The Melody Web what each genre heard, and what it passed on

heard passed on Click or tap a node to recenter. Use a connecting line, or Influence, for the story.

Heard

Crunk style · 1997–

Trap keeps crunk’s Atlanta 808 and club shout and darkens the synth bed for street mixtapes.

Influence
Hip-hop genre · 1973–

Trap is hip-hop’s Atlanta 808 child: same MC craft and mixtape market, a new drum dialect.

Influence

Trap

style · 2003–

Also called trap music

Kind of Hip-hop · Includes Latin trap

2000s Atlanta hip-hop style: 808 kick and sliding bass, rapid hi-hats, and a minor-key synth bed (Shawty Redd, Drumma Boy, later Metro Boomin). It is a style of hip-hop. Crunk is the Atlanta club parent. Drill, EDM trap, and Latin trap are named children. Chart landings are trap pop. Miami bass waits one step (crunk). Chopped and screwed leftover as a Houston sibling, not a parent. Snap leftover as a contemporaneous Atlanta dance sibling, not a parent or child. Phonk leftover. Mumble rap leftover. Southern rap remains a leftover bin. K-pop trap leftover as a beat tag on the existing hip hop k pop hop.

Listen

  1. Never Scared Bone Crusher (2003) YouTube · Amazon
  2. Make It Rain Fat Joe feat. Lil Wayne (2006) YouTube · Spotify · Amazon
  3. Rubber Band Man T.I. (2003) YouTube · Spotify · Amazon
  4. Mask Off Future (2017) YouTube · Spotify
  5. Bad and Boujee Migos (2016) YouTube

Passed on

Drill style · 2010–

Drill keeps trap’s 808 slide, hat rolls, and minor vamp and recodes them as Chicago street tape.

Influence
EDM trap style · 2012–

EDM trap keeps trap’s 808 and hat dialect and drops the verse-rap job for a festival drop.

Influence
Emo rap style · 2015–

Emo-rap takes trap’s 808-and-hat beat dialect as a bed under sung-rap confession.

Influence
Latin trap style · 2015–

Latin trap is trap’s Spanish-language Puerto Rican child: same 808-and-hat grammar, recoded in the urbano room.

Influence
Pop genre · 1958–

Mid-2010s pop takes trap’s 808 slide, hat rolls, and sung-rap hook as a streaming singles dialect (Drake, Migos).

Influence

Crunk → Trap

meter and groovetimbre and productionfunction and contextstrength: highwell documented2003–2008recordingoralradio

Mechanism

Trap keeps crunk’s Atlanta 808 and club shout and darkens the synth bed for street mixtapes. Strength high. Hip-hop is the umbrella parent; this hop is the local club school. T.I.’s early-2000s records are the usual hinge.

Evidence

Trap Muzik (2003) against Lil Jon–era club sides; Starr and Grove on that Atlanta succession.

Debate

Whether trap is only a beat update of crunk. The mixtape street voice and the sliding 808 bass make a named later school.

Mediators

artist: T.I.; artist: Lil Jon

Hip-hop → Trap

performance practiceform and structurefunction and contextstrength: highscholarly consensus2003–2015recordingoralradio

Mechanism

Trap is hip-hop’s Atlanta 808 child: same MC craft and mixtape market, a new drum dialect. Strength high. Boom-bap stays on the hip-hop node.

Evidence

2000s Atlanta mixtapes and radio; Starr and Grove on trap as a named later style.

Debate

Whether trap is only a beat and not a style. The name and the Atlanta school make a node.

Mediators

community: Atlanta rap studios

Trap → Drill

meter and groovetimbre and productionform and structurestrength: highwell documented2010–2014recordingoral

Mechanism

Drill keeps trap’s 808 slide, hat rolls, and minor vamp and recodes them as Chicago street tape. Strength high. Hip-hop is the umbrella; this hop is the beat parent.

Evidence

Keef/Durk early-2010s sides against late-2000s Atlanta trap; Grove on that grid.

Debate

Whether drill is only a regional trap. The Chicago voice and the colder mix make a named school.

Mediators

artist: Chief Keef

Trap → EDM trap

meter and groovetimbre and productionstrength: highwell documented2012–2015recordingradio

Mechanism

EDM trap keeps trap’s 808 and hat dialect and drops the verse-rap job for a festival drop. Strength high.

Evidence

Baauer and 2012–14 festival 12-inches; Starr on that recoding.

Debate

Whether this is only a beat tag. The festival school and the name make a node.

Mediators

artist: Baauer

Trap → Emo rap

meter and groovetimbre and productionstrength: mediumscholarly consensus2015–2018recording

Mechanism

Emo-rap takes trap’s 808-and-hat beat dialect as a bed under sung-rap confession. Strength medium. Cloud-rap leftover as the wash climate (other edge). Emo leftover as the confession job (other edge). Drill leftover as a neighboring street dialect, not a parent here.

Evidence

2015–18 SoundCloud tracks using trap hats and 808s under diaristic sung-rap (Grove, Starr).

Debate

Whether emo-rap is already trap. The beat dialect is trap’s; the named sung-confession rap school is the recoding.

Mediators

artist: XXXTentacion; artist: Juice WRLD

Trap → Latin trap

meter and groovetimbre and productionform and structurestrength: highscholarly consensus2015–2017recordingradio

Mechanism

Latin trap is trap’s Spanish-language Puerto Rican child: same 808-and-hat grammar, recoded in the urbano room. Strength high. It is a style of trap. reggaeton latin trap remains the club-aftertaste hop; this file is the Atlanta grid. Hip-hop waits one step (trap).

Evidence

2016–17 San Juan trap singles against Atlanta 808 rap (Grove, Starr).

Debate

Whether this is already trap. The grid is trap’s; the Spanish urbano circuit is Latin trap’s.

Mediators

artist: Anuel AA

Trap → Pop

meter and groovetimbre and productionform and structurestrength: highwell documented2015–2018recordingradio

Mechanism

Mid-2010s pop takes trap’s 808 slide, hat rolls, and sung-rap hook as a streaming singles dialect (Drake, Migos). Strength high. hip hop pop is the older rap-chart hop; this file is the Atlanta grid on the pop default. crunk pop is the earlier shout-and-808 radio recoding.

Evidence

Hotline Bling / Bad and Boujee-era singles (Starr, Grove).

Debate

Whether this is still hip-hop. The 808-and-hat job is trap’s; the global singles factory is pop’s.

Mediators

artist: Drake; artist: Migos