap single "Old Town Road," the longest-running nu ...
(featuring Billy Ray Cyrus), which broke the record for spending the most weeks (19) on top of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, as well as becoming the fastest song to reach a Diamond Certification.
Characteristics
In trap music, lyrical themes mostly revolve around the general life and culture in the "trap" or in the actual southern trap house where controlled substances are being sold. The term "trap" refers to places where drug deals take place. Other topics also include street life, acquiring wealth, violence
Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...
, American vehicles, and life experiences that artists have faced in their southern American surroundings.
Trap music employs multilayered thin- or thick-textured monophonic drones with sometimes a melodic accompaniment expressed with synthesizers; crisp, grimy, and rhythmic snares, deep 808 kick drums, double-time, triple-time, and similarly divided hi-hats, and a cinematic and symphonic use of synthesized string, brass, woodwind, and keyboard instruments to create an energetic, hard-hitting, deep, and variant atmosphere. These primary characteristics, the signature sound of trap music was pioneered and originated by Shawty Redd's minimalist, horror-inspired style and DJ Toomp's melodic, sample-driven approach, drawing inspiration from jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
, soul
The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
, R&B, gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
, and funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
. Trap may use a range of tempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
s (often programmed in half-time to achieve finer hi-hat subdivisions) from 50 (100) BPM to 88 (176) BPM, but the tempo of a typical trap beat is around 70 (140) BPM.
History
1990s–2003: Origins
As hip hop grew, it created many forms such as 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 ...
, which shone more of a light on the dangerous lifestyle of those in impoverished American neighborhoods, and on political issues. As hip hop mutated into 'gangsta' rap, 'gangsta' rap would then transform to trap, a new form of music, that followed a different thought process and different tones. Early producers creating trap music included Lil Jon
Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971), better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, DJ, and record producer. Regarded as a progenitor of the club-oriented hip-hop subgenre crunk, his production and voice presence were inst ...
from Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, where the term originated as a reference to places where drug deals are made.
Lil Jon, along with Mannie Fresh from New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
and DJ Paul & Juicy J
Jordan Michael Houston III (born April 5, 1975), known professionally as Juicy J, is an American rapper and record producer. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he is a founding member of the Southern hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia, established ...
from Memphis, Tennessee worked with local acts in Atlanta including Dungeon Family
The Dungeon Family were a musical collective based in Atlanta that specialized in Southern hip hop with heavy funk and soul music, soul influences. Members of this collective recorded music, and had their career emerge, from Rico Wade's basement ...
, Outkast, Goodie Mob, Three 6 Mafia
Three 6 Mafia is an American hip-hop group from Memphis, Tennessee, formed in 1991. Emerging as a horror-themed underground hip-hop group, they went on to enjoy mainstream success. The group's 1995 debut album ''Mystic Stylez'' became an influen ...
, Tommy Wright III and Ghetto Mafia. In 1992, one of the earliest records to release was UGK's "Cocaine In The Back of the Ride" from their debut EP, " The Southern Way". Later in 1992, they released the popular "Pocket Full of Stones" from their major-label debut album '' Too Hard to Swallow''. It was also featured in the 1993 film '' Menace II Society''. In 1996, Master P
Percy Robert Miller (born April 29, 1967), better known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, dancer, actor and entrepreneur. He founded the record label No Limit Records in 1991, which was relau ...
released his single " Mr. Ice Cream Man" from his fifth studio album '' Ice Cream Man''. Fans and critics started to refer to rappers whose primary lyrical topic was drug dealing as "trap rappers". T.I.'s 2001 song "Dope Boyz", from his debut album '' I'm Serious'', includes the lyrics "the dope boyz in the trap nigga / the thug nigga, drug dealer where you at". David Drake of 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 ...
wrote that "the trap in the early 2000s wasn't a genre, it was a real place", and the term was later adopted to describe the "music made about that place".
