| Horrorcore | |
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 Gravediggaz, a pioneering horrorcore group, whose violent, horror-themed lyrics have been considered key to giving the subgenre its identity and shape. | |
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| Cultural origins | Early-mid 1980s, United States |
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Horrorcore (also known asshock rap,psycho rap,horror hip hop,horror rap,death hip hop,death rap, ormurder rap) is a subgenre ofhip hop music based onhorror-themed and often darklytransgressive lyrical content and imagery. Its origins derived from certainhardcore hip hop andgangsta rap artists, such as theGeto Boys, who began to incorporatesupernatural, theoccult, andpsychological horror themes into their lyrics. Other early originators and influences on the genre includeGravediggaz,Flatlinerz,Three 6 Mafia,Brotha Lynch Hung,Tech N9ne[1], Necro, andKool Keith.
Unlike most hardcore hip hop and gangster rap artists, horrorcore artists often push theviolent 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 byslasher films orsplatter films. While exaggerated violence and the supernatural are common in horrorcore, the genre also frequently presents more realistic yet still disturbing portrayals ofmental illness anddrug abuse. Some horrorcore artists eschew supernatural themes or exaggerated violence in favor of more subtle and dark psychological horror imagery and lyrics.
Horrorcore has incited controversy, with some members of the law enforcement community asserting that the genre incites crime.[2][3] Fans and artists have been blamed for numerous high-profile instances of violent criminal activity, including theColumbine High School massacre,[4][5] theFarmville murders, murders of law enforcement officers, and gang activity.
Horrorcore defines a style of hip hop music that focuses primarily on dark, violent,gothic,transgressive,macabre and/orhorror-influenced topics such asdeath,psychosis,psychological horror,mental illness,satanism,self-harm,cannibalism,mutilation,suicide,murder,torture,drug abuse, andsupernatural oroccult themes. The lyrics are often inspired byhorror movies and are performed over moody, hardcore beats.[6] According to rapperMars, "If you takeStephen King orWes Craven and you throw them on a rap beat, that's who I am".[7] Horrorcore was described byEntertainment Weekly in 1995 as a "blend ofhardcore rap and bloodthirstymetal".[8] The lyrical content of horrorcore is sometimes described as being similar to that ofdeath metal, and some have referred to the genre as "death rap".[9] Horrorcore artists often feature dark imagery in their music videos and base musical elements of songs uponhorror film scores.[9]
LA Weekly listedJimmy Spicer's 1980 single "Adventures of Super Rhyme" as the first example of "proto-horrorcore", due to a lengthy segment of the song in which Spicer recounts his experience of meetingDracula.[10] The groupDr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde specialized in horror-themed music.Dana Dane's song "Nightmares" related a frightening narrative.[10]
Since 1986,Ganxsta N.I.P. has performed horror-themed lyrics that he has described as "Psycho Rap", but he was not commonly considered to be horrorcore until the term came into mainstream prominence.[11] Ganxsta N.I.P. has written lyrics for other groups, includingGeto Boys, who were also an influence on the early horrorcore sound.[11]
In 1988,DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince released "A Nightmare on My Street", which described an encounter withFreddy Krueger,[10] andthe Fat Boys recorded the similarly themed "Are You Ready for Freddy" for the filmA Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master and its soundtrack. 1988 is also the yearInsane Poetry (at the time called His Majesti) released "Armed & Dangerous", followed by their debut single as Insane Poetry, "Twelve Strokes Till Midnight", one of the first examples of music specifically made to be horrorcore.[10] The following year saw the release ofBoomin' Words from Hell, the debut album ofDetroit-based rapperEsham, who would become particularly influential onMidwest horrorcore (though he rejects the term, preferring "acid rap").[10]
AlthoughKool Keith claimed to have "invented horrorcore",[12] the first use of the term appeared on the group KMC's 1991 albumThree Men With the Power of Ten. Nonetheless, Kool Keith brought significant attention to horror-influenced hip hop with his lyrical content as a part ofthe Ultramagnetic MC's and his 1996 debut solo album,Dr. Octagonecologyst.
In 2024, writers atComplex describedNas' 1994, debut studio album,Illmatic, as "shocking, borderline horrorcore (before horrorcore was a genre)". The album showcased Nas's early-'90s style of rap and was credited with generating significant hype for the MC.[13]
TheGeto Boys' debut album,Making Trouble, contained the dark and violent horror-influenced track "Assassins", which was cited byViolent J of the horrorcore groupInsane Clown Posse in his bookBehind the Paint as the first recorded horrorcore song. He writes that the Geto Boys continued to pioneer the style with their second release,Grip It! On That Other Level, with songs such as "Mind of a Lunatic" and "Trigga-Happy Nigga".[14] The Geto Boys' 1991 album,We Can't Be Stopped, was also influential on the horrorcore genre and contained themes ofparanoia,depression, andpsychological horror, especially in the track "Chuckie", and "Mind Playing Tricks on Me".[15][16]
While rappers in theunderground scene continued to release horrorcore music, includingBig L,[17]Insane Poetry,[18] andInsane Clown Posse,[10] the mid-1990s brought an attempted mainstream crossover of the genre.[10]
According to the bookIcons of Hip Hop, horrorcore gained mainstream prominence in 1994 with the release ofFlatlinerz'U.S.A. (Under Satan's Authority) andGravediggaz'6 Feet Deep (released overseas asNiggamortis).[19][20][21][22] The Flatlinerz and Gravediggaz, along with the Geto Boys, Insane Clown Posse and Kool Keith, remain the most important artists in the development of horrorcore as a specific genre.
