[3][7] Distinguishing features of rage include short looping stereo-widened future bass-influenced synthesizer lead hooks and basic, energetic trap rhythms.
[10] Abo Kado, writing for Mikiki, suggested that rage beats primarily evolved from the production styles of Pi'erre Bourne, Maaly Raw and F1lthy, all of whom integrated trap music and synthesizer melodies in their beats, derived strong influence from video game music, and also worked closely with rappers Playboi Carti and Lil Uzi Vert.
[11] Playboi Carti has often been suggested as either an originator or primary popularizer of rage,[12][2][1] laying the foundation of the genre on his 2018 album Die Lit,[1][7] mostly produced by Pi'erre Bourne.
[7][11] Without an established term for its specific musical style, “Miss the Rage” was initially described as trap metal and, by Trippie Redd himself, hyperpop.
[14][8][20][11] Popular rapper Drake, whose tactic is often to showcase little known subgenres and styles in his albums,[21] released the rage-influenced track "What's Next", in early 2021 on his EP Scary Hours 2.
[1] The label has had several notable rage releases, such as Ken Carson's 2021 album Project X and Destroy Lonely's 2022 mixtape No Stylist, which have had commercial success and have received a positive reception from fans, as they continue to push the genre to the mainstream.
[11] Later in 2021, thanks to TikTok,[24] underground rapper Yeat started releasing a more chaotic and dark version of rage rap, noted for abundant use of bell samples, after multiple of his songs ("Sorry About That" and "Mad About That" among them) became popular on the platform.
Lancey Foux, a British rapper influenced by Playboi Carti,[31][5] released the album Live.Evil in late 2021, which contained rage elements mixed with UK hip hop.
[6] Rage is mainly characterized by the use stereo-widened EDM-influenced lead synthesizer patches,[7][35] reminiscent of the 1980s and 1990s game soundtracks and of trance music,[11] used to play short, often emotional,[8][11] melodies arranged in short loops which repeat throughout the song,[7] and a basic, "dull", trap beat, accompanying these melodies,[7] with bouncy, often overdriven,[4] heavy and elastic[35] 808s bass notes.