What Is Trap

The Trap Era of rap is a subgenre of hip hop that originated in the Southern United States, with lyrical references to trap starting in 1991 but the modern sound of trap appearing in 19991. The genre gets its name from the Atlanta slang term “trap house”, a house used exclusively to sell drugs1.

Trap music uses synthesized drums and is characterized by complex hi-hat patterns, tuned kick drums with a long decay (originally from the Roland TR-808 drum machine), and lyrical content that often focuses on drug use and urban violence1. It utilizes very few instruments and focuses almost exclusively on snare drums and double- or triple-timed hi-hats1.

Pioneers of the genre include producers Kurtis Mantronik, Mannie Fresh, Shawty Redd, Fatboi, Zaytoven, DJ Screw, and Toomp, along with rappers Young Jeezy, Gucci Mane, and T.I1. The modern trap sound first appeared in 1999 with East Point’s Greatest Hit Cool Breeze1. The style was popularized by producer Lex Luger, who produced the influential Waka Flocka Flame album Flockaveli in 2010, and co-founded the prolific hip-hop production team 808 Mafia1.

Since crossing over into the mainstream in the 2010s, trap has become one of the most popular forms of American music, consistently dominating the Billboard Hot 100 throughout the decade1. Artists such as Drake, Future, Cardi B, 21 Savage, Migos, Lil Uzi Vert, Post Malone, XXXTentacion, DaBaby, Young Thug, and Travis Scott (among many others) all achieved No. 1s on the chart with songs featuring production inspired by the trap subgenre1.

In 2018, hip-hop became the most popular form of music for the first time ever (according to Nielsen Data), coinciding with trap’s continued rise in popularity1. 2019 saw mega trap hits amass high commercial success such as Ariana Grande’s “7 rings” spending 8 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; another trap hit being the country-trap song “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X (featuring Billy Ray Cyrus), which broke the record for spending the most weeks (19) on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as becoming the fastest song to reach a Diamond Certification1.