Tag: Trap

Cupcakke – Ephorize

Cupcakke is one of the funniest rapper names I’ve ever heard. That aside, she’s a strong rapper out of Chicago with all the trimmings of trap music, with a refreshing EDM twist. Duck Duck Goose is actually a great trap house cut, but you would never know by listening. You’re too focused on the lyrics, which are just as pornographic as her name suggests. I’m not even interested in quoting some of them here, because my choice of any of the raunchy rhymes contained here might betray some dark fetish of mine, and we’re not here to talk about that. You might call her explicit lyrics a distraction from the music, or even tasteless filler by hip-hop lyrical standards, but how far would you get with that argument? Hip-hop has been about rebellion ever since its inception in the ’70s, and in today’s pop rap climate it’s easy to forget about that. Everything about Cupcakke’s music is in your face, including the things she chooses to rap about.

The entire album isn’t devoted to pure sexuality. In fact, she claims that she wants to make use of her time on the microphone to make a positive difference in the world. She makes this claim in the very first track (“2 Minutes,” curiously clocking in at 3:13), and supports it in the form of LGBT advocacy in “Crayons.” Aside from these two tracks, though, she seems to be content letting everyone know how much wild sex she has. This seems to fly against feminist ideals, but does it actually? As sexual as Cupcakke is, she is also incredibly powerful with her delivery and presence. Perhaps this is actually the female hip-hop icon we need.

Caskey – Speak of the Devil

Now this is what I’m talking about! Trap’s been more in my wheelhouse lately, and I’m happy for a new release to come my way. Trap is what was missing in Shuta Sueyoshi’s album, and so I’m approaching this pretty fresh.

Meghan Trainor(‘s songwriter Kevin Kadish) once said “it’s all about that bass.” I couldn’t disagree more: you see, it’s all about that sub bass. This is what forms the backbone of Caskey’s album, powerful and overbearing to the point of distortion in the mix. All other sounds grow organically over this pounding foundation, creating a dank and murky texture as Caskey flows effortlessly over top.

This kind of production has been called “cloud rap,” a new form of hip-hop featuring heavy reverb, haphazard lyricism, and yet another new level of overpowering sub bass. For another example of this kind of music one need look no further than OFWGKTA. It’s surely a millennial thing, but what exactly does it represent? A rebellion against musical conventions, a statement about contemporary society, or is it just an entitled act of laziness? Whatever it is, I like it.