2003–2015: Rise in mainstream popularity
During the early- to mid-2000s, trap music began to emerge as a recognized genre after the mainstream success of a number of albums and singles with lyrics that covered life in "the trap", drug dealing and the struggle for success. Several Southern rappers with drug dealer personas such as T.I., Young Jeezy
Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. He is credited, alongside fellow Georgia-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music fo ...
, Gucci Mane
Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He is credited, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Jeezy, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music for mainstream a ...
, Boosie Badazz
Torence Ivy Hatch Jr. (born November 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Boosie BadAzz or simply Boosie (formerly Lil' Boosie), is an American rapper. Hatch began rapping in the 1990s as a member of the Southern hip hop collective Concentr ...
, Young Dolph, Lil Wayne, and Rick Ross
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...
produced crossover hits and helped expand the popularity of the genre, with trap records beginning to appear more heavily on mixtapes and radio stations outside of the South. Though trap artists were somewhat diverse in their production styles, the signature and quintessential trap sound (typically based around synth
A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
, orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
, and string swells with tight, bass-heavy 808 kick drums) that would come to be associated with the genre developed in Atlanta during trap's mid-2000s breakthrough. Some of the notable trap producers during the mid to late 2000s include DJ Toomp, Fatboi, Drumma Boy, Shawty Redd, D. Rich, and Zaytoven
Xavier Lamar Dotson (born January 12, 1980), known professionally as Zaytoven, is an American record producer from Atlanta, Georgia. He has released collaborative projects with artists including Gucci Mane, Usher, Future, Young Dolph, Mig ...
. The first wave of the trap sound was influenced by earlier Southern producers such as Lil Jon
Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971), better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, DJ, and record producer. Regarded as a progenitor of the club-oriented hip-hop subgenre crunk, his production and voice presence were inst ...
, Mannie Fresh, and DJ Paul.
By the end of the decade, a second wave of trap artists gained momentum and frequently topped the ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' hip hop charts. Trap producer Lex Luger gained huge popularity, and produced more than 200 songs in 2010 and 2011, including a number of singles for mainstream rap artists such as Rick Ross' " B.M.F. (Blowin' Money Fast)". Since Luger's rise, his signature trap sound has been the heavy use of 808s, crisp snares, fast hihats, synth keys, and orchestration of brass, strings, woodwind, and keyboards. Many of his sounds have been adopted by other hip hop producers trying to replicate his success. As such, Luger is often credited with popularizing the modern trap sound. Since the 2010s, an array of modern trap producers have gained industry popularity, most notably 808 Mafia's Southside and TM88, Sonny Digital, Young Chop, DJ Spinz, Tay Keith and Metro Boomin. Some producers expanded their range to other genres, such as contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music Music genre, genre, originating from African Americans, African-American musicians in the 1980s that combines rhythm and blues with elements of Pop music, pop, Soul music, soul, funk, Hip-hop, ...
( Mike WiLL Made It) and electronic music
Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
( AraabMuzik).
Throughout 2011 and 2012, trap music maintained a strong presence on the mainstream ''Billboard'' music charts with a number of records released by rappers such as Young Jeezy, Chief Keef and Future
The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ex ...
. Jeezy's single " Ballin" reached number 57 on the ''Billboard'' charts and was considered one of Jeezy's best tracks in some time. Future's single, " Turn On the Lights", was certified gold and entered at number 50 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and Keef's " I Don't Like" and " Love Sosa" generated over 30 million views on YouTube, spawning a new subgenre within trap called drill, or later called Chicago drill following the rise of the less-trap oriented, grime-influenced UK drill. Music critics called drill production style the "sonic cousin to skittish footwork, southern-fried hip-hop and the 808 trigger-finger of trap". Young Chop is frequently identified by critics as the genre's most characteristic producer. The sound of trap producer Lex Luger's music is a major influence on drill, and Young Chop identified Shawty Redd, Drumma Boy and Zaytoven as important precursors to the drill movement. "I Don't Like" inspired fellow Chicago native, notable hip hop producer and rapper Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
to create a remix of the song, which was included on his label GOOD Music
GOOD Music (often stylized as G.O.O.D. Music; a backronym for Getting Out Our Dreams) is an American independent record label founded by rapper Kanye West in 2004. The label entered an exclusive long-term worldwide music distribution, distributi ...
