{{Short description|Music genre}} {{Distinguish|Soundcloud rap}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Infobox music genre | name = Cloud rap | other_names = * Trillwave<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lyons |first=Patrick |date=2017-10-28 |title=Crew Love: A$AP Mob |url=https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/16776-crew-love-asap-mob-news |access-date=2025-09-16 |website=HotNewHipHop |language=en |archive-date=December 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241202221018/https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/16776-crew-love-asap-mob-news |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=read |first=MagazineNews·1 min |date=2019-12-18 |title=Friendzone's James Laurence Has Died |url=https://theplayground.co.uk/friendzones-james-laurence-has-died/ |access-date=2025-09-15 |website=PLAYY. Magazine |language=en-GB |archive-date=April 21, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250421215645/https://theplayground.co.uk/friendzones-james-laurence-has-died/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | image = Cloud rap beat.ogg | caption = Sample of a cloud rap instrumental in the style of Clams Casino | stylistic_origins = * Southern hip-hop<ref name="redbull.com"/> * lo-fi<ref name="redbull.com"/> * chillwave<ref name="redbull.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.redbull.com/se-en/whatever-happened-to-hip-hop-sub-genre-cloud-rap |title=The history of cloud rap | Red Bull Music |date=April 5, 2018 |publisher=Amp.redbull.com |access-date=April 2, 2019 |archive-date=March 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330205611/https://www.redbull.com/se-en/whatever-happened-to-hip-hop-sub-genre-cloud-rap |url-status=live }}</ref> * trap<ref name="redbull.com"/> * psychedelia<ref name="redbull.com"/> * ambient<ref name="redbull.com"/> * new age music<ref name="redbull.com"/> * chillout<ref name="redbull.com"/> * downtempo<ref name="redbull.com"/> * video game music<ref name="redbull.com"/> * anime soundtracks<ref name="redbull.com"/> | derivatives = *Emo rap<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highclouds.org/i-write-raps-not-tragedies-finally-the-emo-goth-rap-hybrid-you-didnt-realise-you-were-waiting-for-is-here/|title=I write raps not tragedies: Finally! The emo-goth-rap hybrid you didn't realise you were waiting for is here|first=Chris Ellenwood|last=says|date=April 10, 2017|access-date=April 15, 2017|archive-date=October 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171030073216/http://www.highclouds.org/i-write-raps-not-tragedies-finally-the-emo-goth-rap-hybrid-you-didnt-realise-you-were-waiting-for-is-here/|url-status=live}}</ref> * digicore * hexD * jerk * rage * cloud rock | cultural_origins = Late 2000s, Southern United States | instruments = {{flatlist| * Vocals (Auto-Tune) * Synthesizer }} | subgenres = | other_topics = * Soundcloud rap * chopped and screwed *phonk *plugg *witch house *internet rap *based rap *vaportrap *meme rap }} '''Cloud rap''' (also known as '''trillwave''') is a subgenre of hip-hop that emerged from the Southern hip-hop scene in the late 2000s to early 2010s. The style draws influences from trap, ambient and new age music to create a hazy, dreamlike, atmospheric and relaxed production style through the extensive use of reverb and ethereal chopped samples. It was originally pioneered by artists and producers such as Lil B, Clams Casino, Friendzone, Main Attrakionz, Viper, Metro Zu and SpaceGhostPurrp.
In 2010, music blogger Walker 'Walkmasterflex' Chambliss who co-founded the blog Space Age Hustle, coined the term "cloud rap" to describe the music of Main Attrakionz member Squadda B. The term was further popularized with their compilation album ''3 Years Ahead: The Cloud Rap Tape.'' In 2011, the genre grew in popularity with the release of ASAP Rocky's debut single "Peso," followed by "Purple Swag" and his debut mixtape, ''Live. Love. ASAP'', which saw production credits from Clams Casino and Friendzone, as well as features from Main Attrakionz and SpaceGhostPurrp.
In 2013, Yung Lean released the single "Ginseng Strip 2002" which went viral online, further popularizing the style. His collective Sad Boys gained prominence in the cloud rap scene. Other notable artists such as Bones, Xavier Wulf, Chris Travis, Night Lovell and Black Kray would become prominent figures in the scene. Cloud rap influenced several internet rap genres such as emo rap, digicore, hexD, jerk, rage and sigilkore.
