Draft:SoundCloud rap

Forerunners

Lil B, Yung Lean, Bones, Yung Bruh

Origins

During the mid-to-late 2010s, the music distribution site SoundCloud became a central hub for a new style and movement in online rap music. South Florida's SoundCloud rap scene proved heavily influential to the sound of this era, originally spearheaded by groups such as SpaceGhostPurrp's Raider Klan and Metro Zu. Artists like Denzel Curry and Lil Peep would emerge from the scene as well as Lil Pump, who would rise to internet virality through his 2017 single, Gucci Gang.^[2][3]

This era was defined by artists like XXXTentacion, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty and Playboi Carti, who were collectively labeled "SoundCloud rap". Although internet rappers had been releasing music on SoundCloud for years, it was only during this period that the term "soundcloud rap" became associated with a specific sound. Subsequently, the term "mumble rap" later emerged as a pejorative to describe the off-kilter lyricism and unclear cadence and delivery of these rappers.^[4]Additionally, Playboi Carti's label, Opium became responsible for the emergence of notable artists such as Ken Carson and Destroy Lonely in the late 2010s, who both reached wider popularity in the early 2020s.^[5] Artists associated with the label pioneered a fashion style described as "opiumcore",^[6][7] which drew from punk and alternative fashion,^[8] with the broader underground rap scene's internet-driven aesthetics being noted as influential to the high fashion world.^{[9][10][11][12][13]}