's compilation album '' Cruel Summer''. Stelios Phili of '' GQ'' called trap music "the sound of hip hop in 2012".
Since maintaining a strong presence on the mainstream music charts, trap music has been influential to non-hip hop artists. R&B singer Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...
's songs " Drunk in Love", " Flawless" and " 7/11", all from her 2013 album ''Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...
'', also contained trap influences. American dance-pop singer Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...
recorded a trap-inspired song titled "Jewels 'n Drugs" for her 2013 album '' Artpop'', featuring rappers T.I., Too Short and Twista
Carl Terrell Mitchell (born November 27, 1973), better known by his stage name Twista (also known as Tung Twista), is an American rapper. He is best known for his Chopper (rap), chopper style of rapping and for once holding the title of fastest ...
. The combination of pop and trap music was met with mixed responses from critics. In September 2013, American pop singer Katy Perry
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...
released a song titled " Dark Horse" featuring rapper Juicy J
Jordan Michael Houston III (born April 5, 1975), known professionally as Juicy J, is an American rapper and record producer. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he is a founding member of the Southern hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia, established ...
, from her 2013 album '' Prism''; the song is credited with cementing trap music's place on the ''Billboard'' charts. The song reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 by the end of January 2014.
2015–present: Mainstream popularity
In May 2015, trap music once again surfaced to the top of mainstream music charts as New Jersey rapper Fetty Wap's hit single " Trap Queen" peaked at number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Fetty Wap's subsequent singles, " My Way" and " 679", also reached the top 10 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Brooklyn-based rapper Desiigner gained major recognition in 2016 upon the release of " Panda" as his debut single which topped the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The commercial success of trap songs also began to be assisted by Internet meme
An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...
s, as was the case with Rae Sremmurd and Gucci Mane
Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He is credited, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Jeezy, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music for mainstream a ...
's 2016 song " Black Beatles", which reached number-one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart after exposure through the Mannequin Challenge Internet phenomenon. Similarly, in 2017 the collaboration between Migos and Lil Uzi Vert " Bad and Boujee", with the now popularly spread lyrics "Raindrop (drip), Drop top (drop top)" reached number-one after internet meme exposure. 2 Chainz
Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (formerly Tity Boi), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Ci ...
released his fourth studio album '' Pretty Girls Like Trap Music'' in June 2017. Rapper Cardi B became extremely popular with her song " Bodak Yellow", which topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 2017.
In 2013, trap-influenced EDM came into the mainstream, popularized by producer DJ Snake.
In 2015, a new fusion of trap music named Latin trap began to emerge. Spain was the first Spanish-speaking country to make trap music, with performers as the music group PXXR GVNG, formed by Yung Beef, Kaydy Cain, Khaled and the producer Steve Lean, who was a part of 808 Mafia. Latin trap is similar to mainstream trap in its themes of (the streets), hustling, sex, and drugs. Prominent artists of Latin trap include Bryant Myers, Anuel AA, Miky Woodz, Almighty, Maluma and Bad Bunny. In July 2017, ''The Fader
''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture.
History and work
It is owned by T ...
'' wrote "Rappers from Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
have taken elements of trap—the lurching bass lines, jittering 808s and the eyes-half-closed vibe—and infused them into banger after banger." In an August 2017 article for ''Billboard''s series, "A Brief History Of", they enlisted some of the key artists of Latin trap, including Ozuna, De La Ghetto, Bad Bunny, Farruko
Carlos Efrén Reyes Rosado (born May 2, 1991), known professionally as Farruko, is a Puerto Rican singer. He rose to fame collaborating with Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, Don Omar, and J Álvarez. He came to prominence in 2010 with his first solo alb ...
and Arcángel—to narrate a brief history on the genre. Elias Leight of ''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 ...
