Hip-Hop / Rap

Trap, drill, boom-bap, melodic rap, conscious, technical, Southern, West Coast, phonk, club, gospel rap — its own full ecosystem.

24 families299 sub-genres

Click a family to fan out its sub-genres · dashed = cross-listed

1Trap / 808 Rap

Modern 808-driven rap: sliding bass, trap hats, minor-key loops, melodic flows, rage synths, hybrid trap fusions.

Trap / 808 Rap

Modern 808-driven rap: sliding bass, trap hats, minor-key loops, melodic flows, rage synths, hybrid trap fusions.

Drill

Ominous, street-level, sliding-808 rap with sharp drums, minimal loops, regional drill identities.

Chicago Drill Brooklyn Drill / NYC Drill UK Drill Gospel Drill Drill × Jersey Club Sample Drill Sinister Piano Drill Orchestral Drill Club Drill Drill × Trap Drill × Pop Brass / Film-Score Drill

Boom-Bap / Jazz / Sample Rap

Sample-centered hip-hop, classic drum swing, lyrical delivery, crate-digging, jazz/soul chops, modern revival.

Wu-Tang / Hardcore Boom-Bap Mafioso Rap East Coast Boom-Bap Classic Boom-Bap Golden Age Boom-Bap Drumless Rap Jazz Rap Soul-Sample Rap Boom-Bap × Afrobeats Modern Revival Boom-Bap Underground Boom-Bap Boom-Bap × Orchestral Griselda-Lane Revival Backpack Rap Sample-Based Hip-Hop Native Tongues Lane

Pop / Melodic / R&B Rap

Rap that leans song-first: big hooks, sung rap, R&B harmony, emotional melodies, radio structure.

Pop Rap Female Pop Rap Sing-Rap Melodic Rap Drake-Lane Melodic Rap Trap-Soul PluggnB Emo Rap New Jack Swing Rap Hip-Hop Soul Rap Ballad R&B-Rap Sad Rap Pain Rap Tropical Pop-Rap Pop-Punk Rap Electro-Pop-Rap

Cloud / Lo-Fi / Ambient Rap

Hazy, atmospheric, dreamlike, low-density, texture-first hip-hop.

Lo-Fi Hip-Hop Lo-Fi Haze Cloud Rap Chillhop Ambient Hip-Hop Bedroom Rap Dream Trap Shoegaze Rap Vaportrap Abstract Beats

Conscious / Alternative / Art Rap

Message-driven, introspective, concept-heavy, political, poetic, indie, auteur rap.

Conscious Rap Afrocentric Jazz-Rap Political Rap Introspective Rap Prophetic / NF-Lane Rap Alternative Hip-Hop Art Rap Experimental Hip-Hop Indie Hip-Hop Concept Rap Social Commentary Rap Movement Anthem Rap Orchestral Art-Rap Folk-Rap Spoken-Word Rap

Technical / Lyrical / Battle Rap

Rhyme-density, verbal skill, battles, multisyllabic flows, speed, punchlines.

Battle Rap Technical Rap Lyrical Rap Eminem-Lane Technical Rap Chopper Rap Backpack Lyricism Freestyle Rap Double-Time Rap Wordplay Rap Abstract Lyricism Punchline Rap Horrorcore Nerdcore

Street / Gangsta / Crime Narrative Rap

Street realism, gangsta rap, crime narratives, hustler storytelling, mafioso imagery.

Gangsta Rap West Coast Gangsta Rap Mafioso Rap Gangsta Rap Era East Coast Hardcore Rap Coke Rap Hustle Rap Reality Rap Street Rap Road Rap Luxury Noir Rap

Old School / Historical Foundations

Early hip-hop forms, DJ culture, electro-rap, disco-rap, foundational era styles.

80s Old School Old-School Hip-Hop Golden Age Hip-Hop Disco-Rap Block-Party Rap Party Rap New School Hip-Hop Breakdance Rap Electro Hip-Hop Early DJ / Turntablism Rap Ringtone Rap

West Coast / Funk Rap

G-Funk, funk-based rap, Bay Area energy, lowrider textures, sunny basslines.

Smooth West Coast Rap G-Funk West Coast Gangsta Rap G-Funk × Amapiano Bay Area Rap West Coast Underground Hyphy Lowrider Funk Rap Funk Rap Chicano Rap

Southern Hip-Hop / Bass / Bounce

Southern rap: crunk, snap, bounce, Memphis darkness, Houston slow-downs, Miami bass, Atlanta trap roots.

Memphis Rap Crunk Atlanta Trap Memphis Horror / Dark Rap Dirty South Houston Rap New Orleans Bounce Miami Bass Brass Bounce Snap Rap / Ringtone Rap Chopped & Screwed Car-Audio Bass Rap

Phonk / Memphis-Derived Rap

Memphis-tape DNA, distorted 808s, cowbells, drift/gym energy, cassette grit, dark looping samples.

