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| We are in an era when trap music is king. It was boldly present in Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings,” throughout Bad Bunny’s “MIA'' and can even be heard in the country hit “Meant to Be” by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line. Trap is a subgenre of rap and hip-hop that emerged from the American South in the ’90s. The distinctive sound can be traced back to the Roland TR-808 machine, the first to produce its signature 808 thump. The sound, and genre, has since seen innovations, reincarnations and additions, spinning off even more subgenres. You could say that trap has transcended its original framework to become an aesthetic. There’s trap yoga, trap theater, trap paint — you name it. But few seem to know its origins, how it caught fire and the principal elements of its sound. Even if you find someone familiar with the 808, they probably can’t tell you about the fast pitter-patter hi-hats that originated in New York or the drums that were mastered in New Orleans. And even if music lovers link trap’s origins to Atlanta in the 1990s, few know that “trap” is more than a musical genre — it’s a real place that refers to where drugs are hidden in a car, where deals get made, and how hard it is to escape that lifestyle and poor inner-city neighborhoods. News to you? Well, that’s why we're here. What the f*** is trap? Read on. | |
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THE BASICS | | 1 - The SoundThe sound that we recognize as trap all started with the Roland TR-808 — a drum machine manufactured by the Roland Corp. that debuted in 1980. The machine, which allows you to manipulate synths and replicate drums and snares and kicks, was ahead of its time. Maybe too ahead of its time. Rather than trying to mimic actual instruments the TR-808 gave them a new electric sound and, after just three years, production ceased. Still, the TR-808 gave birth to trap thanks to three effects it manufactures: 808s, hi-hats and snares. |
| 2 - Origin StoryThe best way to understand how trap started is to follow the trajectory of its sound. There was no single starting palace or origin story — every region that got ahold of the machine ran with its favorite feature. Once merged, these sounds are what we now know as trap. The legendary 808s were first heard in the Bronx in Afrika Bambaataa and producer Arthur Baker’s 1982 hit “Planet Rock.” The impossibly fast hi-hats were embraced and perfected by New Orleans’ Mannie Fresh (as heard in 1998’s “Back That Azz Up”). As far as the word itself? Credit goes to Goodie Mob from Atlanta and their 1995 song “Thought Process,” even if the debate hasn’t fully been settled. |
| 3 - How It Became PopularizedWhile it is true that Atlanta producer Shawty Redd had been making trap beats as early as 2000 and saw global success with Young Jeezy after producing his 2005 debut album, Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101, T.I. — another Atlanta rapper — and his producer DJ Toomp are credited with first using the term on an album, Trap Muzik, in 2003. Both albums are certified classics and were defining moments for the South and trap. But the genre ascended to another stratosphere in 2017 when hip-hop, from which trap derived, surpassed rock as the most popular genre in the U.S. That’s when “Bad and Boujee” by Atlanta’s Migos, “Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd and Gucci, and Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” all reached No. 1 on Billboard’s top 100, each a quintessential trap song. |
| 4 - Where It Is TodayIn less than a decade, trap has evolved to the point where you can hear its influence in and throughout various subgenres all over the world. At its inception around 2014, Latin trap was nothing more than Spanglish versions of the sound taking over the South in the 2000s, with Dominican DJs like DJ Flipstar remixing popular trap songs. Now it’s the fifth most consumed music genre in America. Korea has adopted elements of the genre as well: K-pop band BTS is often considered “Korean trap” and is arguably the biggest pop band in the world. Drill is a slow, sinister take on trap that originated on the South Side of Chicago around 2014 with acts like Chief Keef and then spilled over into U.K. drill in London and Brooklyn drill in New York. |
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MAJOR PLAYERS | | 1 - Young Jeezy vs. Gucci ManeYou could say that both are considered pioneers of the trap movement, both hail from Georgia or they gained national acclaim at the same time. And yet, no matter how you line them up, Young Jeezy and Gucci have never gotten along. It could be because Gucci murdered an associate of Jeezy’s (Gucci beat the charges), a rift that would take 15 years to heal. Even if their long-standing feud is over, their legacies will be debated for some time to come. |
| 2 - Top Dog?Most point to Atlanta’s T.I., Young Jeezy and Gucci Mane as the gatekeepers of trap. T.I.’s debut, Trap Muzik, dropped in 2003, while Young Jeezy’s debut, Thug Motivation 101, and Gucci’s Trap House both followed two years later. With the passage of time, however, Gucci Mane has become the modern face of trap, having reached mass commercial success. Since being released from prison for weapons possession in 2016, he’s become an ambassador of the Gucci label, written a book and reached number one on the Billboard charts. |
| 3 - Shawty ReddIf the “trap sound,” consisting of super-fast hi-hats, 808s and a snare at its core, was mastered in different regions and moments throughout its short history, there is one producer in particular who took all three elements, put them together and turned it into one of the most popular forms of American music today. His name is Shawty Redd. The eerie synthesizers, the powerful 808 kicks, the busy hi-hats — that’s all him. |
| 4 - Metro BoominIf Shawty Redd was the trap pioneer of the 2000s, his descendant would have to be Metro Boomin — an Atlanta producer responsible for most of the modern trap hits. From making the beat for Big Sean’s “HomeTown” off Finally Famous Vol. 3 and multiple tracks on OJ Da Juiceman’s mixtape Culinary Art School in 2010 to making platinum hits for Future, Migos and Kanye West, he’s had the second wave of trap on lock. |