== Etymology == [[File:3 years ahead the cloud rap tape.png|thumb|The various artists compilation album ''3 Years Ahead: The Cloud Rap Tape'' (2010) popularized the term ]] In 2010, music blogger Walker 'Walkmasterflex' Chambliss coined the term "cloud rap" in a blogspot post describing the music of Main Attrakionz member Squadda B, whom he labelled "the king of cloud rap".<ref name=":6" /> The founders of the blog would later manage the duo.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-12-21 |title=How to Be the Main Attrakionz |url=https://eastbayexpress.com/how-to-be-the-main-attrakionz-1/ |access-date=2026-03-29 |website=East Bay Express {{!}} Oakland, Berkeley & Alameda |language=en-US}}</ref> Chambliss thought he was using a phrase from a 2009 interview by music writer Noz, where rapper Lil B showed him a CGI image of a castle in the clouds and said "that's the kind of music I want to make."<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Musicpublished |first=Future |date=2022-03-02 |title=The beginner's guide to: cloud rap |url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/the-beginners-guide-to-cloud-rap |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=MusicRadar |language=en |archive-date=April 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240405001136/https://www.musicradar.com/news/the-beginners-guide-to-cloud-rap |url-status=live }}</ref> He later used the term for the Space Age Hustle blog's compilation album, ''3 Years Ahead: The Cloud Rap Tape'' released in 2010, which helped popularize the genre.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=July 10, 2013 |title=The FACT Dictionary: How dubstep, juke and cloud rap got their names |url=https://www.factmag.com/2013/07/10/the-fact-dictionary-how-dubstep-juke-cloud-rap-and-many-more-got-their-names/ |access-date=October 29, 2020 |website=FACT Magazine |language=en-US |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108081101/https://www.factmag.com/2013/07/10/the-fact-dictionary-how-dubstep-juke-cloud-rap-and-many-more-got-their-names/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
The label "cloud" denotes distinct characteristics of the genre such as its "hazy", ethereal aesthetic (in terms of both aural and visual expression) and its ambiguity as a genre without clearly defined borders.<ref name=":5">{{Cite conference |last1=Wikström |first1=Peter |last2=van Ooijen |first2=Erik |date=2018 |title=Post-authentic digitalism in cloud rap |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333422124 |conference=Popular Music Discourses: Authenticity and Mediatization |language=en |location=Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926211320/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333422124 |archive-date=September 26, 2021 |access-date=October 29, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
== Characteristics == Cloud rap is defined by the use of ethereal, psychedelic and soft samples as well as the inclusion of trap style drums, drawing primary influences from lo-fi hip-hop and chillwave.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=April 5, 2018 |title=What happened to the hip-hop micro-genre cloud rap? |url=https://www.redbull.com/us-en/whatever-happened-to-hip-hop-sub-genre-cloud-rap |access-date=October 7, 2023 |website=Red Bull |language=en |archive-date=November 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116101557/https://www.redbull.com/us-en/whatever-happened-to-hip-hop-sub-genre-cloud-rap |url-status=live }}</ref> The genre's production style draws heavily from general mellow and relaxed sounds that are atypical to traditional hip-hop such as ambient and new age music, while esoteric melodic chopped samples have been lifted from J-pop, video game music and anime soundtracks.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |date=May 29, 2013 |title=A$AP Rocky: Cloud Rap and Live at the Melkweg |url=https://culturedarm.com/aap-rocky-cloud-rap-and-live-at-the-melkweg/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509104413/https://culturedarm.com/aap-rocky-cloud-rap-and-live-at-the-melkweg/ |archive-date=May 9, 2019 |access-date=October 29, 2020 |website=Culturedarm |language=en-US}}</ref>
Cloud rap's lyrics sometimes revolve around themes of love and betrayal, as well as more typical themes found in popular music such as sex, drugs, and alienation.<ref name=":22">{{Cite web |date=June 25, 2015 |title=Cloud Rap: The Spacey, Cyber-Born Hip-Hop Subgenre |url=https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/cloud-rap-yung-lean-lil-b/ |access-date=October 29, 2020 |website=Highsnobiety |language=en-US |archive-date=April 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426174802/https://www.highsnobiety.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
The style pulls from a diversity of rap sounds and locales: from both the East and West Coasts and the South.<ref name=":7" /> In particular, cloud rap often utilizes looped samples from downtempo, ambient, new age and chillout music, as well as British female singers such as Sade and Imogen Heap.<ref name=":7" /> Often, cloud rap is released independently of record labels, and cloud rap artists rely on internet services (such as SoundCloud, YouTube, and Twitter) to distribute and promote their music.
