Music writer Joseph 'JP' Patterson offers a definitive guide to the underground music phenomenon that is steadily has racking up a high profile following
Posted on January 19th 2013
Words By Joseph 'JP' Patterson
Trap music has been a major talking point in the "EDM" scene of late, thanks to trendy producers like Mad Decent’s Diplo popularising it through his various outlets. One of the standout trap tracks of 2012 was TNGHT's body-shuddering, bass-heavy 'Higher Ground' (above), which was a big-hitter in both the grime and dubstep scenes. Then there's Chief Keef, a 17-year-old rapper from Chicago, who become the trap music poster-boy overnight when he released 'I Don't Like' (above) last year. When Kanye West, Pusha T, Jadakiss and Big Sean jumped on the remix, it became an instant hip-hop anthem but it also opened the youngster up to a world that didn't/still doesn't get his world.
Production-wise, the sound born out of the Southern American rap circuit is made up by mixing plenty of trippy, heavy bass, a healthy dose of layered synths and hi-hats, with 808s being one of the main components. Instrumentals tend to start at 75BPM and end up at 120BPM, so it’s very unlikely that you’ll hear it being played at a tech house rave in east London on a Sunday night. The electronic-sounding build up, which producers like Lex Luger are so well-known for doing, is probably the most fascinating element of a trap beat, which is probably why all "EDM" eyes are on it right now. Many have even gone as far to say that it's "the new dubstep." Hipsters, eh? Gotta love 'em.
Lyrically, trap music deals with less of living the high life, more of what you have to do to get there – and that usually contains lots of talk about grafting in the "trap house" and the lifestyle that comes with the job. But there's also a side where rappers pull at the heartstrings by sharing emotional stories of what it's like to live in their hood, and the lengths they have to go to "get it in" and give their loved ones a better way of life. Maybe these party-starting beats are just to cover up the pain in the lyrics? I digress.
Bun B and the late Pimp C, also known as UGK, were two of the first people to ever bring the raw trap style to the forefront of hip-hop music, alongside Three 6 Mafia. Tracks like 'International Players Anthem' and 'Sippin' On Some Syrup' have become staple tracks, with some of today’s biggest remixers still finding ways to keep them alive. There's also pop-ular hip-hop artists such as T.I., whose 'Trap Muzik' album made him an international star back in 2003, Gucci Mane, Waka Flocka Flame, Rick Ross and Meek Mill, who still manage to keep the gritty trap vibe in their mainstream raps.
Funnily enough, the UK has its own trap movement going on. Giggs' 2008 mixtape, 'Walk In Da Park', was trap through and through. Who would’ve thought a label like XL Recordings would end up signing the Peckham-raised rapper a few years later? Other underground acts such as Joe Black, Young Spray, Youngs Teflon and Krept & Konan have also contributed, but there’s one guy who is known as "the UK's king of trap." His name? Blade Brown (pictured above).
"When people listen to my songs, they can hear that the music is authentic," says the south London rapper. "The environment is something that I'm very familiar with, so it's a subject that's easy for me to speak on. I think people find trap music interesting because it’s a lifestyle that people fantasize about. It has good and bad sides, but both are exciting for the listener to listen to." So, although some may make it seem as if it’s a new fad in hip-hop, please, let’s remember where trap music really comes from and what it really stands for. Guetta, please step away!
Production-wise, the sound born out of the Southern American rap circuit is made up by mixing plenty of trippy, heavy bass, a healthy dose of layered synths and hi-hats, with 808s being one of the main components. Instrumentals tend to start at 75BPM and end up at 120BPM, so it’s very unlikely that you’ll hear it being played at a tech house rave in east London on a Sunday night. The electronic-sounding build up, which producers like Lex Luger are so well-known for doing, is probably the most fascinating element of a trap beat, which is probably why all "EDM" eyes are on it right now. Many have even gone as far to say that it's "the new dubstep." Hipsters, eh? Gotta love 'em.
Lyrically, trap music deals with less of living the high life, more of what you have to do to get there – and that usually contains lots of talk about grafting in the "trap house" and the lifestyle that comes with the job. But there's also a side where rappers pull at the heartstrings by sharing emotional stories of what it's like to live in their hood, and the lengths they have to go to "get it in" and give their loved ones a better way of life. Maybe these party-starting beats are just to cover up the pain in the lyrics? I digress.
Bun B and the late Pimp C, also known as UGK, were two of the first people to ever bring the raw trap style to the forefront of hip-hop music, alongside Three 6 Mafia. Tracks like 'International Players Anthem' and 'Sippin' On Some Syrup' have become staple tracks, with some of today’s biggest remixers still finding ways to keep them alive. There's also pop-ular hip-hop artists such as T.I., whose 'Trap Muzik' album made him an international star back in 2003, Gucci Mane, Waka Flocka Flame, Rick Ross and Meek Mill, who still manage to keep the gritty trap vibe in their mainstream raps.
Funnily enough, the UK has its own trap movement going on. Giggs' 2008 mixtape, 'Walk In Da Park', was trap through and through. Who would’ve thought a label like XL Recordings would end up signing the Peckham-raised rapper a few years later? Other underground acts such as Joe Black, Young Spray, Youngs Teflon and Krept & Konan have also contributed, but there’s one guy who is known as "the UK's king of trap." His name? Blade Brown (pictured above).
"When people listen to my songs, they can hear that the music is authentic," says the south London rapper. "The environment is something that I'm very familiar with, so it's a subject that's easy for me to speak on. I think people find trap music interesting because it’s a lifestyle that people fantasize about. It has good and bad sides, but both are exciting for the listener to listen to." So, although some may make it seem as if it’s a new fad in hip-hop, please, let’s remember where trap music really comes from and what it really stands for. Guetta, please step away!
