Rage (music genre)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Rage
Audio sample of a rage beat
Other names
  • Rage-rap
  • Rage beats
  • rage
Stylistic origins
Subgenres
New jazz
Regional scenes
  • United Kingdom
  • Germany

Rage (also known as rage music,[1][2] rage rap,[3] or rage beats[4][5][6]) is a microgenre of trap music.[3][7] Distinguishing features of rage include short looping stereo-widened future bass-influenced synthesizer lead hooks and basic, energetic trap rhythms.[4][7][8] Among the pioneers of rage are rappers Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert, and Trippie Redd.[7][4]

Etymology

The name of the subgenre comes from "

COVID-19 lockdowns.[7][4][8]

In the context of the title, "rage" means "moshpit". The concept of "rages" at rap concerts and the use of the term "rage" in hip hop music predate the rage subgenre itself:

aesthetic.[4][8][9] During the 2010s, multiple artists and critics used the word "rage" in context of hip-hop, mostly either referring to overdriven energetic sound, or the moshpits happening at rap concerts,[4] examples being Lil Uzi Vert's Luv Is Rage and Luv Is Rage 2 releases.[8]

History

The pioneers of rage rap are considered to be (from left to right) Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, and Trippie Redd.

Among the immediate precursors of rage are beats made by

Polow Da Don and others.[11]

Pierre Bourne.[13] It's also often suggested that the foundation of rage has been laid with Playboi Carti's Whole Lotta Red album, released in late 2020[14][15][16][17][6] and mostly produced by F1lthy.[11] Despite its initially mixed reception by fans, the album would come to largely define the genre, with much of what came after either heavily influenced by or trying to directly replicate the album's style.[1][18]

The genre's popularity and breakthrough is also attributed to the 2021 single "

Trip At Knight and expressed his fascination with rage rap.[14][8][19][11] Popular rapper Drake, who's tactic is often to showcase little known subgenres and styles in his albums,[20] released the rage-influenced track "What's Next", in early 2021 on his EP Scary Hours 2.[7] The instrumental from "What's Next", produced by Maneesh and Supah Mario, has been repeatedly likened to tracks from "Whole Lotta Red".[20][21][22] "What's Next" reached the top position on the Billboard Hot 100
chart.

Playboi Carti's record label Opium has been an influential force in the genre, with artists such as Ken Carson, Destroy Lonely, & Homixide Gang signed to the label in addition to Carti himself.[1] The label has had several notable rage releases, such as Ken Carson's 2021 album Project X and Destroy Lonely's 2022 mixtape No Stylist, which have had commercial success and have received a positive reception from fans, as they continue to push the genre to the mainstream.[14]

SoFaygo is another early adopter of the rage sound.[12] His late 2020 single "Off the Map" has been described as either closely resembling rage rap or being a proper rage song.[4][8][11] After releasing "Off the Map", SoFaygo went to collaborate with Trippie Red on "MP5", a track from Trip At Knight, and with Lil Yachty on "Solid".[11]

Later in 2021, thanks to TikTok,[23] underground rapper Yeat started releasing a more chaotic and dark version of rage rap, noted for abundant use of bell samples, after multiple of his songs ("Sorry About That" and "Mad About That" among them) became popular on the platform.[7][14][12][3] After becoming popular on TikTok, Yeat's music was noticed by the likes of Lil Yachty and Drake.[14][12] After that, Yeat went on to release two rage albums in 2021 and 2022, titled Up 2 Me and 2 Alive, showcasing his signature darker rage sound.[7]

Although rage has been referred to as "formulaic" and been deemed a "probable dead-end subgenre" by some critics,

pluggnb, along with other influences, on his 2022 DFTK album.[28][29][25]

Rage has also made its way to

UK hip hop.[31][5] Foux' earlier mixtape, FIRST DEGREE, was also described as containing rage elements.[32]

