Hip-Hop / Rap
Beats, samples and rap: from New York block parties to pop's global lingua franca.
Hip-hop is about beats and the rhythm of speech. Classic rap leans on samples and storytelling, modern rap on 808s and melody, regional scenes on local accents and samples, and beats & instrumental removes the voice to leave only the groove.
What they share
- The beat is everything
- Sampling culture
- Rap rhyme and flow
Branches
All styles
- Hip-Hop / Rap
Gives a community, a person and a way of life a place to speak on their own beat.
- Boom Bap
Heavy drum hits and lean loops give a verse solid ground to stand on.
- Jazz Rap
Turns jazz timbres, harmony and memories of low end into a rhythmic space where the conversation can go on.
- G-Funk
Lazy funk bass and whistling high synths, cruising a sunny boulevard in a lowrider.
TrapHeavy low end slows time down while fine-grained rhythms keep speeding up between pressure and confidence.
RageA piercing synth loop, overdriven 808s and screamed vocals: trap written for the mosh pit.
DrillSliding 808s, syncopated hi-hats and cold delivery, the tense beat of dark estates.
Cloud RapFloating synth pads and lazy rap, like daydreaming on a pink cloud.
Plugg / PluggnBSparse drums, thick 808s and melodies like a Nintendo game: soft, floaty SoundCloud trap.
Emo RapHeartbreak and loneliness sung over trap beats, where rap meets emo rock feeling.
Alternative Hip-HopTreats the beat as a vessel for personal language, letting humour, whimsy, melody and different ways of telling enter rap.
GrimeLondon MCs spitting fast over cold 140 BPM electronic beats.
Chinese Hip-HopDialects, local pride and internet memes enter rap, from underground cyphers to variety-show stages.
Korean Hip-HopWrites the tone, rhymes and personal stance of the Korean language into beats the body can hear.
Instrumental Hip-HopLets drums, fragments and melody tell the story, like recutting memories into a journey that breathes.
Lo-fiIn imperfect textures, it leaves a little liveable warmth for everyday life.