Emo rap
[7] Originating in the SoundCloud rap scene in the mid-2010s,[8] the genre fuses characteristics of hip hop music, such as trap-style beats with vocals that are usually sung.
[11] Emo rap departs from the traditional tones found in modern mainstream hip hop in favor of more emotional and personal lyrical content,[14][15] described by The Wall Street Journal as "giving their elders the finger.
"[16] Lyrics tend to focus on topics such as depression,[17] loneliness, anxiety,[18] consumption of drugs and alcohol, nihilism,[19] suicide,[10] heartbreak,[20] and self-medication.
[3][27][28] Prior to emo rap solidifying itself as a genre, the term was applied by critics to rappers such as Joe Budden,[29] Eminem,[30][31][32] Kanye West,[33] and Drake[34][35] due to their emotional styles of lyric writing.
[21] The music of German rapper Casper, which was influenced by both hip hop and bands like Give up the Ghost, Modern Life is War, and Grave Digger, was often referred to as "emo rap" early on in his career.
Zebrahead have been playing a style of music that features vocalist Ali Tabatabaee rapping over pop punk instrumentals since the band's formation in 1995.
In 2006, rapper Kanye West remixed emo pop band Fall Out Boy's song "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race".
[46] In 2012, members of Thraxxhouse, a subgroup of Raider Klan, formed GothBoiClique (GBC),[47] with the intention of drawing connections between the emo, trap, dark wave, black metal, and indie rock scenes.
During this time, a DIY ethos came to define the genre,[52][53] to the extent that when Shinigami released his debut album Luna on Spotify, he was derided as a sellout, due to the streaming service's ability to monetize.
The song, characterized as emo hip hop[55] due to its lyrics referring to suicide and emotional breakdowns peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.
[59][60] At the same time, Lil Peep was branded by Pitchfork the "future of emo" in January 2017[61] and in April 2017, The Guardian concluded that his "continuing rise is testament to the timeless appeal of introspection.
[86] In March 2022, emo rapper Lil Bo Weep died of a drug overdose after a long struggle with depression and complex post-traumatic stress disorder after the loss of a child.
[95] In particular, Machine Gun Kelly's album Tickets to My Downfall was described by the Evening Standard as "bridg[ing] the gap" between the contemporary pop punk and emo rap scenes.