Cloud rap production is characterized by ethereal synths, reverb-heavy beats, distorted samples, and a chopped, lo-fi musical style.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-11 |title=What is Reverb in Music? |url=https://blog.andertons.co.uk/learn/what-is-reverb |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=Andertons Blog |language=en |archive-date=February 14, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250214202856/https://blog.andertons.co.uk/learn/what-is-reverb |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":2" /> The genre leans heavily into melody, blending elements from various genres while maintaining a strong connection to hip-hop. With many of the genre's pioneers taking major influences from witch house and chillwave, many artists have producers in common like Clams Casino, 90's Bambino, and SpaceGhostPurrp.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Dylan |date=May 6, 2020 |title=Clams Casino Interview: Lil B, A$AP Rocky, Vince Staples, 'Cloud Rap{{'-}} |url=https://djbooth.net/features/2020-01-24-clams-casino-interview-lil-b-asap-rocky-vince-staples |access-date=October 29, 2020 |website=DJBooth |language=en |archive-date=September 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926211321/https://djbooth.net/features/2020-01-24-clams-casino-interview-lil-b-asap-rocky-vince-staples |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sickboyrari |url=https://genius.com/artists/Sickboyrari |access-date=May 3, 2023 |archive-date=January 19, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119063510/https://genius.com/artists/Sickboyrari |url-status=live }}</ref>
== History ==
=== 2000s–2010s: Origins === [[File:Lil_B_Nuemos_2012.jpg|thumb|Lil B's collaborations with producer Clams Casino were key influences on the development of cloud rap. |left]] Cloud rap originated in the Southern United States during the late 2000s.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":3" /> Elements of cloud rap appear as early as the 1990s, with the influence of the Houston and Memphis rap scene,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Brinkley |first=Vance |date=2018-03-19 |title=The DJ Smokey Guide to 'Cloud Rap' |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/the-dj-smokey-guide-to-cloud-rap |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=Bandcamp Daily |archive-date=May 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521040619/https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/the-dj-smokey-guide-to-cloud-rap |url-status=live }}</ref> as well as in the early 2000s with Clouddead's self-titled album which later inspired the Californian group Main Attrakionz.<ref>{{Cite web |title=cLOUDLIFE is Main Attrakionz and cLOUDDEAD {{!}} New Music {{!}} Impose Magazine |url=https://imposemagazine.com/bytes/new-music/cloudlife-is-main-attakionz-and-clouddead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103070240/https://imposemagazine.com/bytes/new-music/cloudlife-is-main-attakionz-and-clouddead |archive-date=2014-11-03 |access-date=2025-10-08 |website=imposemagazine.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Reeves |first=Mosi |date=2025-07-31 |title=Remembering Anticon and Hip-Hop's Reckoning With Weirdness |url=https://www.kqed.org/arts/13979349/anticon-history-doseone-jel-sole-alias-clouddead-odd-nosdam-oakland |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=www.kqed.org |language=en |archive-date=August 9, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250809082914/https://www.kqed.org/arts/13979349/anticon-history-doseone-jel-sole-alias-clouddead-odd-nosdam-oakland |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Quietus |first=The |date=2024-03-08 |title=Dead Dogs & Beauty: cLOUDDEAD's Ten At 20 |url=https://thequietus.com/opinion-and-essays/anniversary/clouddead-ten-anniversary-review/ |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=The Quietus |language=en-GB |archive-date=September 21, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250921201602/https://thequietus.com/opinion-and-essays/anniversary/clouddead-ten-anniversary-review/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Rapper Danny Brown cited Main Attrakionz as the originators of the style, while defining the genre as "Imogen Heap samples".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=RESPECT |date=2012-06-14 |title=Interview: Danny Brown Talks Festivals, Kitty Pryde & Cloud Rap @ Bonnaroo |url=https://respect-mag.com/2012/06/interview-danny-brown-talks-festivals-kitty-pryde-cloud-rap/ |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=RESPECT. {{!}} The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture |language=en-US}}</ref> During the late 2000s, artists such as Lil B and producer Clams Casino, became key influences on the development of cloud rap, with the duo pioneering the sound as early as 2008.