The History of Trap

THE HISTORY OF TRAP

ERIC REESE

Copyright © 2022 by Eric Reese

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

CONTENTS

What is Trap?

Origins of Trap

Subgenres Of Trap

Fusion Trap and its genres

Notable Trap Albums to Date

Afterword

If you didn’t know

The Golden Age

World Hip Hop

Across the World

Glitch Hop and Wonky Music

Crunk and Snap Music

What to read next…

WHAT IS TRAP?

The trap is a hip-hop subgenre that arose in the early 2000s in the southern United States. The term trap comes from an Atlanta slang term that refers to a residence that is only used to distribute narcotics. Complex hi-hat rhythms, tuned kick drums with a lengthy decay (initially from the Roland TR-808 drum machine), and lyrical material that typically focuses on drug addiction and urban violence define trap music, which employs synthetic drums. It only uses a few instruments, virtually entirely comprising of snare drums and double- or triple-timed hi-hats.

Producers Kurtis Mantronik, Mannie Fresh, Shawty Redd, Zaytoven, Fatboi, DJ Screw, and Toomp, as well as artists Young Jeezy, Gucci Mane, and T.I., are all pioneers of the genre (who coined the term with his 2003 album Trap Muzik). Producer Lex Luger, who cofounded the successful hip-hop production company 808 Mafia and created the groundbreaking WakaFlocka Flame album Flockaveli in 2010, pioneered the current trap sound.

The trap has become one of the most popular forms of American music since breaking into the mainstream in the 2010s, consistently dominating the Billboard Hot 100 throughout the decade, with artists like Drake, Future, Cardi B, Migos, Lil Uzi Vert, Post Malone, XXXTentacion, Young Thug, and Travis Scott (among many others) all achieving No. 1s on the chart with songs featuring trap-inspired production.

It has influenced many pop and R&B musicians, including Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, and others. Reggaetón and K-pop are examples of its impact. According to Nielsen Data, hip-hop became the most popular style of music for the first time in 2018, coinciding with trap’s sustained success. In 2019, Lil Nas X’s trap-inspired country/rap crossover Old Town Road (with Billy Ray Cyrus) set a new record for the most weeks (19) at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as the fastest single to achieve Diamond Certification.

Characteristics

Lyrical topics in trap music must focus around life and culture in the trap or in a real southern trap house where drugs are peddled. The terminology trap refers to a location where drugs are sold. Street life, getting riches, crime, cars, and struggles that artists have had in their southern American settings are among the other subjects covered. If the trap isn’t mentioned in the song, it isn’t considered trap music.

Crisp, grimy, and rhythmic snares, deep 808 kick drums, double-time, triple-time, and similarly divided hi-hats, and cinematic and symphonic use of string, brass, woodwind, and keyboard instruments are used to create an energetic, hard-hitting, deep, and varied atmosphere in trap music. Producer Shawty Redd is responsible for these key features, which have become the hallmark sound of trap music. Trap beats can be as slow as 50 B.P.M. (coded at 100 BPM for finer hi-hat subdivision) or as fast as 88 (176) B.P.M., although the average trap beat is about 70 (140) B.P.M.

ORIGINS OF TRAP

The 1990s–2003: Origins

Lil Jon from Atlanta, Georgia, where the term trap originated as a reference to places where drug deals are made, worked with local Atlanta acts such as Dungeon Family, Outkast, Goodie Mob, Three 6 Mafia, and Ghetto Mafia, as well as Mannie Fresh from New Orleans and DJ Paul from Memphis, Tennessee. U.G.K.’s Cocaine In The Back of the Ride from their first E.P., The Southern Way, was one of the first tracks to