Rage (also known asrage music,[1][2]rage rap,[3][4] orrage beats[5][6][7]) is amicrogenre oftrap music that originated in theUnited States in the late 2010s.[3][8] Distinguishing features of rage include short, looping,stereo-widened,future bass-influencedsynthesizer lead hooks and basic, energetic traprhythms.[5][8][9] Among the pioneers of rage are rappersPlayboi Carti,Lil Uzi Vert,Trippie Redd, andXXXTentacion, the latter of whom Trippie Redd has credited as an influence on the genre.[10]
The term "rage" in reference to the microgenre comes from "Miss the Rage", a genre-pioneering track made in 2021 byTrippie Redd andPlayboi Carti whose title referencesmosh pits during rapconcerts that Trippie Redd longed for duringCOVID-19 lockdowns.[8][5][9]
In the context of the title, "rage" means "mosh pit". The concept of "rages" at rap concerts and the use of the term "rage" in hip-hop music predate the rage genre itself.[5] The first person to use the term "rage" in the context of hip-hop is said to beKid Cudi, with his "Mr. Rager" alter ego, which influencedTravis Scott who later adopted the term "rage" and made it an important part of his ownaesthetic.[5][9][11] During the 2010s, multiple artists and critics used the word "rage" in the context of hip-hop, mostly either referring to overdriven energetic sound or the mosh pits happening at rap concerts,[5] examples beingLil Uzi Vert'sLuv Is Rage (2015) andLuv Is Rage 2 (2017) releases.[9]
Rage is mainly characterized by the use ofstereo-widenedEDM-influenced lead synthesizer patches,[8][12] reminiscent of the 1980s and 1990sgame soundtracks and oftrance music,[13] used to play short, often emotional,[9][13]melodies arranged in shortloops which repeat throughout the song,[8] and a basic, "dull", trapbeat, accompanying these melodies,[8] with bouncy, oftenoverdriven,[5] heavy and elastic[12]808sbass notes. In terms of vocal delivery, many rappers draw influence from the vocal stylings of Playboi Carti.[12][5]
Rage has been described as futuristic,[14][15] electric,[16] and synth-driven.[17][16][3][18] Vivian Medithi ofHipHopDX described rage as a sound rooting inplugg music legacy with moreelectronic influences.[19] Tom Breihan ofStereogum 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".[7]
Synth hooks play such a role in rage that the whole sound has been described as a "hybrid genre oftrap music and EDM".[5] Synth leads are said to be influenced by a number of EDM and electronic musicians, such asthe Chainsmokers,Skrillex,Diplo,Zedd,Rustie[9] and others.[8] It has also been noticed that often EDM synth hooks in rage come from pre-packaged EDM melody packs, for instance, a guitar-driven[20] "high-octane"[21] EDM loop from "Miss the Rage" came from theroyalty-free[21] EDMsample pack by Cymatics, calledCymatics Odyssey EDM Sample Pack.[5] Underground rapperYeat has also made it popular to use chimingbell sounds, once popular in earlier trap anddrill music,[22] in rage beats.[8]
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Among the immediate precursors of rage are beats made byMike Will Made It, beats made by Dun Deal and C4 for1017 Thug byYoung Thug, and beats byMetro Boomin andSouthside from the mid-2010s. Metro producedFuture's 2015 song "I Serve the Base", which has been described as an early rage track.[23] Abo Kado, writing forMikiki, suggested that rage beats primarily evolved from the production styles ofPi'erre Bourne,Maaly Raw, andF1lthy, all of whom integrated trap music andsynthesizer melodies in their beats, derived strong influence from video game music, and also worked closely with rappers Playboi Carti and Lil Uzi Vert. The production style of Pi'erre Bourne and the music of Lil Uzi Vert were, in turn, influenced by the music ofWiz Khalifa and producerSledgren, who sometimes incorporated video game samples in their music and were, in turn, influenced by early attempts to fuse European synthesizer-based music with hip-hop andcontemporary R&B during the 2000s byPolow Da Don and others.[13]
Playboi Carti has often been suggested as either an originator or primary popularizer of rage,[17][2][1] laying the foundation of the genre on his 2018 albumDie Lit,[1][8] mostly produced by Pi'erre Bourne.[24] It's also often suggested that the foundation of rage had been laid with Playboi Carti'sWhole Lotta Red, released in 2020[25][26][19][20][7] and mostly produced by F1lthy.[13] Despite its initially mixed reception, the album would come to largely define the genre, with much of what came after either heavily influenced by or trying to directly replicate the album's style.[1][27]
The genre's popularity and breakthrough is also attributed to the 2021 single "Miss the Rage" by Trippie Redd and Playboi Carti.[8][13] Without an established term for its specific musical style, “Miss the Rage” was initially described astrap metal and, by Trippie Redd himself,hyperpop.[28] Along withWhole Lotta Red, "Miss the Rage" was influential in defining the rage genre, with multiple producers and rappers adopting the style after the single was released.[5] RapperMario Judah went on to release his reproduced version of "Miss the Rage", since the main loop for the instrumental of "Miss the Rage" was based on a royalty-free melody loop.[5] Trippie Redd later went on to solidify the genre's popularity from "Miss the Rage", releasing the primarily rage albumTrip at Knight and expressing his fascination with rage rap.[25][9][29][13] Popular rapperDrake, whose tactic is often to showcase lesser-known genres and styles in his albums,[30] released the rage-influenced track "What's Next" in 2021 on hisEPScary Hours 2.[8] The instrumental from "What's Next", produced by Maneesh and Supah Mario, has been repeatedly likened to tracks fromWhole Lotta Red.[30][31][32] "What's Next" reached the top position on theBillboard Hot 100 chart.