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=June 3, 2016 |title=Collect This Rare Clams Casino and Lil B Interview About the New Clams Casino Album '32 Levels' |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/clams-casino-lil-b-interview-32-levels/ |access-date=October 29, 2020 |website=Vice.com |language=en |archive-date=January 23, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250123093612/https://www.vice.com/en/article/clams-casino-lil-b-interview-32-levels/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Other early developments included the underground Finnish rap scene and the work of Houston rapper Viper.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sunbleach |date=January 2017 |title=Chamber 38 releases "You'll Cowards Don't Even Smoke Crack" by Viper – Sunbleach ☀ |url=https://sunbleach.net/2017/01/01/chamber-38-releases-youll-cowards-dont-even-smoke-crack-by-viper/ |access-date=October 7, 2023 |language=en-US |archive-date=September 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926211322/https://sunbleach.net/2017/01/01/chamber-38-releases-youll-cowards-dont-even-smoke-crack-by-viper/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
By 2010, Squadda B of Main Attrakionz,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dandridge-Lemco |first=Ben |date=2020-10-19 |title={{-'}}Cloud Rap' No More: Squadda B of Main Attrakionz Returns Recharged |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/squadda-b-main-attrakionz-new-dog-interview |access-date=2025-07-30 |website=Bandcamp Daily |archive-date=February 25, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250225025457/https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/squadda-b-main-attrakionz-new-dog-interview |url-status=live }}</ref> Friendzone and South Florida acts SpaceGhostPurrp<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Crack |title=SPACEGHOSTPURRP |url=https://crackmagazine.net/article/news/spaceghostpurrp/ |access-date=2025-07-31 |website=Crack Magazine |archive-date=April 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250424025833/https://crackmagazine.net/article/news/spaceghostpurrp/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Haynes |first=Gavin |date=2017-01-27 |title=What the phonk? The genre that's gripping Generation Z |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jan/27/phonk-soundcloud-spaceghostpurrp-lil-uzi-vert |access-date=2025-07-31 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=August 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822112626/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jan/27/phonk-soundcloud-spaceghostpurrp-lil-uzi-vert |url-status=live }}</ref> and Metro Zu,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fuertes-Knight |first=Jo |date=2012-11-05 |title=Metro Zu: 'Zuology' Mixtape |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/metro-zu-zuology-mixtape/ |access-date=2025-07-31 |website=VICE |language=en-US |archive-date=December 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241204182654/https://www.vice.com/en/article/metro-zu-zuology-mixtape/ |url-status=live }}</ref> were tagged cloud rap by online music critics and bloggers, though many artists expressed dislike for the term and distanced themselves from it.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=H∆SHTAG$, Episode 3: Don't Call It #CloudRap |url=https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2013/02/hashtags-cloudrap |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=daily.redbullmusicacademy.com |language=en |archive-date=November 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241104181957/https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2013/02/hashtags-cloudrap/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Cloud rap garnered mainstream attention in 2011 with rapper ASAP Rocky's debut single Peso,<ref name=":6" /> which was followed by the single Purple Swag and mixtape, ''Live. Love. ASAP'', which saw partial production credits from Clams Casino and Friendzone.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lester |first=Paul |date=October 12, 2011 |title=New band of the day – No 1,125: ASAP Rocky |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/oct/12/new-band-asap-rocky |access-date=October 29, 2020 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=February 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228001130/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/oct/12/new-band-asap-rocky |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Citation |title=Live.Love.A$AP - A$AP Rocky {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/liveloveaap-mw0002544931 |access-date=October 29, 2020 |language=en-us |archive-date=April 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170403063246/http://www.allmusic.com/album/liveloveaap-mw0002544931 |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2013, Swedish artist Yung Lean became an eminent cloud rap artist when the video for his single "Ginseng Strip 2002" went viral.<ref name=":22" /><ref name=":0" /> His collective Sad Boys gained prominence in the cloud rap scene.