Concept
Trap is a subgenre of hip hop music that originated in the Southern United States in the 1990s. The genre gets its name from the Atlanta slang term "trap house", a house used exclusively to sell drugs. 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 violence. It utilizes very few instruments and focuses almost exclusively on snare drums and double- or triple-timed hi-hats. 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.I. (who coined the term with his 2003 album Trap Muzik). The modern trap sound was popularized by producer Lex Luger, who produced the influential Waka Flocka Flame album Flockaveli in 2010, and cofounded the prolific hip-hop production team 808 Mafia. 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 decade, with artists such as Drake, Future, Cardi B, 21 Savage, 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 production inspired by the trap subgenre. It has influenced the music of many pop and R&B artists, such as Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, Rihanna and more. Its influence can also be heard in reggaetón and K-pop. 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 popularity. 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 Certification.