Houston Rap Analysis

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One of my favorite subgenres of rap and hip hop happen to be Houston Rap. Although Houston Rap derived from Southern Rap, it should be placed in its own category. No other genre sounds like Houston rap because of the Chopped and Screwed element DJ Screw introduced to rap. Well known Houston artist include UGK, Paul Wall, Z-Ro, and Scarface. But with this genre, comes its favorite types of illicit substances too. A popular substance that is consistently promoted throughout all the lyrics is lean. Lean, commonly known as “Purple Drank” or syrup, is made by mixing promethazine, codeine, and sprite to create a drink. Lean provides the user with a euphoric feeling that often induces sedation, which slows the world of the user. It pairs well with …show more content…

Trap music is typically characterized by its memorable catchy beat and raunchy lyrics. It is the rap music you would hear if you visited a nightclub in any major downtown city. The term is derived from “trap” meaning, the place where drugs are typically sold, and prostitution happens. The entire subgenre is self-explanatory because of the name. The content of the music parallels the name perfectly. Trap is an interesting subgenre because although it does primarily focus on the use of pills, it encompasses the use of the other drugs mentioned in the previous paragraphs. Some current trap artist includes Migos, Trinidad James, 2-Chainz, Future, and Young Thug. The action of “popping pills” is what is currently cool in today’s rap music. In “Mask Off” by Future, he starts the song off with “percocets, molly, percocets”. The song continues with “pink molly, I can barely move”. In Future’s song “Perkys Calling” from his album Purple Reign, Futures says “thinkin’ about them licks I hit, I had to… I can hear the them perkys callin’/I can hear the xannies callin’”. He is explicitly stating that he had to steal from individuals in order to make a life for himself and in doing that, it caused him to start a codependence on pills, codeine, and marijuana. Migos, the most popular group of rappers in the subgenre, also advocate for the use of pills in their song “Slippery”: “pop a perky just to start up (pop it, pop it)”. As mentioned before, this subgenre is one of the most interesting subgenres in rap and hip hop because the influence of Southern Rap, West Coast Rap, and Gangsta Rap are presented in this

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