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dazed |date=2022-11-22 |title=Drain is officially a genre: here are five Drain Gang albums to stream now |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/57505/1/drain-is-officially-a-genre-here-are-five-drain-gang-albums-to-stream-now |access-date=2026-04-01 |website=Dazed |language=en}}</ref> Notable producers who worked with Lean such as Yung Gud, Whitearmor and Suicideyear alongside online rap collective Drain Gang, consisting of Bladee, Ecco2k, Thaiboy Digital, and Whitearmor would also be influential in shaping the genre.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Drain gang: the Next step in the evolution of modern music? |url=http://www.osatelegraph.org/4/post/2021/02/drain-gang-the-next-step-in-the-evolution-of-modern-music.html |access-date=2025-07-01 |website=The OSA Telegraph |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Patella |first=Quinn |title=Cloud Rap: Maybe One Day We'll See It Again |url=https://qchspawprints.com/3292/entertainment/cloud-rap-maybe-one-day-well-see-it-again/ |access-date=2024-05-07 |website=Paw Prints |archive-date=December 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241221233234/https://qchspawprints.com/3292/entertainment/cloud-rap-maybe-one-day-well-see-it-again/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Around the same time, other online rap collectives contributed to the genre’s development, such as Raider Klan (featuring SpaceGhostPurrp and Denzel Curry),<ref name=":1" /> ASAP Mob led by ASAP Rocky,<ref name=":7" /> Black Kray’s Goth Money,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Af Reed |date=2015-11-02 |title=Meet Goth Money, the Most Positive Crew of Trillionaires on the Internet |url=https://www.vice.com/da/article/goth-money-records-interview-trillionaires-2015/ |access-date=2025-09-16 |website=VICE |language=da-DK |archive-date=January 19, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119165206/https://www.vice.com/da/article/goth-money-records-interview-trillionaires-2015/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Seshollowaterboyz (Bones, Xavier Wulf, Chris Travis and Eddy Baker),<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-05-17 |title=New LA Collective SESHOLLOWATERBOYZ are redefining success in the rap industry |url=https://highschool.latimes.com/arts-and-entertainment/new-la-collective-seshollowaterboyz-are-redefining-success-in-the-rap-industry/ |access-date=2025-09-16 |website=HS Insider |language=en-US}}</ref> and GothBoiClique (including Yung Bruh and Wicca Phase Springs Eternal).<ref name=":22" /> Other influential artists include Night Lovell,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Night Lovell finds success online and returns for hometown love – Apartment613 |url=https://apt613.ca/night-lovell-finds-success-online-and-returns-for-hometown-love/ |access-date=2025-09-16 |archive-date=June 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613043922/https://apt613.ca/night-lovell-finds-success-online-and-returns-for-hometown-love/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and the early work of Playboi Carti.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Playboi Carti is a fraction of the rapper he used to be on new album 'MUSIC' |url=https://www.tcnjsignalnews.com/article/2025/03/playboi-carti-is-a-fraction-of-the-rapper-he-used-to-be-on-new-album-music |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=The Signal |language=en-US |archive-date=March 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250324171032/https://www.tcnjsignalnews.com/article/2025/03/playboi-carti-is-a-fraction-of-the-rapper-he-used-to-be-on-new-album-music |url-status=live }}</ref> By the late 2010s, the influence of cloud rap splintered off into various other genres such as emo rap,<ref name=":9">{{cite web |last=says |first=Chris Ellenwood |date=April 10, 2017 |title=I write raps not tragedies: Finally! The emo-goth-rap hybrid you didn't realise you were waiting for is here |url=http://www.highclouds.org/i-write-raps-not-tragedies-finally-the-emo-goth-rap-hybrid-you-didnt-realise-you-were-waiting-for-is-here/ |access-date=April 15, 2017 |archive-date=October 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171030073216/http://www.highclouds.org/i-write-raps-not-tragedies-finally-the-emo-goth-rap-hybrid-you-didnt-realise-you-were-waiting-for-is-here/ |url-status=live }}</ref> digicore,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pearce |first=Sheldon |date=2025-04-24 |title=Anatomy of a microgenre: Hyperpop's next evolution |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/04/24/nx-s1-5361403/hyperpop-digicore-jane-remover-2hollis-microgenre |access-date=2025-10-06 |work=NPR |language=en |archive-date=September 22, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250922211243/https://www.npr.org/2025/04/24/nx-s1-5361403/hyperpop-digicore-jane-remover-2hollis-microgenre |url-status=live }}</ref> and rage.<ref name=":9" />
