Within recent years of the rap genre, there has been a surge of what is referred to in the hip hop community as mumble rap. Mumble rap is a sub-genre of rap where the lyrics are often incomprehensible or very difficult to understand.
Notable mumble rappers include Desiigner, Young Thug, Future and Lil Uzi Vert. Rappers who use this style purposely speak in a slurred, choppy, low pitched manner. A common trait of mumble rap is the over-reliance of auto tune and sound effects to overcompensate for the lack of lyricism.
Although this genre of rap is highly prevalent in mainstream rap, it is generally meet with controversy and harsh criticism. This is commonly due to the fact that rap is relatively a more lyrical genre of music in contrast to other prominent genres of music. Often times, mumble rappers are not recognized as fully fledged artists and are seen more as simple entertainers.
Mumble rap is usually not as complex or high quality when compared to lyrical rappers. Additionally, mumble songs are often very repetitive in terms of beat, topics and phonetics, so this genre is judged as being very tedious, unoriginal and repetitive. Fans are sometimes looked down upon as not having good taste in rap music.
Such controversy causes me to wonder if mumble rap is detrimental to the state of rap holistically. One of the major motivators towards the foundation of rap was the need for a medium for artists in African American communities, typically those raised in poverty, to be able to describe the hardships they face as well as be able to express themselves and their cultures.
So, the rise of mumble rap can be interpreted as the antithesis one of the greatest aspects or themes of rap. An overabundance of rap could risk the overall decline in quality of rap as a whole or provide a negative representation of rap as a whole.
However, generally, modern rap has changed over the decades to acclaim to the party scene, or rather a more carefree, hedonistic lifestyle, and has gained much popularity for it. It often presents a fantasy to be glorified in parties, and clubs where people are able to forget about their problems in world and just enjoy themselves.
Such experiences can often be cathartic for some individuals. If we limit the parameters, it could restrict the variety and growth in the genre as a whole. Genres change and adapt and can often be analyzed as a reflection of society.