Hip-hop is one of the most volatile genres of music in the modern age. Over the course of just under 45 years, it has gone through multiple different forms, covering new topics and appealing to different audiences.
As it begins to push further into the mainstream, more and more people are starting to appreciate the genre while many others dismiss it as soulless nonsense. Today, hip-hop can be best broken down into two branches: rap and trap. Keep in mind that I'm in no way an expert on the history of hip-hop or on the specifics that go into a song, but I'm going to offer my current observations on the state of the genre.
Rap is the absolute basis of hip-hop; you can have the greatest beat on the planet, but it won't be considered hip-hop until someone starts spitting. When listening to a rap track, all eyes are on the lyrics. Depending on the artist, emphasis can either be placed on lyrical depth and meaning or on clever wordplay.
Historically, the most popular traditional rappers have had a sense of "realness" surrounding them. When Eminem or Kendrick Lamar talk about their upbringings in the streets or their struggles with loss, it resonates with people because of the way they lay their stories out. At around the mid-2000s, storytelling rap became less popular and gave way to rap that focused on wordplay. Artists like Kanye West and Lil Wayne played around with the English language over hard hitting beats and ushered in a new age of rap.
On the other side of the spectrum, we have what is known as trap, which became popularized over the past six years. In this realm, lyrics are allowed to take a back seat and let the beat take over. Instead of focusing on hard-hitting messages or triple entendres, the rapper's job is to provide serviceable lyrics that flow with the beat in a cohesive manner. Much like in rap, trap artists can choose to focus on different aspects of the song, this time making choices centered around the execution of their lines.
For example, Migos boasts extremely straightforward, clean delivery from each member while Young Thug is constantly pushing his vocal range to create a disjointed listening experience that somehow still works. Trap has fallen under scrutiny within the mainstream community because in general trap songs contain neither the compelling storytelling nor the charming wit of their predecessors. So when trying to enjoy trap, it's important to understand that the point isn't to be moved or blown away by the lyrics; it's to have fun and lose yourself in an addictive beat while the rapper helps guide your inevitable head-bobbing.
I've hardly scratched the surface of how varied the genre can be. I could go on about the fairly recent wave of punk rap brought about by XXXTentacion and Lil Uzi Vert, the gradual acceptance of emotional expression that came along with Drake's entrance to the scene, or the ways Tupac and Biggie Smalls influenced the formation of rap and trap respectively, but that would require way more text than an average Odyssey article should contain. So to wrap up, both styles of hip-hop hold different merits in today's society and should be treated with similar levels of respect.
