Hipster hop, a portmanteau of hipster

Hipster (contemporary subculture)

Hipsters are a subculture of young, recently settled urban middle class adults and older teenagers with musical interests mainly in alternative rock that appeared in the 1990s...

 and hip hop

Hip hop music

Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

, is a sub-genre of alternative hip hop

Alternative hip hop

Alternative hip hop is a sub-genre of hip hop music. Allmusic defines it as follows: -Origin:...

, or, more specifically, "indie rock

Indie rock

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

-informed hip-hop". It is also known as hipster rap. According to critic Matt Preira, writing in the Miami New Times, hipster-hop constitues a "discernable transition in rap music," one which incorporates elements of hipster culture. Preira claims that it is "a brewing microgenre poised to take the mainstream by storm". Chicago Reader critic Miles Raymer says that hipster rappers "screw around with old school

Old school hip hop

Old school hip hop describes the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music , and the music in the period preceding it from which it was directly descended . Old school hip hop is said to end around 1983 or 1984 with the emergence of Run–D.M.C., the first new school hip hop group...

 signifiers," but that hipster rap "embodies the same sort of utopian, big-tent ideal that old-school hip-hop did." According to Raymer, it works the "leading edge of the interplay between rap music and dance music

Dance music

Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...

," while being defined by hipsteresque fashions and attitudes. In summary, hipster rap is characterized by a blurring of the lines between "'pure' rap, hip-hop, R&B, pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

, and rock". Critics have often associated it with Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

 groups such as Mad Rad

Mad Rad

Mad Rad is a Seattle-based hip hop/electronic music group that consists of five members; three vocalists, a DJ, and a drummer. Four members of Mad Rad have stage names which are as follows; Nathan Quiroga , Peter Robinson , Gregory Smith , Ty Finnan , and their drummer's name is Trent Moorman...

 and Champagne Champagne, although the latter denies that their music falls into the genre. Popular hipster hop artists include OFWGKTA

OFWGKTA

Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, often abbreviated OFWGKTA and also known simply as Odd Future or Golf Wang, is an alternative hip hop collective from Los Angeles, California...

, Lil B

Lil B

Brandon McCartney , known by his stage name Lil B or "The BasedGod", is a rapper from Berkeley, California. He has recorded both solo and with the Pack. In addition, Lil B is noted for his extensive use of social media Web sites such as MySpace and Twitter to build an online following.-Early...

, The Knux

The Knux

The Knux are a American alternative hip hop duo composed of brothers Kentrell "Krispy" Lindsey and Alvin "Joey" Lindsey. Both brothers are musicians, who sing, rap, produce as well as play instruments. Their music contains elements of rock & electronic and pop...

, Theophilus London

Theophilus London

Theophilus London is an American rapper from Brooklyn, New York City.-Early life:London was born on the island Trinidad, on February 23 of 1987 and was raised in Brooklyn briefly, then moved to the suburbs of the Poconos.-Records:...

, Childish Gambino, Kid Sister

Kid Sister

Melisa Young better known by her stage name Kid Sister, is a rap artist based in Chicago, Illinois, well known for her single "Pro Nails", featuring Kanye West.-Background:Melisa Young was born July 3, 1980 in Markham, Illinois...

, Kreayshawn

Kreayshawn

Natassia Gail Zolot, known by her stage name Kreayshawn, is an American rapper and music video director.-Early life:...

, XV

XV

XV or Xv may refer to:* 15 in Roman numerals* XV , rapper from Wichita, Kansas, United States* XV , an album by King's X* Xv, a shareware image display and manipulation program for Unix...

, Chiddy Bang

Chiddy Bang

Chiddy Bang is an American alternative hip hop band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The group consists of Chidera "Chiddy" Anamege and Noah "Xaphoon Jones" Beresin. The duo was introduced through former band member Zachary Sewall in late 2008 during their freshman year at Drexel University, in...

, Das Racist

Das Racist

Das Racist is an alternative hip hop group based in Brooklyn, New York City, composed of MCs Himanshu Suri , and Victor Vazquez and hype man Ashok Kondabolu...

, Air Dubai

Air Dubai

Air Dubai is a seven-piece hip hop band from Denver, Colorado. The band is composed of vocalists Julian Thomas and Jon Shockness, with Lawrence Grivich , Michael Ray , Taylor Tait , Wesley Watkins and Nick Spreigl...

, Asher Roth

Asher Roth

Asher Paul Roth is an American rapper.-Early life:Asher Roth was born and raised in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, a small town about 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia. His mother, Elizabeth , is a yoga instructor, and his father, David Roth, is the executive director of a design firm...

 and Kanye West

Kanye West

Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...

. Beck

Beck

Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...

's song Clock, from Stray Blues

Stray Blues

Stray Blues: A Collection of B-Sides is an album by Beck released on June 1, 2000. It is a collection of B-sides that were only released in Japan...

, has been called "deadpan hipster-hop" by Allmusic.