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MONEY AND INFLUENCE | | 1 - Highest EarnerIf you go by Forbes' 2019 list of the highest-paid hip-hop artists, Migos is the top-ranking trap group on there, pulling in a cool $36 million. And it makes sense, since they’re everywhere. After scoring a No.1 record on Billboard for “Bad and Boujee,” they didn’t see an endorsement deal they didn’t like. |
| | 3 - The Business of TrapTrap’s influence is such that there’s a hunger to learn more about the down South staple — and T.I. is answering the call. It was reported in June of 2020 that the Atlanta rapper would join hip-hop scholar Dr. Melva K. Williams at Clark Atlanta University this fall to teach “Business of Trap Music,” focusing on the genre’s roots, culture and economics. |
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WHO TO WATCH | 1 - ShayboShe is destined to be the next big thing out of the U.K., and no, she’s not a ballad singer like Adele. Shaybo is a 25-year-old, Nigerian-born MC who calls herself Queen of the South per her debut LP that dropped last year. Having been cosigned by BBC’s 1Xtra and already making a buzz as a rookie, she is where everyone's eyes should be going forward. |
| 2 - Double LzAlthough a clear and unapologetic copy of Chicago’s drill scene, U.K. drill has proven to be formidable in its own right, with a sound that’s fueling a legion of stars. One of the newest acts is Double Lz. Also a member of the drill group OFB, Double Lz’s recently released Top 40 single, "Circles," and "Straight Outta Tottenham" are proof that he is an artist who’s here to stay. |
| 3 - Yoon Mi-RaeYou’d have to be living under a rock not to know about K-pop and its global music dominance, and it was only a matter of time before the movement started incorporating elements of trap. Korean rapper Yoon Mi-Rae is a veteran of the K-hip-hop scene; her emergence in the late ’90s makes her a mentor to a number of young upcoming artists. |
| 4 - Smoove’LSmoove’L is an heir to the New York drill scene. At only 21 years old, he’s recognized as one of Brooklyn’s finest after his SoundCloud page racked up millions of streams with the singles "New Apollos" and "Big Mad." Now that he’s signed a joint record deal with Run Music LLC/Interscope Records, expect to see a lot more from him. |
| 5 - Fivio ForeignAfter Brooklyn rapper Pop Smoke was slain days after releasing his official debut album, Meet The Woo 2, in 2020 — a project that put Brooklyn drill on the national stage — the reins of New York drill were unofficially passed to Fivo Foreign. Although he’s been on the climb in the New York music scene alongside Pop Smoke, his song “Big Drip,” released independently in 2019 on his debut Pain & Love EP, bumped him to another level. Now he’s recorded songs with Drake and been signed to Columbia Records. |
| 6 - Sada BabyDetroit has its feet in the trap game too. Rapper Sada Baby made a splash on the scene when his video “Bloxk Party” made the rounds in 2018 (now with over 90 million views). Since then, his star has risen even higher with his viral TikTok song “Whole Lotta Choppas.” His sound is a mix of drill with raunchy and explicit Detroit flavor and his just might be the next biggest name out of the Motor City. |
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| Quiz time!Test your knowledge of trap by taking our quiz! What U.S. region was first to use 808s? - East Coast
- West Coast
- The South
Which form of drill came first? - Chicago
- U.K.
- Brooklyn
Who was the first to use the term “trap” in a song? - Goodie Mob
- T.I.
- Gucci Mane
What musical genre did hip-hop surpass to become the most consumed in 2017? - Country
- Rock
- Pop
Who currently sits atop the Forbes list as the highest earning trap star? - Gucci Mane
- Future
- Migos
Which Atlanta producer was first to compose what we know of as trap music today? - Shawty Redd
- Organized Noize
- Metro Boom
Which is NOT an effect trap centers around? - hi-hats
- bass
- 808s
What year was the TR-808 released? - 2000
- 1980
- 1960
Answers: - The South
- Chicago
- Goodie Mob
- Rock
- Migos
- Shawty Redd
- bass
- 1980
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| Go DeeperListen: Read: - The Autobiography of Gucci Mane: Gucci has done it all — from ruling the underground mixtape circuit to killing a man, developing an addiction to promethazine — and emerging sober after a prison sentence. And the trap star tells it all in this 2017 memoir, which became a New York Times best-seller.
- The Rap Year Book: Another New York Times best-seller, this one by Shea Serrano, a staff writer for The Ringer, this book weighs in on what the author deems the most important song of each year starting with 1979. For each pick, he dives into the artists’ backgrounds and explores issues of race.
- R Is for Roland: What better way to understand everything that is trap than reading up on the machine that started it all? R Is for Roland digs into the history of 23 Roland synthesizers and drum machines chosen by artists across the world — along with interviews with the musicians.
Watch: - The Art of Organized Noize: This 2016 documentary sheds light on trap as it taps into Atlanta hip-hop history through the story of a group of producers who provided an incubator for talented artists who would become titans of the city’s sound. Although that sound would be described more as dirty south than trap — think Outkast, CeeLo, the Goodie Mob and the Dungeon Family — it’s definitely worth a watch.
- Revelations: T.I. has long claimed that he owns and sits upon the throne of trap, and in this 2019 mini-documentary, he defends his case. This film is an in-depth look into the artist’s mind, process and the power of trap.
- 808: The Heart of the Beat That Changed Music: We’ve told you about Roland and their groundbreaking TR-808 drum machine. Now watch how it was made!
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| | Sevyn Streeter shares the secrets of how she expresses herself through her music, and opens up about the R&B queens who made her who she is today. Plus: See what happens when she improvises songs about 2020, tequila, and a serenade for Carlos. To listen to the full, unedited conversation between Carlos and Sevyn Streeter, subscribe to the podcast version of the show here: http://podcasts.iheartradio.com/s_34Zjdh |
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