What is trap music? The favorite sound of hip hop and rap

Trap music began as a subgenre of hip hop music that originated primarily in Atlanta, although the style, slang, and instrumentation quickly spread to other scenes and cities. It started in the early 2000s, when the “trap” referred to where drug dealers would keep their stash. Rappers like T.I., Young Jeezyand Gucci Mane were instrumental in bringing Atlanta to the broader audience, which emerged from the late 1990s and early 2000s highlights of Dungeon Family, Goodie Mob, Cool Breeze, Kilo Ali, Ghetto Mafia and OutKast.

The early days of trap music

TI – 24s
UGK – Diamonds and wood
8Ball & MJG – Paid dues
Master P – Mr. Iceman
T.I. – Dope Boyz
Three 6 Mafia – Tear da Club Up
Young Jeezy – 22 years or better
Lil Wayne – Go DJ
OutKast – Get up, get up
Gucci Mane f/Mac Bre-Z – Go Head

T.I. is often credited as the originator of the term “trap music,” naming his 2003 album Trap Musicwhich followed his 2001 debut album, I mean it. Trap Music with beats from DJ Toomp, a young Kanye West, Jazze Pha and contributions from the legendary duo 8Ball & MJG and Houston star Bun B.

The genre, while it has evolved to mean many different things in this era, started with a few key tonal and lyrical signifiers. The typical BPM or tempo of a trap beat is around 70 beats per minute, which can emphasize double and triple hi-hats. Producers like Shawty Redd and Lex Luger brought the trap sound to Atlanta rap, although this quality didn’t really take off until Migos pioneered the triplet flow, giving their music a numbing feel that sounded both fast and slow.

If you want to know what trap music is, you also have to go back to the twisted days of DJ Screw in Houston, a sound that spread to New Orleans and Master P’s record label Cash Money Records. The sound was taken over by Mannie Fresh, Cash Money’s in-house producer, and a legendary beatmaker who used Roland drum machines such as the TR-808 kick drums and bass snares to achieve his sound. Although its sound has permeated everywhere, it began and remains an institution in Atlanta precisely because so many of its groundbreaking artists came from the city. The music was about falling into Atlanta and the communities the rappers grew up in. From there the sound evolved to include more themes.

The sound was further expanded by Waka Flocka Flame, who worked with Lex Luger to bring trap closer to mainstream pop music. It is the melodies he incorporated into songs like “Hard in Da Paint” that would find their way into anthems by stars like Rihanna, Ariana Grandeand more.

Songs that take trap music to the next level

Waka Flocka Flame – Hard in Da Paint
Drake – Started from the bottom
Young Thug – Pacifier
Future – March Madness
Migos Versace
2 Chainz – I’m different
Travis Scott – Upper Echelon
Fetty Wap – Trap queen
Rick Ross – Trap Trap Trap
Chief Keef – I love Sosa

The EDM side

In the 2010s, the genre evolved, with EDM DJs and dance artists adopting a trap like Bauuer, and rap artists shrouding their lyrics in reverb and distortion. Other EDM artists such as Flosstradamus collaborated with rappers and dance artists to create their sound.

Bauuer – Harlem Shake
Flosstradamus – Came forward
RL Grime – Tell me
TNGHT – Higher ground
Lil Jon – Reject for what

Pitfall in the mainstream

Albums by DrakeYoung Thug, Fetty Wap and Travis Scott helped bring trap to the mainstream and the Billboard Hot 100, with pop artists even bringing the sound’s styles into their music. Rappers around the world began to embrace trap styles, including young MCs such as the late XXXTentacion, Latin trap artist J Balvin, superstar Cardi B, country rapper Lil Nas Buffalo-based Griselda MCs Westside GunnConway the Machine and Benny the Butcher. While the sound has evolved in many ways since its inception, the roots of the genre still lie in the traphouses of ATL that helped birth the global movement.

Kendrick Lamar – HUMBLE.
Rae Sremmurd – Black Beatles
Post Malone – rock star (feat. 21 Savage)
Lil Uzi Vert – XO Tour Llif3
XXXTentacion – Look at me!
Playboi Carti – @MEH
Sheck Wes-Mo Bamba
Migos – Stir fry
Lil Baby – Heatin Up (feat. Gunna)
Roddy Ricch – The Box

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