What is mumble rap?
Unless you’ve lived under a rock, the term “mumble rap” has been prominent in hip-hop since the mid-2010s. With more creativity comes more microgenres, with cloud rap, hyphy and lofi being several examples of rap offshoots over the years.
However, not all of them have positive connotations. Mumble rap is one of those which gained waves from rappers who uploaded music to SoundCloud. Despite popular belief that the genre became a thing over the past decade, The Roots’ Black Thought claims he started that rapping style.
Following a viral freestyle in 2017, the Philly rapper told Rolling Stone, “Lots of people are saying that I shut down mumble rap in one ten-minute setting. But that wasn’t my intention, because mumble rap – if we go back – that’s something I invented.
“I invented rapping without actually using the words. With songs like ‘Don’t Say Nuthin’, freestyles like ‘New Year’s @ Jay Dee’s‘, I essentially invented mumble rap, where you go for many bars without saying any words. And when I did it, it came from a place of being inspired by scatting.”
He continued, “I think hip-hop, the culture, is at a crossroads right now, and there’s not very much that people who are older than millennials have to identify with. There isn’t much that’s reaching the mainstream that is hip-hop in the sense that people my age know it as, if that makes any sense. The game has changed. It’s different.
“The standards are different, the criteria that’s taken into consideration in determining validity is different. We’re at a point in history where lyricism almost comes last in very many regards. So for someone from my school, who has come from the ilk of lyricism being held in far higher regard, it brings a different sort of urgency to every performance.”
Snoop Dogg previously criticised the type of rapping, claiming those types of artists are impossible to tell apart from one another. “That’s what’s wrong right now, everybody trying to rap the same style,” he said on his GGN show.
“I don’t know who created it, if it was Future or Migos, but all them n*ggas sound the same. N*gga had me in the studio one night tryna do that shit. I’m like, ‘Man cut this shit off.’ Fuck I’m out here doing, n*gga. I don’t rap like that. That shit addictive, this shit it’ll get you.”
Wiz Khalifa has also been a critic in the past, claiming the trend wouldn’t last. “We call it mumble rap,” he told Hot 97. “It ain’t no disrespect to the lil homies, they don’t want to rap. It’s cool for now, it’s going to evolve. Those artists, if they want to stay around, they’ll figure out the next thing to do. But right now, that’s what’s poppin’.”
So, what exactly is mumble rap?
The earliest known usage of the word “mumble rap” was in 2014 by VladTV journalist Michael Hughes, during an interview with battle rapper Loaded Lux about the style’s arrival in the mainstream.
Many rappers have been credited with starting the mumble rap wave, including Lil Wayne, Gucci Mane, Playboi Carti, Young Thug, Chief Keef, Migos, Rich Homie Quan and SahBabii. Future is among the most notable, with his 2011 single ‘Tony Montana‘ believed to be the first mumble rap song.
“Mumble rap” is often used as a derogatory term, with many rap purists claiming the “mumbling” or simply unclear vocals are untrue to the genre. On the other hand, some rappers have embraced the term, taking pride in one of the latest microgenres dominating the music industry.
The genre combines hip-hop, trap, and drill elements and is firmly rooted in Atlanta, Memphis, and Miami. Autotune is frequently used to achieve the desired effect. Instead of focusing on lyrics, the melody and mood of the music tend to be prioritised.