Mumble rap

Mumble rap (sometimes conflated with "emo rap" or "SoundCloud rap"[1]) is a loosely defined[2] microgenre that spread on the online audio distribution platform SoundCloud.[3] It is mainly characterized for its simple, incomprehensible lyrics, hence its name. The term has been used as a pejorative to rappers that put little emphasis on lyricism. Lyrics range from the egocentric and nihilistic to discussion of money, sex and drugs.[3]

Style and etymology

The term "mumble rap" was coined in 2016 by Wiz Khalifa.[4] There is disagreement over who first rapped in such a style, although its creation has been attributed to rappers such as Gucci Mane, Chief Keef, and especially Future.[2] The term was first used to describe rappers whose lyrics were unclear, but the use of the term has expanded to rappers that put little emphasis on lyricism. Artists such as Das EFX and Fu-Schnickens rapped in a similar style years before the term was created.[5] "Mumble rappers" tend to talk about drugs, money, jewelry, designer clothing, and partying.[6][7] Rappers often add words such as "yeah", "aye" and "uh" to the end or start of their lines.[6] This has been named the "aye" flow.[8]

"Mumble rap" is sometimes used as a derogatory term in reference to a perceived incoherence of the artist's lyrics.[9][10] Oscar Harold of the Cardinal Times stated that "mumble rap" is misleading, arguing that the rappers such as Future rely more upon pop melodies and vocal affects, such as Auto-Tune, than mumbling.[11] Justin Charity, a staff writer at The Ringer, argues that the term is unnecessarily reductive and does not in fact refer to one specific type of rapping. He wrote that many of the artists often scapegoated in conversations about the subgenre do not actually mumble, which "is the red flag that the term isn't a useful subcategorization."[12]

SoundCloud rap scene

In 2017, music critic Jon Caramanica of The New York Times opined that SoundCloud rap "in the last year has become the most vital and disruptive new movement in hip-hop".[13] Todd Moscowitz, the founder of Alamo Records, called the scene a "lo-fi movement" noting the heavily distorted bass and intentional lack of polish in the sound. When Ski Mask the Slump God discussed the lo-fi's genre's sound and recording techniques, he noted that "It was like the worst recording set up, [but] you could set it up anywhere and that was the wave we were on," and "The raw energy of that – the distortion – is our speciality and we used that to our advantage."[14] Spin noted that the SoundCloud company has not been able to leverage the popularity of SoundCloud rap to improve its financial problems.[15]

Criticism

Rappers who have voiced discontent with mumble rap include J. Cole,[16] Russ,[17] and Eminem.[18] On his album Kamikaze, Eminem dissed multiple "mumble rappers" after declaring that "The boom bap is coming back with an axe to mumble rap" in Royce da 5'9" song "Caterpillar".[19] The 2018 Eminem single Killshot included a line where he pejoratively called Machine Gun Kelly a mumble rapper. Later in a interview, MGK denied being a mumble rapper and also said Eminem is 'disconnected' thinking that he is a "mumble rapper".[20] In music critic Robert Christgau's opinion, "Soundcloud rap is at least as afflicted as any other kind of hip hop with sexist rhetoric I need very good reasons to hear past." He added, "I'm way sick of the word 'bitch'", particularly disliking XXXTentacion's music for these reasons.[21]

Notable artists

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See also

References

  1. ↑ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (April 5, 2018). "Lil Xan: Total Xanarchy review – moronic rap to make you feel old". The Guardian. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Is Mumble Rap Really Such A Terrible Thing?". Vibe. 2017-06-06. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  3. 1 2 "An Aging Hip-Hop Fan and WW's Resident Hypebeast Debate the New Sound of Rap". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  4. ↑ "The Rise of 'Mumble Rap': Did Lyricism Take a Hit in 2016?". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  5. ↑ Jasmine, Alyse (2017-06-06). "Is Mumble Rap Really Such A Terrible Thing?". Vibe. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  6. 1 2 "Is "Mumble Rap" Killing Hip Hop?". Mic Cheque. 2017-07-22. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  7. ↑ Mushfiqur, Shanto (2018-01-11). "Mumble Rap - Either you love it or hate it". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  8. ↑ "How The "Ayy" Flow Became The Hottest Thing In Hip-Hop". Genius. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  9. ↑ Hinebaugh, Jonah. "Mumble rap is abstract expressionism for hip hop". Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  10. ↑ Lyons, Patrick. "Lil Yachty's "Teenage Emotions" (Review)". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Harold, Oscar. "Review: 'Mumble Rap' is a poor label for new Hip-Hop". Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  12. ↑ Charity, Justin (April 18, 2017). "Declaring a Moratorium on the Term "Mumble Rap"". The Ringer. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  13. 1 2 Caramanica, Jon (June 22, 2017). "The Rowdy World of Rap's New Underground". The New York Times.
  14. ↑ Turner, David (June 1, 2017). "Look At Me!: The Noisy, Blown-Out SoundCloud Revolution Redefining Rap". Rolling Stone.
  15. ↑ Sargent, Jordan (July 14, 2017). "Why Soundcloud Rap Couldn't Save Soundcloud". Spin.
  16. ↑ "What is Mumble Rap? | Features | MN2S". mn2s.com. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  17. ↑ "Russ: Mumble Rappers Will Never Go Down Among The Best Hip Hop Artists". AllHipHop.com. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  18. ↑ "Eminem Is Frustrated With 'Mumble Rap,' According to Rick Rubin". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  19. ↑ "All the people Eminem disses on his surprise album 'Kamikaze'". NME. 2018-08-31. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  20. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le0u232ODx8
  21. ↑ Christgau, Robert (September 18, 2018). "Xgau Sez". robertchristgau.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Burford, Corinna. "Your Cheat Sheet for Telling All the SoundCloud Rappers Apart". Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  23. ↑ https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/01/08/lil-xan-and-the-year-in-sad-rap
  24. ↑ Turner, David. "They Came From SoundCloud: Lil Uzi Vert and the 6 Rappers Who Could Be Rock Stars". Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  25. 1 2 Madden, Ben. "How Soundcloud rap outgrew itself and found the mainstream". Red Bull. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  26. ↑ https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/suicideboys-share-release-date-for-i-want-to-die-in-new-orleans-news.56231.html
  27. ↑ Charles, Holmes (September 28, 2018). "The Who's Who Of SoundCloud Rap". Complex.
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