In 1995, an independent horror film calledThe Fear was released with a soundtrack consisting entirely of horrorcore songs, including Insane Clown Posse's biggest radio hit, "Dead Body Man" and a title track ("The Fear (Morty's Theme)") by Esham.[10] 1995 also saw the release ofThree 6 Mafia's debut album,Mystic Stylez, which touched on heavy drug use,ritualistic sex,mass murder,torture, andLuciferianism.Bone Thugs-N-Harmony'sE. 1999 Eternal, released in the same year, contains tales of the occult throughout, specifically on songs such as "Mr. Ouija 2", "Mo' Murda", "East 1999", and "Da Introduction". Tension would soon rise between Bone Thugs and Three 6 over their presumed similarities in style and use of dark imagery.
In 2009, dark music-themed websiteFangoria namedTech N9ne's 2001 albumAnghellic as an iconic and influential album to the genre, the artist, and hip-hop as a whole.
Horrorcore is generally not popular with mainstream audiences, though in some cities, likeDetroit, it is the dominant style of hip-hop, with Detroit-based performers such asInsane Clown Posse[23] andEminem,[24] as well asTwiztid, having been commercially successful throughout the US.[19] Horrorcore has thrived inInternet culture. Every Halloween since 2003, horrorcore artists worldwide have gotten together online and released a free compilation titledDevilz Nite.[25] According to the January 2004BBC documentaryUnderground USA, the subgenre "has a massive following across the US" and "is spreading to Europe".[26]Rolling Stone in 2007 referred to it as a short-lived trend that generated "more shlock than shock".[21]
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In 2019,experimental trioclipping. releasedThere Existed an Addiction to Blood, described as a "transmutation of horrorcore".[27]
In September 1996, Joseph Edward "Bubba" Gallegos, an 18-year-old fromBayfield, Colorado, killed his roommates after ingestingmethamphetamine and listening repeatedly to horrorcore rapperBrotha Lynch Hung's song "Locc 2 da Brain". Brotha Lynch Hung is considered a horrorcore pioneer and even created his own horrorcore sub-category called "Ripgut" which is known for even more graphic lyrics dealing with hardcore gore, torture, and cannibalism. After attempting to kill his ex-girlfriend and taking two other students hostage, Gallegos was in turn killed by police.[28] Gallegos was said to be a massive fan of Brotha Lynch Hung and his minister suggested that the music played a role in the killings, although he provided no evidence to back up that claim. Similar claims have been made about other violent acts and music, although there is "wide disagreement among experts over what effect—if any—music with violent content has on listeners".[29]
In 1999, horrorcore groupInsane Clown Posse (ICP) was considered a potential influence on school shootersEric Harris and Dylan Klebold. ICP responded that if the shooters had been "Juggalos" (fans of ICP), they would have "gotten the whole damn school".[4] However, Brooks Brown, the best friend of Dylan Klebold and a friend of both the shooters, was a Juggalo and had introduced Klebold to Insane Clown Posse's music.[5]
Some police departments in the United States claim thatJuggalo gangs have been linked to violent crimes.Arizona Department of Public Safety Detective Michelle Vasey has expressed concern at what she describes as the Juggalos' high potential for violence, stating, "The weapons, they prefer, obviously, hatchets ... We've got battle-axes, we've got machetes, anything that can make the most violent, gruesome wound", and, "Some of the homicides we're seeing with these guys are pretty nasty, gruesome, disgusting homicides, where they don't care who's around, what's around, they're just out to kill anybody".[30] A 2017Denver Police Department guide claimed that even Juggalos who are not affiliated with a gang are prone to commit "murder, shootings,kidnapping,rape,necrophilia,cannibalism,assault, andarson", and that "such acts give a Juggalo a sense of pride and street credit amongst peers", although it acknowledged that the author had not "been able to find a significant source of collected data on the Juggalos" to substantiate those claims.[31] Allegedly horrorcore-related criminal activity has, in rare cases, even included ad-hocdomestic terrorism, such as when a Juggalo-led terrorist cell calling itself the Black Snake Militia attempted to raid aNational Guard armory in 2012.[32]
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