Memphis Phonk Memphis Sample Rap Old-Tape Phonk Cowbell Phonk Gym Phonk Drift Phonk Lo-Fi Phonk Phonk × DnB Halftime Surf Phonk

Club / Dance / Electronic Rap

Rap meant to move bodies: club breaks, dance commands, chopped vocals, 4/4 energy, electronic bounce.

Miami Bass Grime Jersey × Drill Bounce Rap Club-Drill Jersey Club Rap Philly Club Rap Baltimore Club Rap Club Rap TikTok Club Rap Club-R&B Hip-House Dance Rap Twerk Rap Electro Hip-Hop EDM Trap

Kanye-Arc / Soul-Sample / Maximalist Rap

Soul samples, chipmunk vocals, stadium-scale arrangements, genre mutation, gospel color, maximalism, 808-era melodic rap.

Soul-Sample Rap 808s-Era Melodic Rap Chipmunk Soul Rap Cinematic Soul-Rap Gospel-Soul Rap Maximalist Rap Progressive Rap / Prog Rap Experimental Pop-Rap Orchestral Rap Luxury Art-Rap

Gospel / Christian / Spiritual Rap

Faith-centered rap, gospel influence, testimony, choir textures, worship hooks, spiritual uplift.

Gospel Drill Christian Hip-Hop Gospel Rap Sunday Service / Gospel-Soul Gospel-Soul Rap Worship-Rap Hooks Testimony Rap Scripture-Based Rap Inspirational Rap Trap-Worship Trap-Choir

UK / Anglophone Rap

UK-origin or UK-shaped rap forms and adjacent Anglophone cousins.

UK Rap UK Road Rap UK Drill UK Alternative Rap Grime Grime × Trap-Metal Eski-Beat Grime Grime-Garage Trip Hop Chap Hop

Internet / DIY / Scene Rap

Internet-native rap cultures, DIY scenes, distortion-first aesthetics, meme-aware rap, online microgenres.

SoundCloud Rap Lo-Fi Blowout Rap Hyperpop Rap Rage Rap PluggnB Cloud Rap Punk Rap Blog Era Rap Internet Mixtape Rap Meme Rap Vaportrap

Theme / Character / Novelty Rap

Rap defined by lyrical concept, persona, humor, horror, or niche audience.

Comedy Rap Novelty Rap Edu-Rap Occult-Core Parody Rap Character Rap Nerdcore Chip-Hop Horrorcore Slasher Trap Chap Hop Meme Rap

Global / Fusion Rap

Rap shaped by non-US regional sounds, cross-cultural rhythms, global fusions.

G-Funk × Amapiano Afro-Boom-Bap Latin Rap Afro Rap Afro Hip-Hop Latin Trap Country Rap Country Trap Reggae Rap Dancehall Rap French Rap Korean Rap Japanese Rap Folk-Rap

Rock / Metal / Punk Rap

Guitar-driven, mosh-oriented, punk-influenced, emo, metal, band-fusion rap.

Emo Rap Grime × Trap-Metal Surf Phonk Country Rap Country Trap Rap Rock Rap Metal Live-Band Rap Trap-Metal Trap-Rock Pop-Punk Rap Punk Rap

Soul / R&B / Jazz Rap

Rap connected to soul, R&B, gospel harmony, live-band feel, jazz harmony, Rhodes, horns.

Neo-Jazz Rap Live-Band Jazz Rap Jazz Rap Trap-Soul Soul-Sample Rap Brass Bounce Neo-Soul Rap Hip-Hop Soul Gospel-Soul Rap R&B-Rap

Orchestral / Cinematic Rap

Film-score scale: strings, choirs, brass, cinematic arrangement, narrative arcs, dramatic tension.

Gospel Drill Orchestral Drill Cinematic Trap Orchestral Trap Orchestral Art-Rap Trap-Choir Maximalist Rap Film-Score Rap Epic Concept Rap Luxury Noir Rap

Producer / DJ / Beat-Centered Hip-Hop

Instrumental hip-hop, producer-led beats, DJ culture, turntablism, beat tapes, trip-hop, glitch.

Lo-Fi Beats Instrumental Hip-Hop Beat Tape Hip-Hop DJ Hip-Hop Trip Hop Sample-Based Hip-Hop Turntablism Glitch Hop Abstract Beats Chip-Hop Vaportrap

Era / Scene Labels

Era / scene tags — attach to a songs main sound-home.

Gangsta Rap Era Old-School Era Golden Age Era Lo-Fi Streaming Era SoundCloud Era Drill Era New School Era Bling Era Southern Takeover Blog Rap Era Streaming Era Trap Dominance Era Internet Mixtape Era Ringtone Rap Era