Line #107 Main/Horrorcore


1	[[quoteright:350:[[Music/{{Gravediggaz}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/708ac0a398a0afe07ec8d110_L_9050.jpg]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:This isn't the climax of the latest Creator/StephenKing book or [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason, part 17]].]]
3
4	->''"I'm gonna slice and dice cause murder's my vice. I'll stab you once, twice maybe even thrice. Carve initials in your liver. Make you quiver, deliver. Yeah, that'd be nice. I'll dissect your heart. Rip your entrails apart. Hack off your head. And that's just the start."''
5	-->-- '''L.I.F.E. Long'''
6
7	Horrorcore rap music is essentially GangstaRap [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] HorrorTropes, with a touch of bloodthirsty metal for good measure. Musically, they're basically "what if you rapped DeathMetal lyrics?" The production style usually also favors dark and often dissonant textures, as well as horror movie samples. Rock and HeavyMetal guitar samples are also common, while many Soundcloud horrorcore artists from the 2010s were more rooted in trap and mixed in elements of nu metal and extreme metal.
8
9	There's dispute over where the genre originated. Horrorcore is more or less gangsta rap turned up to 11. Expect subject matter to cover cannibalism, rape, torture, infanticide, occultism, necrophilia and other horrible things ForTheEvulz. However, it's common for horrorcore to have a strong [[ConsciousHipHop social conscience]], often incorporating elements of Christian redemption, portraying the protagonists as {{Dark Shepherd}}s, or allegorising the misery of being a criminal, drug addict, or victim of injustice. Due to horrorcore allowing protagonists to be irredeemable and often fantastical, it avoids the DoNotDoThisCoolThing problem that has [[DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster been known]] to occur with GangstaRap. It also allows it to be [[HorrorComedy much funnier than conventional Gangsta Rap]], with quite a lot of the genre aiming to be satirical and cartoonish [[LightmareFuel as much as it is scary]].
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11	In the 2010s, this split into two main strains. The dominant style from 2009-2013 was a lyrical [[ShockRock Shock Rap]] style based around extreme and darkly comedic scenarios, often with exploitative celebrity namedrops, explicit drug use, political incorrectness used for shock value, and minimal or no Gangsta Rap elements. From 2014, this fell out of favor for the "[=SoundCloud=] horrorcore" or "Memphis horrorcore" style influenced by early Music/ThreeSixMafia and popularised by [=SpaceGhostPurrp=] - a less lyrical, more lo-fi and 'vibe'-driven style frequently mixed with Emo Rap.
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13	While horrorcore artists can and do come from anywhere, the genre is generally associated with [[SouthernRap Memphis]] and the Midwest -- in particular UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}}, one of the only rap scenes in America where the horrorcore style is so dominant that most emcees will at least dabble in it. The reason for Detroit's love of horrorcore is complex and related to Detroit's unique combination of [[UrbanSegregation racial segregation]] and [[AfterTheEnd urban decay]].
14
15	Could be said to be to HardcoreHipHop what DeathMetal is to ThrashMetal. See also GangstaRap, ShockRock and MurderBallad. The Memphis horrorcore style (popularized by Three Six Mafia) also wound up being a major influence on {{Crunk}}, mostly through its signature aggressive, insistent, and repetitive synth lines, and East Coast/Midwest horrorcore was a huge influence on DrillMusic through its bleak atmosphere, graphic content and use of horror movie samples.
16	-----
17	!!Artists in the genre include:
18	[[index]]
19	* Music/AxeMurderBoyz
20	* Music/BigHoodoo
21	* Music/BigL
22	* Music/BrothaLynchHung
23	* Music/BlazeYaDeadHomie
24	* Music/{{Boondox}}
25	* Music/{{Cage}}
26	* Music/DarkLotus
27	* Music/{{Eminem}}:
28	** 1999: ''Music/TheSlimShadyLP''
29	** 2000: ''Music/TheMarshallMathersLP'' -- features the Horrorcore single "Stan"
30	** 2009: ''Music/{{Relapse}}'' -- TabloidMelodrama SlasherMovie with MedicalHorror elements.
31	* Music/{{Esham}}
32	* Music/GetoBoys
33	* Music/{{Gravediggaz}}, featured as the page image.
34	* Music/InsaneClownPosse:
35	** 1992: ''Music/CarnivalOfCarnage''
36	** 1993: ''Music/BeverlyKills50187''
37	** 1994: ''Music/{{Ringmaster}}''
38	** 1995: ''Music/RiddleBox''
39	** 1996: ''Music/TunnelOfLove''
40	** 1997: ''Music/TheGreatMilenko''
41	** 1999: ''Music/TheAmazingJeckelBrothers''
42	** 2000: ''Music/BizaarBizzar''
43	** 2002: ''Music/TheWraithShangriLa''
44	** 2004: ''Music/HellsPit''
45	** 2007: ''Music/TheTempest''
46	** 2009: ''Music/BangPowBoom''
47	** 2012: ''Music/TheMightyDeathPop''
48	** 2015: ''Music/TheMarvelousMissingLink''
49	** 2019: ''Music/FearlessFredFury''
50	** 2021: ''Music/YumYumBedlam''
51	* Music/InsanePoetry
52	* Music/JakProgresso (aka Jak Tripper): . The most prolific artist in the genre by a long shot. [[note]]Twelve of the releases on his Bandcamp page were recorded in 2020 ''alone.'' [[ArchivePanic Said Bandcamp page is missing the majority of his discography]].[[/note]]
53	* Music/KidCrusher (Australia)
54	* Music/{{KIZ}} (Germany)
55	* Music/MCBushpig (Australia)
56	* Music/{{Necro}}
57	* [[Music/TechN9ne Tech N9ne]]
58	* [[Music/ThreeSixMafia Three 6 Mafia]]'s underground work when they were called ''Triple 6 Mafia''.