Diversification

In mid-2023, Harlem-based rapper and producer Lunchbox released New Jazz, a collaborative mixtape with producers streo, mowz and Mr Najibi.[33] "New Jazz" has been described as "Lunchbox’s desire to separate his music from the oversaturated scene of rage-rap" while its sound, and particularly mowz's production, has been described as "offbeat", "inventive", heavily synth-driven and "immediately recognizable".[33] As a critic suggested, "new jazz" title could be an attempt to label mixtape's sound separately from its rage roots.[33]

Characteristics

Rage has been characterized as futuristic,

sample pack by Cymatics, called Cymatics Odyssey EDM Sample Pack.[4] Yeat has also made it popular to use chiming bell sounds, once popular in earlier trap and drill music,[37] in rage beats.[7]

In terms of vocal delivery, many rappers in rage style oftentimes imitate vocal styles of Playboi Carti,[35] although the subgenre is mainly centered around beat production style.[4]

External links

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Nevares, Gabriel Bras (2022-08-26). "The Rise Of Rage Music". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  2. ^ a b Leight, Elias (2023-02-03). "These Rising Rappers Are Pushing Rage Music Into the Mainstream". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  3. ^ a b c d Lipshutz, Jason (February 18, 2022). "First Stream: New Music From Jack Harlow, Kid Cudi, Silk Sonic and More". Billboard. Portland's Yeat trades in "rage-rap," a style conducive to head-banging along with the bleary synths and sneering along with every exclamation and ad-lib
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Schäfers, Leon (June 21, 2021). "Wie Trippie Red und Playboi Carti Eine Neue Rage-Wave Prägen" [How Trippie Redd and Playboi Carti are shaping a new rage wave]. Hiphop.de [de].
  5. ^ a b c Williams, Kyann (November 23, 2021). "Lancey Foux: "I wish the UK acknowledged rap the same way they do punk"". NME.
  6. ^ a b c Breihan, Tom (February 23, 2022). "Yeat Is The Future, Maybe". Stereogum.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Wagner, Micha (May 1, 2022). "Rage Rap: Klingt so die Zukunft des Hip-Hop?" [Rage Rap: Is this the future of hip-hop?] (in German). Diffus Magazine [de].
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h FNMNL Editorial Board (September 15, 2021). "【コラム】What is "RAGE Beat"?" [【Column】 What is "RAGE Beat"?] (in Japanese). FNMNL.tv.
  9. ^ "Trippie Redd, Travis Scott, Kid Cudi, and the Commodification of Rage in Rap". Pitchfork. 2021-06-04. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  10. ^ Pierre, Alphonso (February 22, 2022). "Albums:2 Alive by Yeat". Pitchfork.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Kado, Abo; Mikiki Editorial Board. "レイジ（Rage）のサウンドはどこから来た? 新たなヒップホップ・ムーヴメントのルーツを辿る" [Where did Rage sound come from? Tracing the roots of the new hip-hop movement] (in Japanese).
    Mikiki
    .
  12. ^ a b c d e f McKinney, Jessica (February 27, 2022). "Who is Yeat? Everything You Need to Know About Yeat". Complex.
  13. ^ "Credits / Die Lit / Playboi Carti". Tidal. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  14. ^ a b c d e f Pierre, Alphonso (September 17, 2021). "Albums: Up 2 Me by Yeat". Pitchfork.
  15. ^ Darville, Jordan (February 18, 2022). "Listen to Yeat's new album 2 Alivë". The Fader.
  16. ^ a b Medithi, Vivian (Dec 24, 2021). "Playboi Carti 'Whole Lotta Red' is the sound of 2021 whether you like it or not". HipHopDX.
