Rap-trends is the place to be to find any information about rap music in general, different styles of rap music and rappers and the history of rap music and hiphop. It represents mainly my personal view but I am also interested in your, the reader’s, opinion. Don’t hesitate to share your comments and enjoy reading the posts.

Rap trends’ main purpose is to present all information about rap into one bundle. It also allows you to see what music you like and which artists you prefer.

Apart from general information about rap music, I want to provide all kinds of information about the most important American rappers, French rappers and Dutch rappers. In a separate page and overview of American rappers and hiphop artists is provided. Examples of important American rappers are Eminem, Machine Gun Kelly, Desiigner and Kodak Black. Another separate page presents and overview of French rappers and hiphop artists. Examples of famous French rappers are Gradur, Kaaris and MHD. And on another separate page, an overview can be found of important Dutch rappers and hiphop artists. Examples of Dutch rappers are Ronnie Flex, Lil Kleine and Sevn Alias.

The rappers belong to different schools of rap music, for example, Afro-trap is more a typical French rap style, Gangsta rap and trap are more typical American styles. But there are also other rap styles like bubblegum trap, hardcore rap, mainstream, new school, and street rap.

More rappers will be added to this blog, so come back again to read more about others rappers.

Afrotrap

Afrotrap is mainly practiced by rappers from African origin who live in the banlieues of the major French cities. It is a blending of Afrobeat, trap and French rap. Afrotrap is characterized by lyrics that center around the life of the rapper himself. This style of rap is also popular in the soccer scene. Famous soccer players like Paul Pogba and players from Africa, England and many other countries celebrate their victories with dance moves of Afrotrap artists. Soccer is also an important part of the lives Afrotrap performers and is a source of inspiration for many Afrotrappers. Famous Afrotrappers are MHD and Gradur, and Brazza.

Gangstarap

Gangsta rap which is another word for gangster rap, is characterized by lyrics about life in an gang. It was derived from hardcore hiphop, and started in the 1980’s with rappers like Ice-T. Later is was popularized more by N.W.A. It is a typical American rap style. The gangsta rappers rap mostly about their life in street gangs such as the Bloods and the Crips or about their mates who are involved in gang life. Gangsta rappers have been discredited by political commentators and religious leaders because they are accused of being promoters of various criminal activities. Well known gangsta rappers are Snoop Dogg, The Game, 50 cent and YG.

Trap

Trap originates from Southern hiphop mainly from Atlanta in the USA. The background music is characterized by sounds from synthesizers, the Roland TR-808, hi-hats and kick drums. The name ‘trap’ refers to a place where dealers sell their drugs. The lyrics concern the violence, poverty and hardships in the streets of the big cities. A few populair American Trappers are: Rich The Kid, Famous Dex, Lil Yachty, Lil Uzi Vert, 21 Savage, Future, Migos and Skippa Da Flippa.

Bubblegum trap

This is a form of rap music in which samples are made of older computer games, such as Mario Bros, Charlie Brown, rugrats theme song and the startup sound of a GameCube. This is then mixed with autotune. In 2015 a rapper called Lil Yachty started this type of rap. The music is mostly relaxing, funny and gives a happy vibe.

A populair Bubblegum trapper is called Lil Yachty.

Hardcore rap

Hardcore rap, or hardcore hiphop was pioneered in the 1980’s by the East Coast hiphop artists. Examples of the founders of this genre are Run-DMC and Public Enemy. The lyrics convern topics such as anger, aggression and frustration about injustices in society such as racism and police brutality. In the late 1980’s this style was also adopted by West Coast rappers such as N.W.A. where it was integrated into gangstarap. In the 1990’s it became one of the first real hiphop music styles in France, an important example is the French rapper Booba. Booba and kaaris are important hardcore rappers, but this style of rap has been overshadowed by other rap styles in the USA. The present-day version of hardcore rap in the USA is gangstarap and trap.

New School

New School started early in the 1980’s as a variation of the then popular hiphop music in New York. It has flavours of rock music and more commercial notes that have resulted in more radio coverage. It’s less gangster rapping and contains more elements of singing. New School contains more higher pitched sounds and voices than other rap styles. Populair New School rappers are: Rae Sremmurd, Travis $cott, A$AP Rocky, PNL (French rapper), Lil Uzi Vert, Future and the Dutch rapper Ronnie Flex.

Street rap

Is a variation of the Gangstarap style and concerns the streetlife, criminality and trying to escape from the hood as central themes, just as in the musicstyle Trap. Street rap already existed in the USA and has become very popular recently in countries like the Netherlands and France. Popular Streetrappers are: 21 Savage, Desiigner, Gradur (French rapper), PNL (French rapper), Boef (Dutch rapper), Machine Gun Kelly and Kodak Black.

Promotion of Dutch rappers

In the Netherlands there are two important platforms where rappers and rap music is promoted. The first one is 101Barz. It’s a YouTube channel with sessions of rappers, presented by Rotjoch. Here’s a good example of a session of 101Barz, this is the best-viewed session now online.

The second important platform is Zonamo Underground. Its both a label and a platform. The videos on the YouTube channel are hosted by Barungs, the artists are mainly boys from the street. The rap style is more rough than on 101Barz.

Promotion of American rappers

Similar platforms for the promotion of rappers can be found in other countries as well. In the United States there’s WorldstarHipHop. This platform was founded in 2005 and there are more than 500.000 unique visitors per day. It’s (in)famous for the fights and violence that are shown on the videos, it’s called the CNN of the ghettos.

Another example of a US platform for rappers is XXL. It has a studio with a DJ and rappers are invited to do their thing. In these sessions, the texts are written in advance, but the rapper doesn’t know the beat and has to improvise with his own flow. Here’s an example of a session with over 37 million views.

Promotion of French rappers

In France, skyrockFM is a well known platform for the promotion of rap music. French rappers are invited there for a freestyle rap in the studio, to promote their new album or EP or to just give a performance. SkyrockFM is a very popular platform that is mainly attended to by young people. Styles of music that are presented all day are rap, R&B and Afrobeat.

Another well known platform in France that promotes rappers and rap music is GENERATIONS. Here rappers visit the studio too for a Freestyle. In addition, French rappers and American rappers are invited to the studio for interviews.

Promotion of rap in China

China want to jump the bandwagon on something that’s very popular in Europe, just as in soccer, and that’s rap music. The platform 88rising presents predominantly American rappers, who let themselves fly in to China for a lot of money, to perform a session in their studio. These rappers are presented big time and the street language and slang are translated into Chinese. The concept consists of a studio with neon lights and a group od beautiful women are seated behind the rapper, listening to the Freestyle. Asian culture is promoted as well: from Asian food to Asian music. As a part of that, they help the Chinese-Indonesian rapper Rich Chigga with the production and promotion of his music.