=== 2020s === {{See also|Underground hip-hop#2020s|UK underground rap}} During the early 2020s, a new wave of artists drew influences from the original cloud rap era merging the sound with contemporaneous styles such as plugg music and various microgenres such as jerk, sigilkore<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-17 |title=SA: 9lives inks deal with Pulse Records |url=https://www.musicinafrica.net/magazine/sa-9lives-inks-deal-pulse-records |access-date=2025-10-08 |website=Music In Africa |language=en |archive-date=June 21, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250621235021/https://www.musicinafrica.net/magazine/sa-9lives-inks-deal-pulse-records |url-status=live }}</ref> and hexD.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |title=The Influence of Rare RCB + HexD MP3|url=https://www.passionweiss.com/2020/09/14/the-influence-of-rare-rcb-hexd-mp3/|access-date=30 June 2025|website=Passion of the Weiss|last=Meyer|first=Tom|date=14 September 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250630191438/https://www.passionweiss.com/2020/09/14/the-influence-of-rare-rcb-hexd-mp3/|archive-date=30 June 2025}}</ref> The work of artists such as Xaviersobased,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lafontant |first=Olivier |title=Xaviersobased: once more EP |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/xaviersobased-once-more-ep/ |access-date=2025-10-06 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US |archive-date=September 18, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250918135045/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/xaviersobased-once-more-ep/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Fakemink,<ref name="green">{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Walden |date=2025-02-13 |title=fakemink: "Easter Pink" |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/fakemink-easter-pink/ |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US |archive-date=May 25, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250525194635/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/fakemink-easter-pink/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Yabujin,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Press-Reynolds |first=Kieran |date=2025-02-19 |title=Chasing Yabujin, the Artist Who Secretly Shaped the Underground Sound of the 2020s |url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/chasing-yabujin-the-artist-who-secretly-shaped-the-underground-sound-of-the-2020s/ |access-date=2026-04-13 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref> 2hollis,<ref>{{Cite news |title=An Interview With 2hollis, One of Music's Fastest Rising ... |url=https://www.complex.com/pigeons-and-planes/a/kieranpr/2hollis-interview |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250404080858/https://www.complex.com/pigeons-and-planes/a/kieranpr/2hollis-interview |archive-date=2025-04-04 |access-date=2026-04-14 |work=Complex |language=en}}</ref> and Smokedope2016<ref>{{Cite web |title=SMOKEDOPE2016 - Interview - ETHEREAL.PRESS |url=https://ethereal.press/post/smokedope2016-interview |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250115082233/https://ethereal.press/post/smokedope2016-interview |archive-date=2025-01-15 |access-date=2026-03-28 |website=ethereal.press |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P19Gm2fEpA |title=Smokedope2016 Interview - Masked Gorilla Podcast |date=2025-02-07 |last=Masked Gorilla |access-date=2026-03-28 |via=YouTube}}</ref> have been described as "cloud rap".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-03 |title=smokedope2016 - SOLD OUT |url=https://bandonthewall.org/events/smokedope2016/ |access-date=2025-10-06 |website=Band on the Wall |language=en-GB |archive-date=August 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250810230909/https://bandonthewall.org/events/smokedope2016/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2025, the term "cloud rock" was introduced to describe a style of alternative rock derived from the influence of electronica and internet music genres such as hyperpop and cloud rap.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web |date=2025-08-29 |title=Chasing Fridays: Cloud-Rock explainer, quannnic Q&A, The Virgos |url=https://www.elienis.com/chasing-fridays-cloud-rock-explainer-quannnic-interview-the-virgos/ |access-date=2026-03-22 |website=Chasing Sundays |language=en}}</ref> Artists associated with the style include Dean Blunt, Quannnic,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hyland|first=Samuel|title=quannnic: Warbrained|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/quannnic-warbrained/|access-date=2026-03-04|website=Pitchfork|language=en-US}}</ref> and Jane Remover.<ref name=":10" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Press-Reynolds|first=Kieran|date=2025-07-09|title=The Dreamy Malaise of Post-Pandemic Alt-Rock|url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/the-dreamy-malaise-of-post-pandemic-alt-rock/|access-date=2026-03-04|website=Pitchfork|language=en-US}}</ref>
==See also== * Internet rap
== References == {{reflist}}
{{Hip hop|state=collapsed}} {{Psychedelic music}}
Category:2000s in music Category:2010s in music Category:2010s fads and trends Category:American styles of music Category:Hip-hop genres Category:Lo-fi music Cloud Category:Trap music Category:Microgenres Category:Cloud rap Category:21st-century music genres Category:Internet music genres Category:Internet rap genres