Trap is the slow-rolling, synth-heavy, snare-snappin’ sound that’s swept underground dancefloors and stadiums alike across the US and Europe. But what is trap? Is it a genre of its own? Where does it come from? Why’s it so popular — and why’s it hated in equal measure? Danna Takako investigates... Words:DANNA TAKAKO
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djmag.com
s trap music in a trap? The question conjures images of a dog chasing its own tail, or the idea that pop music will eventually eat itself. Similar to the rhetorical question about a chicken and its offspring, it’s sometimes hard to gauge what came first: the genre or
the hype. In the case of the 808-heavy, epic-feeling rap sound of trap music (or its affectionate nickname, “real trap shit”), it may seem like the genre popped up out of thin air in 2012. But its vast history spans back over a decade, coming from a very different place than its current buzzword status in electronic music.
origins The trap sound first emerged in the early 2000s as
an enclosed scene in rough-edged neighborhoods in America’s Southern region. Across Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Virginia, local rappers like T.I., Gucci Mane, Young Jeezy, Triple 6 Mafia and Tity Boi (now known as 2 Chainz) all started branching out from
what was then the sound of the hood: crunk. Along with producers like Shawty Redd, Drumma Boy, Mannie Fresh and Mike WiLL Made It, trap brought rap music to a new sonic dimension: with dark energy, a gothic feel, street culture (guns, drug houses, strippers) and an allover gigantic sound. Trap records dominated mixtapes and local radio, and blew up in nightclubs and strip clubs across the South. By 2010, trap was highlighting the top of the mainstream hip-hop charts, particularly when a young Alabama producer named Lex Luger broke out, producing multi- platinum hits like Waka Flocka’s ‘Hard In The Paint’, Kanye West’s ‘See Me Now’ and Rick Ross’ anthemic ‘B.M.F.’. Rap stars like Juicy J, Lil B, Future and Chief Keef, meanwhile, flooded the ‘net with trap tracks and mixtapes that set the underground loose, causing viral wildfire.
Crunk and trap music travelled to hyped dancefloors in Europe within electronic music’s underbelly from the very beginning, through the likes of rap-heavy DJs such as Hollertronix (Diplo and Low Bee), Hudson Mohawke,
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