Digicore
Located in 2 routes
Digicore is an internet rap/pop microgenre that developed beside hyperpop but is usually less PC Music and more SoundCloud, emo rap, Drain Gang, trap, Discord collaboration, and bedroom-production energy. The music uses blown-out synths, pitched vocals, glitch edits, trap drums, emo melodies, and short diaristic hooks. It can sound chaotic or handmade, but the core is social: young artists passing stems, presets, and tags through online communities until a shared scene forms.
History
Digicore grew from late-2010s draincore and hyperpop-adjacent SoundCloud circles, including Discord and Minecraft hubs such as Loser's Club. Artists including quinn/osquinn, glaive, ericdoa, midwxst, blackwinterwells, 8485, d0llywood1, kmoe, angelus, lieu, kurtains, aldn, brakence, and valentine became reference points. The COVID-era attention around Spotify's hyperpop playlist helped expose the scene, but many digicore artists later rejected the label as they moved toward rap, rock, ambient, or more conventional pop careers.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- i dont want that many friends in the first place(2019) — osquinnSpotifyYouTube
- astrid(2020) — glaiveSpotifyYouTube
- cloak n dagger(2021) — glaive & ericdoaSpotifyYouTube
- Trying(2020) — midwxstSpotifyYouTube
- IRIS(2020) — blackwinterwellsSpotifyYouTube
- 1:15(2020) — 8485SpotifyYouTube
Show 6 more
- ihonestlymightjustgiveup(2020) — d0llywood1SpotifyYouTube
- bad idea(2020) — osquinn & blackwinterwellsSpotifyYouTube
- poster(2020) — oaf1SpotifyYouTube
- Heather(2021) — glaive & ericdoaSpotifyYouTube
- southview(2021) — 8485SpotifyYouTube
- movinglikeazombie (remix)(2020) — ericdoa, umru, SEBii, angelus, kmoe, Lewis Grant, savepoint, Tony Velour, emotegi, d0llywood1 & 4kmirageSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- New York Times hyperpop playlist reporting
- Pitchfork reviews/features on quinn, glaive, ericdoa, midwxst, and food house
- Spotify/Apple pages for glaive, osquinn, midwxst, blackwinterwells, 8485, and d0llywood1
- digicore history references