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Cloud Rap

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Cloud rap refers to a sub-genre of Southern rap and trap music that has several sonic characteristics of lo-fi in its hazy, dreamlike and relaxed sound. [1][2][3] Many music experts credit rapper Lil B and producer Clams Casino as the early pioneers of this style. [2][3] The term “cloud rap” is related to its internet birth and its ethereal style.[4] A$AP Rocky and Yung Lean are two popular artists who have been known to incorporate cloud rap styles within their music.[2][5]

Origins

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Cloud rap initially came out of Atlanta, Houston, and Memphis during the late 2000s.[6] Elements of cloud rap, such as hazy and relaxed sounds, can be heard as early as 2006 with Viper’s second album, Ready...and Willing.[7] Some have attributed the term to rapper Lil B. In a 2009 article, music writer Noz wrote that rapper Lil B showed him a CGI image of a castle in the clouds and said “that’s the kind of music I want to make,” crediting Lil B with the coining of the term.”[2] Producer Clams Casino has also been credited with pioneering the cloud rap sound as early as 2010 through collaborations with Lil B.[3]

The term was also used in the Space Age Hustle blog's compilation of songs, 3 Years Ahead: The Cloud Rap Tape.[2] The compilation consists of songs that fall in the cloud rap genre.[2] The genre garnered mainstream attention in 2011 with rapper A$AP Rocky’s debut mixtape, Live. Love. A$AP. [5]

The term, “cloud rap,” is popularly used in reference to lo-fi, hazy rap.[2]

Characteristics

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Cloud rap is rhythmically similar to lo-fi and chill-wave beats but distinguishes itself with distorted, psychedelic samples and the inclusion of rap.[6] The genre takes inspiration from the “diversity of influences and the easy accessibility” that cloud computing entails.[8] Such influences include hip hop, drum and bass, grime, and trip hop, R&B, dance, indie, rock, and pop music genres. [8]

The label “cloud” denotes distinct characteristics of the genre such as its “hazy,” ethereal aesthetic (in terms of both aural and visual expression) and its ambiguity as a genre without clearly defined borders.[4] Cloud rap’s lyrics sometimes revolve around themes of love and betrayal, as well as more typical themes found in popular music such as sex, drugs, and alienation.[5] Frequently vocalists use nonsensical catchphrases and Twitter baits, such as interjections like “swag,” and references to being “based,” which highlights a sense of self-aware absurdity as an attempt at parody while embracing its genesis of internet culture.[1]

Cloud rap pulls from a diversity of rap sounds and locales: from both the East and West Coasts and the South.[8] In particular, cloud rap often utilizes looped samples from female singers, and often from those whose voices have an ethereal quality.[8] Often, cloud rap is released independently of record labels, and cloud rap artists rely on internet services (such as SoundCloud, YouTube, and Twitter) to distribute and promote their music.[1]

Artists and Producers

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Clams Casino produced three songs on Lil B’s 2009 mixtape 6 Kiss.[9] Imogen Heap entered this genre at this time as well, with her music being sampled by Clams Casino on Lil B’s song, “I’m God.”[9] In 2011, Clams Casino assisted A$AP Rocky in producing Live. Love. A$AP, one of the most listened to mixtapes in Cloud rap with 1,164,114 listeners.[8][10] The mixtape consists of common Cloud rap elements and themes such as drug use, sex, and self-reflection.[11][12]

Like Clams Casino, Imogen Heap entered this genre in 2009, with her music was sampled by Clams Casino on Lil B’s song, “I’m God.”[9] Heap has since been sampled repeatedly by Lil B. Heap further cemented herself in the cloud rap genre by being featured on Live. Love. A$AP in 2011.[8]

Swedish artist Yung Lean became an eminent Cloud rap artist in 2013 when the video for his single “Ginseng Strip 2002” went viral.[5] The growth of Yung Lean skewed the more modern version of cloud rap to a “free-for-all zone” by heavily employing a melancholic, dreamy rapping style, straying slightly from traditional cloud rap sounds.

Other prominent artists include Post Malone (928,049 listeners), the late XXXTentacion (575,544 listeners) and Lil Peep (393,595 listeners), $uicideboy$ (249,638 listeners), and Bones (208,513 listeners).[10] While these artists’ music fall into a multitude of other genres such as trap music, lo-fi, and hip hop, they have all released songs with characteristics of cloud rap such as slowed down rapping, etherial music, and lyrics about drugs and sex.[13][14][15][16]

  1. ^ a b c "cloud rap wiki". Last.fm. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "The FACT Dictionary: How dubstep, juke and cloud rap got their names". FACT Magazine. 2013-07-10. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  3. ^ a b c "Collect This Rare Clams Casino and Lil B Interview About the New Clams Casino Album '32 Levels'". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  4. ^ a b "Post-authentic digitalism in cloud rap | Request PDF". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  5. ^ a b c d "Cloud Rap: The Spacey, Cyber-Born Hip-Hop Subgenre". Highsnobiety. 2015-06-25. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  6. ^ a b "What happened to the hip-hop micro-genre cloud rap?". Red Bull. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  7. ^ Sunbleach. "Chamber 38 releases "You'll Cowards Don't Even Smoke Crack" by Viper – Sunbleach ☀". Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "A$AP Rocky: Cloud Rap and Live at the Melkweg". Culturedarm. 2013-05-29. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  9. ^ a b c Green, Dylan. "Clams Casino Interview: Lil B, A$AP Rocky, Vince Staples, "Cloud Rap"". DJBooth. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  10. ^ a b "Top cloud rap artists". Last.fm. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  11. ^ Lester, Paul (2011-10-12). "New band of the day – No 1,125: ASAP Rocky". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  12. ^ Live.Love.A$AP - A$AP Rocky | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved 2020-10-29
  13. ^ "Post Malone". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  14. ^ "XXXTentacion | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  15. ^ Peisner, David; Peisner, David (2019-03-08). "The Tragedy and Torment of Lil Peep". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  16. ^ "Underground hip-hop duo $uicideboy$ deserves your attention". The Diamondback. 2016-12-12. Retrieved 2020-10-29.

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