'' noted " orgeFonseca featured Puerto Rican artists like Anuel AA, Bryant Myers and Noriel on the compilation ''Trap Capos: Season 1'', which became the first "Latin trap" LP to reach number one on ''Billboard''s Latin Rhythm Albums chart." A remix
A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...
ed version of Cardi B's single "Bodak Yellow" (which had previously reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart), dubbed the "Latin Trap Remix", was officially released on August 18, 2017, and features Cardi B rapping
Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...
in Spanish with Dominican hip hop recording artist Messiah contributing a guest verse. In November 2017, ''Rolling Stone'' wrote that "a surging Latin trap sound is responding to more recent developments as it fuses with Reggaeton, embracing the slow-rolling rhythms and gooey vocal delivery popularized by Southern hip-hop".
"Bubblegum rap" consists of a "booming, trap-laden" beat with "flavorful" elements and mumble rap
Mumble rap (sometimes referred to as SoundCloud rap or non-lyrical rap) is a loosely defined microgenre of Hip-hop, hip hop that largely spread via the online audio distribution platform SoundCloud in the 2010s. The term implies "mumbling", or ...
. It is also described as "ushering in a new wave of Internet-born music stars".
On 5 May 2018, rapper and musician Childish Gambino released " This Is America", which is "built on the sharp contrast between jolly, syncretic melodies and menacing trap cadences". It debuted at number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was streamed over 65 million times in the first week of its release.
In 2018, in promotion for his album '' Dime Trap'', T.I. opened a pop-up Trap Music Museum in Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
: "We curated it from conception. The purpose of it was to acknowledge the most significant contributors to the culture. Secondly, inform those who may be least knowledgeable about the genre. And inspire those who are in the environment that inspires the genre." The museum also includes an escape room entitled 'Escape the Trap'.
In 2018, American pop-R&B singer Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...
incorporated trap elements in her fourth studio album, '' Sweetener'', while maintaining her signature pop-R&B sound. She furthered trap experimentation in " 7 Rings", " Bad Idea", " In My Head" and " Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" from her fifth studio album '' Thank U, Next''. Both ''Sweetener'' and ''Thank U, Next'' were critical and commercial successes, with the former winning the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album, and the latter breaking numerous streaming records and spawning two number one singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Grande's sixth studio album, '' Positions'', is largely a trap-inspired R&B-pop album.
In 2019, Lil Nas X
Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), better known by his stage name Lil Nas X ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his 2018 country rap single "Old Town Road," the longest-running nu ...
's " Old Town Road" crossed trap with Western and country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
. In March 2019, the song debuted at number 19 on the Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...
before being removed from the chart a week later. A remix
A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...
with Billy Ray Cyrus was released on April 5, 2019, and later became the longest-running number one hip-hop single of all time and the overall longest number one single of all time on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, at 19 weeks, surpassing the record set by Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...
and Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...
's " One Sweet Day" and Luis Fonsi
Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero (born April 15, 1978), known by his stage name Luis Fonsi (), is a Puerto Rican singer. He is known for his soulful and dance oriented songs, most notably 2017's "Despacito".
Fonsi received his first Latin ...
and Daddy Yankee
Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (; born February 3, 1976), known professionally as Daddy Yankee (), is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor who rose to worldwide prominence in 2004 with the song "Gasolina". Dubbed the "Honorific ...
's "Despacito
"Despacito" (; ) is a song by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi, originally written in 2015. In 2016, Luis sent the song to Puerto Rican rapper and singer Daddy Yankee to give it an "urban injection", and released it as the lead single from Fons ...
" featuring Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...
.
References
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Trap music
African-American music
Hip-hop genres
American styles of music
Youth culture in the United States
Southern hip-hop
1990s in American music
2000s in American music
2010s in American music
2020s in American music
Music of Atlanta
Music of Houston
Music of Tennessee
20th-century music genres
21st-century music genres
2010s fads and trends