59	* Music/{{Twiztid}}
60	[[/index]]
61	-----
62	!!Record labels centered around this genre:
63	* Creator/PsychopathicRecords
64	* Lyrikal Snuff Productions
65	* Serial Killin Records
66	* Slaughtercore Entertainment
67	* Prone Records
68	* Murder House Records
69	* Hirntot Records
70	* 666 Kartell Records
71	-----
72	!!Horrorcore often provides examples of the following tropes:
73
74	* ADarkerMe: Horrorcore protagonists often have a lot of autobiographical elements, but with the nastiness taken to extremes.
75	* AssholeVictim: More sympathetic horrorcore protagonists will target unsympathetic characters.
76	* AxCrazy: Just about every protagonist in their song is this
77	* BlackComedy: Some songs have this in lieu of horrorcore's standard gory lyrics
78	* BottomOfTheBarrelJoke: If you can't think of something scary to say, you ''can'' just be gross.
79	* ChainsawGood: It's about murder. Of course chainsaws will pop up!
80	* ChaoticStupid: A lot of horrorcore protagonists spend a lot of time doing pointless stupid things in between killing people, in order to reinforce how crazy they are.
81	* CircusOfFear: You've got to have somewhere for those MonsterClown rappers to hang out.
82	* DarkShepherd: Very common with juggalo rappers, due to Music/InsaneClownPosse's mythology revolving around their violence being punishment for abusers, tyrants and the corrupt.
83	* DealWithTheDevil: Often Satan will offer horrorcore protagonists riches in exchange for serving him as an allegory for a life as a gangsta. Though Music/{{Eminem}} used this as an allegory for his fame.
84	* DivineIntervention: [[GodOfGood God]] makes appearances in many horrorcore albums, either to save protagonists from their sins or call them out on their actions.
85	* DomesticAbuse: The main characters's significant others do not tend to get treated well in horrorcore songs.
86	* EscapistCharacter: Horrorcore protagonists function as a safe way to deal with feelings of rage, pain and fear.
87	* EvilIsPetty: Funnier Horrorcore protagonists like to contrast their heinous crimes with more mundane scenes of them being complete assholes, often to girlfriends.
88	* GrossoutShow: A lot of more comedic horrorcore uses grossout humour and scatology.
89	* HigherUnderstandingThroughDrugs: Some horrorcore under the "acid rap" subgenre aims to express the dissociation, torment and terrifying enlightenment of a bad trip.
90	* JustifiedCriminal, though the individual actions probably aren't justified.
91	* MonsterClown: Every Juggalo artist and group in this genre ends up characterizing themselves as this.
92	* MoralMyopia: Horrorcore protagonists often condemn their enemies for actions of self-preservation while doing things to them that are a thousand times worse.
93	* NightmareFuel: Just about every song under this genre can qualify as this in one way or another
94	* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Common in the subgenre, and one of the main reasons for it being controversial, even outside of its target audience. Music/{{Eminem}} became a massively controversial figure in the 2000s due to his use of homophobia and misogyny in his music, and doubled down on it to make a point about freedom of speech, although he did eventually swear off homophobic slurs in 2018.
95	* ReligiousHorror: It's a common Horrorcore plot to follow the shape of a Medieval morality play, in which a sinner is led astray by Satan, then punished by God for their crimes.
96	* StupidEvil: Protagonists usually end up doing quite stupid actions, though some are quite resourceful though still too heinous to be a MagnificentBastard.
97	* SubvertedKidsShow: The {{camp}}ier/sillier/poppier end of the genre likes to incorporate elements from children's TV, comic books, cartoons, [[AnimatedShockComedy Animated Shock Comedies]], circus culture and professional wrestling. (In particular, Music/InsaneClownPosse and a lot of other Juggalo rappers are pro wrestlers as well as musicians.)
98	* ToiletHumor: Anything that causes disgust is on the table, so why not?
99	* UndiscriminatingAddict: Lyrics and music videos depicting gratuitous and unsafe drug use are a favourite way to shock people.
100	* VillainProtagonist: Often to the point of being a CompleteMonster.
101	* VillainsOutShopping: The mundane realities of going to the club, making money to live and dealing with your family/girlfriends don't go away just because you're a murderer. These often serve as lighter relief songs and love songs in horrorcore albums.
102	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: The more sympathetic narrators found in some songs.

Context Main / Horrorcore