Rage (music genre)
Rage (also known as rage music,[1][2] rage rap,[3] or rage beats[4][5][6]) is a microgenre of trap music.[3][7] Distinguishing features of rage include short looping stereo-widened future bass-influenced synthesizer lead hooks and basic, energetic trap rhythms.[4][7][8] Among the pioneers of rage are rappers Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert, and Trippie Redd.[7][4]
Rage
- Rage-rap
- Rage beats
- rage
Late 2010s and early 2020s, United States
Etymology[edit]
The name of the subgenre comes from "Miss the Rage", a genre-pioneering track made in 2021 by Trippie Redd and Playboi Carti whose name references moshpits during rap concerts that Trippie Redd longed for during COVID-19 lockdowns.[7][4][8]
In the context of the title, "rage" means "moshpit". The concept of "rages" at rap concerts and the use of the term "rage" in hip hop music predate the rage subgenre itself:[4] the first person to use the term "rage" in context of hip-hop is said to be Kid Cudi, with his "Mr. Rager" alter-ego, which influenced Travis Scott who later adopted the term "rage" and made it an important part of his own aesthetic.[4][8][9] During the 2010s, multiple artists and critics used the word "rage" in context of hip-hop, mostly either referring to overdriven energetic sound, or the moshpits happening at rap concerts,[4] examples being Lil Uzi Vert's Luv Is Rage and Luv Is Rage 2 releases.[8]
Diversification[edit]
In mid-2023, Harlem-based rapper and producer Lunchbox released New Jazz, a collaborative mixtape with producers streo, mowz and Mr Najibi.[33] "New Jazz" has been described as "Lunchbox’s desire to separate his music from the oversaturated scene of rage-rap" while its sound, and particularly mowz's production, has been described as "offbeat", "inventive", heavily synth-driven and "immediately recognizable".[33] As a critic suggested, "new jazz" title could be an attempt to label mixtape's sound separately from its rage roots.[33]
Characteristics[edit]
Rage has been characterized as futuristic,[23][26] electric[27] and synth-driven.[12][27][3][34] Vivian Medithi of HipHopDx described rage as a sound rooting in plugg music legacy with more electronic influences.[16] Tom Breihan of Stereogum described rage beats as glitchy and as "a cheap, functional type of beat — the type of beat that seems to spring almost entirely from the "type beats" that have proliferated on YouTube in the past few years — but its cheapness is disorienting and sometimes even psychedelic".[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. These synth hooks play such a role in rage that the whole sound has been described as a "hybrid genre of trap music and EDM".[4] Synth leads have said to be influenced by a number of EDM and electronic musicians, such as The Chainsmokers, Skrillex, Diplo, Zedd, Rustie[8] and others.[7] It has also been noticed, that oftentimes EDM synth hooks in rage come from pre-packaged EDM melody packs, for instance, a guitar-driven[17] "high-octane"[36] EDM loop from "Miss The Rage" came from the royalty-free[36] EDM sample pack by Cymatics, called Cymatics Odyssey EDM Sample Pack.[4] Yeat has also made it popular to use chiming bell sounds, once popular in earlier trap and drill music,[37] in rage beats.[7]
In terms of vocal delivery, many rappers in rage style oftentimes imitate vocal styles of Playboi Carti,[35] although the subgenre is mainly centered around beat production style.[4]