Because a lot of these rappers can’t elaborate on many thoughts before switching to talking about partying or women or simply dying.īut the thing about that is so many of them live so rashly. Then Lil Xan tells you not to do drugs 10 times over as if simply saying it enough times makes a more convincing message. They simply talk about living without a care and fast. But they don’t necessarily offer any incite to these topics. Emo rap stresses mortality and talks very candidly about drugs and violence in a way that feels relatable yet taboo for many teens.
This acts in an almost antithesis to many older rappers that speak to immortality and power. The cornerstone to many of these rappers is the idea of emo rap. It’s not that SoundCloud rappers lack messages. But the definition is also sometimes extended to raps in which the lyrics simply don’t matter that much which seems counterintuitive in a genre that is essentially built on words. And this is kind of wild for them to do but is also a given when many of their lyrics lack complexity.Ī staple characteristic in SoundCloud rap is “mumble rap,” which is essentially just a lack of clear articulation of words. Lil Yachty’s made some controversial statements about being indifferent to the Notorious B.I.G. Lil Xan’s been under fire in the past for calling Tupac boring.
īut many SoundCloud rappers will proudly profess their separation from older generations of rap. This was once the case with the case in the classics of Mos Def’s “Modern Marvels” sampling Marvin Gaye’s music or Public Enemy’s “Can’t Truss It” sampling voice samples of Alex Haley and Malcolm X. The idea of “lo-fi”, intentionally low sound quality, allows for more accessibility to music, which is almost always a positive way for youth to self-express.īut the controversy of SoundCloud rappers comes in the idea of influences, both in what they are influenced by and what impact they actually can have.īecause the sociopolitical issues discussed in their songs tend to be problems that persist across generations, hip-hop has always used samples and throwbacks. For most, it’s the basic underdog kind of story. There is some merit to SoundCloud rappers.
So here’s my response to nearly every Lil out there. But as SoundCloud rappers rack up viral hits and make bank, one might as well analyze what their raps’ are really worth. Described by New York Times author Jon Caramanica as “ the most vital and disruptive new movement in hip-hop thanks to rebellious music, volcanic energy and occasional acts of malevolence,” SoundCloud rap continues to take on the mainstream.