  17. ^ a b Slant Staff (December 8, 2021). "The 50 Best Songs of 2021". Slant Magazine.
  18. ^ Hollomand, Quintin (July 17, 2022). "From Fashion to Live Shows, "Whole Lotta Red's" Early Influence on Rap". Stereovision. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  19. ^ Ju, Shirley (February 18, 2021). "Trippie Redd Talks New Project Inspired by Lil Uzi Vert, Memories w/ Juice Wrld & XXXTentacion". Flaunt.
  20. ^ a b Ihaza, Jeff (March 10, 2021). "Is Drake Trying to Tell Us Something?". Rolling Stone.
  21. ^ Shulman, Daryl (March 7, 2021). "Review: Drake's new EP 'Scary Hours 2' hints at an incoming classic". The Diamondback.
  22. ^ Sammon, Joe (March 18, 2021). "Drake's 'Scary Hours 2': scarily disappointing". The Boar.
  23. ^ a b Karl, Kristian (February 27, 2022). "To nye hiphop-gennembrud viser, hvor genren (maske) er pa vej hen i 2022" [Two new hip-hop breakthrough artists show where genre is (maybe) headed to in 2022] (in Danish). Soundvenue [da].
  24. ^ a b Barlas, Jon (December 30, 2021). "Our Generation Awards: OGM's Top 10 rising stars of 2022". Our Generation Music.
  25. ^ a b Malone, Anthony; Floyd, Lauren; Medithi, Vivian; Brake, David; et al. (June 14, 2022). "The best new hip-hop mixtapes and EPs of 2022 ... (so far)". HipHopDX.
  26. ^ a b c Wagner, Micha (June 22, 2022). "What's Poppin? Drake ruft auf den Dancefloor – und keiner kommt mit?" [What's Poppin? Drake calls to the dancefloor – and no one comes along?] (in German). Diffus Magazine [de]. SoFaygo, Cochise und KayCyy repräsentieren den futuristischen rage sound [SoFaygo, Cochise and KayCyy represent the futuristic Rage sound]
  27. ^ a b c Galindo, Tomas (August 6, 2021). "Matt OX drops new banger 'Live It Up'". Our Generation Music.
  28. ^ Hellebrach, Miki (June 30, 2022). "10 Underrated Albums In 2022 You May Have Missed So Far". Okayplayer.
  29. ^ Audiomack Staff (Mar 16, 2022). "Yung Kayo Makes Worlds Collide". DJBooth.
  30. ^ Akinyoade, Temi (November 30, 2021). "Lancey Foux proves he's more than just a Carti imitator on LIVE.EVIL". WRBB Radio.
  31. ^ Barlas, Jon (November 18, 2021). "Lancey Foux finds balance on new album 'LIVE.EVIL'". Our Generation Music.
  32. ^ Sheekhuna, Fatima (March 13, 2021). "Lancey Foux Surprises Fans With New Eleven Song Project 'FIRST DEGREE'". New Wave Magazine.
  33. ^ a b c Pierre, Alphonso (June 8, 2023). "Lunchbox: New Jazz Review". Pitchfork.
  34. ^ Skelton, Eric (February 14, 2022). "The Real Zack Bia".
    Complex
    . As Bia describes it, SoundCloud 2.0 is a new wave of artists who are making some of the most urgent, forward-thinking music in rap. Whereas the first SoundCloud rap boom of the mid-2010s took shape in places like South Florida, this new iteration is coming together on the internet through Discord servers and group chats, and a tight-knit community is forming. Rapping over synthy "rage beats," these artists are making raw and frenetic music, pulling influences from OG SoundCloud stars like Playboi Carti, and pushing the sound in wild new directions.
  35. ^ a b c HiTao (July 9, 2022). "现在听New Wave的都是土龙鸣？最新的浪潮又是什么？" [Is listening to [SoundCloud] New Wave a trend now? Who listens to this music?]. www.xihachina.com (in Chinese). XiHaChina.
  36. ^ a b Billboard Staff (December 7, 2021). "The 100 Best Songs of 2021: Staff List: 64. Trippie Redd feat. Playboi Carti, "Miss the Rage"". Billboard.
  37. ^ Pierre, Alphonso (November 5, 2021). "Chief Keef's Influence Is as Strong as Ever". Pitchfork.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rage_(music_genre)&oldid=1219992771"