horrorcore
Sign in to saveAlso known as horror rap, death rap, murder rap, death hip-hop, horror hip-hop, murder hip-hop
Horrorcore (also known as shock rap, psycho rap, horror hip hop, horror rap, death hip hop, death rap, or murder rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music based on horror-themed and often darkly transgressive lyrical content and imagery. Its origins derived from certain hardcore hip hop and gangsta rap artists, such as the Geto Boys, who began to incorporate supernatural, the occult, and psychological horror themes into their lyrics. Other early originators and influences on the genre include Tommy Wright III, Gravediggaz, Flatlinerz, Children of the Corn, Three 6 Mafia, Brotha Lynch Hung, Tech N9ne
Key facts
- Music genre.name
- Horrorcore
- Music genre.other_names
- Shock rap horror hip hop horror rap death hip hop death rap murder rap psycho rap
- Music genre.image
- Gravediggaz-02-mika.jpg
- Music genre.caption
- Gravediggaz, a pioneering horrorcore group, whose violent, horror-themed lyrics have been considered key to giving the subgenre its identity and shape.
- Music genre.stylistic_origins
- Shock rock horror fiction shock value hardcore hip-hop gangsta rap
- Music genre.cultural_origins
- Early-mid 1980s, United States
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
Show 1 more fact
- inception
- 1990-01-01
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~11 min read
Article
8 sectionsContents
- Characteristics
- History
- Origins
- Rise in the hip hop genre
- Present-day horrorcore
- Controversy
- See also
- References
Horrorcore (also known as shock rap, psycho rap, horror hip hop, horror rap, death hip hop, death rap, or murder rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music based on horror-themed and often darkly transgressive lyrical content and imagery. Its origins derived from certain hardcore hip hop and gangsta rap artists, such as the Geto Boys, who began to incorporate supernatural, the occult, and psychological horror themes into their lyrics. Other early originators and influences on the genre include Tommy Wright III, Gravediggaz, Flatlinerz, Children of the Corn, Three 6 Mafia, Brotha Lynch Hung, Tech N9ne, Necro, and Kool Keith.
Unlike most hardcore hip hop and gangster rap artists, horrorcore artists often push the violent content and imagery in their lyrics beyond the realm of realistic urban violence, to the point where the violent lyrics become gruesome, ghoulish, unsettling, or inspired by slasher films or splatter films. While exaggerated violence and the supernatural are common in horrorcore, the genre also frequently presents more realistic yet still disturbing portrayals of mental illness and drug abuse. Some horrorcore artists eschew supernatural themes or exaggerated violence in favor of more subtle and dark psychological horror imagery and lyrics.