Playboi Carti's record labelOpium has been an influential force in the genre, with artists such asKen Carson,Destroy Lonely, andHomixide Gang signed to the label.[1] The label has had several notable rage releases, such as Ken Carson's 2021 albumProject X and Destroy Lonely's 2022 mixtapeNo Stylist, which have had commercial success and have received a positive reception from fans, as they continue to push the genre to the mainstream.[25]SoFaygo, another early adopter of the rage sound,[17] released his 2020 single "Off the Map", which has been described as either closely resembling rage rap or being a proper rage song.[5][9][13] After releasing "Off the Map", SoFaygo went to collaborate with Trippie Redd on "MP5", a track fromTrip at Knight, and with Lil Yachty on "Solid".[13]
Later in 2021, thanks toTikTok,[14] Yeat started releasing a more chaotic and dark version of rage rap, noted for abundant use of bell samples, after multiple of his songs ("Sorry About That" and "Mad About That" among them) became popular on the platform.[8][25][17][3] After becoming popular on TikTok, Yeat's music was noticed by the likes ofLil Yachty and Drake.[25][17] After that, Yeat went on to release two rage albums in 2021 and 2022, titledUp 2 Me and2 Alive, showcasing his signature darker rage sound.[8]
Although rage has been referred to as "formulaic" and been deemed a "probable dead-end subgenre" by some critics,[25][8] many lesser-known rappers emerged, using rage in their music, sometimes in experimental fashion, among them artists likeYung Fazo,SSGKobe,[33] Ken Carson, TyFontaine,Snot,[34]Cochise,[15]KayCyy,[15]Ka$hdami,[17] and others.[8] KayCyy performed his rage-influenced "Okay" single to a merechiptune-influenced synth loop, disregarding trap beat altogether.[8]Matt Ox, an experimental rapper, has also been described as a "rager" for releasing rage tracks such as "Live It Up".[16] RapperKanKan's 2021 albumRR has been described as heavily influenced by the rage sound,[33]Yung Kayo, Young Thug's protégé, was noted for mixing rage with hyperpop and pluggnb, along with other influences, on his 2022DFTK album.[35][36][34]
In the United Kingdom,Lancey Foux, a British rapper influenced by Playboi Carti,[37][6] released the albumLive.Evil in 2021, which contained rage elements mixed withUK hip-hop.[38][6] Foux' earliermixtape,First Degree, was also described as containing rage elements.[39]
Portland's Yeat trades in "rage-rap," a style conducive tohead-banging along with the bleary synths and sneering along with every exclamation and ad-lib
SoFaygo, Cochise und KayCyy repräsentieren den futuristischen rage sound[SoFaygo, Cochise and KayCyy represent the futuristic Rage sound]
As Bia describes it, SoundCloud 2.0 is a new wave of artists who are making some of the most urgent, forward-thinking music in rap. Whereas the first SoundCloud rap boom of the mid-2010s took shape in places like South Florida, this new iteration is coming together on the internet through Discord servers and group chats, and a tight-knit community is forming. Rapping over synthy "rage beats," these artists are making raw and frenetic music, pulling influences from OG SoundCloud stars like Playboi Carti, and pushing the sound in wild new directions.
