Shoegaze Rap
tagStarted mid-2010sPeak 2017–2023Last big hit early 2020s
Shoegaze rap combines washed guitar or guitar-sim walls, reverb blur, and dreamy melancholy with rap or sing-rap vocal phrasing. It is thicker and more guitar-led than cloud rap, but usually softer and sadder than trap-metal or pop-punk rap.
History
The style came together in internet underground scenes where emo rap, dream-pop, and alt-rock textures were already bleeding into hip-hop. Lil Peep, Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, drippin so pretty, and related artists made the lane a durable microstyle for listeners who wanted rap to feel like fog and heartbreak simultaneously.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Emo/cloud-rap reporting and underground crossover coverage