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Horrorcore
 
 
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Horrorcore is a subgenre
Music genre

A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music....
 of hip hop music
Hip hop music

Hip hop music is a music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rapping which is accompanied with backing beats. Hip hop music is part of hip hop culture, which began in the Bronx, in New York City in the 1970s, predominantly among African Americans and Latino Americans....
 described by Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly is a magazine published by Time Inc. in the United States which covers movies, television, music, Broadway stage productions, books, and popular culture....
 in 1995 as a "blend of hardcore rap
Hardcore hip hop

Hardcore hip hop, also referred to as hardcore rap, is a form of hip hop music that developed through the East Coast hip hop scene in the late 1980s....
 and bloodthirsty metal
Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in England and the United States. With roots in blues-rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified Distortion , extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall...
".

orcore defines the style of hip hop music that focuses around "horror influenced" topics that include Satanism
Satanism

Satanism is a term that refers to a number of related belief systems. Their commonality is that they all feature the symbolism of Satan or similar figures....
, cannibalism
Cannibalism

Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating other humans. The ritualistic eating of human flesh is also known as anthropophagy, from Greek: ?????p??, anthropos, "human being"; and fa?e??, phagein, "to eat"....
, suicide
Suicide

Suicide is the intentional taking of one's own life. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"....
, murder
Murder

Murder as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent , and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide....
 and rape
Rape

Rape, also referred to as sexual assault, is an assault by a person involving sexual intercourse with or sexual penetration of another person without that person's consent....
. The lyrics are inspired by horror movies over moody, hardcore beats. As quoted by Mars to describe his horrorcore: "If you take Stephen King or Wes Craven and you throw them on a rap beat, that's who I am." The stylistic origins of horrorcore can be traced to the music of Detroit rapper Esham
Esham

Rashaam Attica Smith, better known by his stage name Esham , is an American rapping from Detroit, Michigan known for his hallucinogenic style of hip hop music which he refers to as "acid rap", which fuses rock music-based beats and lyrics involving subjects such as death, drug use, evil, paranoia and sex....
, who refers to his style of music as "acid rap
Acid rap

Acid rap is a subgenre of hip hop music, fusing rock music-based beats and lyrics involving subjects such as death, drug use, evil, paranoia and sex....
".






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Encyclopedia


Horrorcore is a subgenre
Music genre

A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music....
 of hip hop music
Hip hop music

Hip hop music is a music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rapping which is accompanied with backing beats. Hip hop music is part of hip hop culture, which began in the Bronx, in New York City in the 1970s, predominantly among African Americans and Latino Americans....
 described by Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly is a magazine published by Time Inc. in the United States which covers movies, television, music, Broadway stage productions, books, and popular culture....
 in 1995 as a "blend of hardcore rap
Hardcore hip hop

Hardcore hip hop, also referred to as hardcore rap, is a form of hip hop music that developed through the East Coast hip hop scene in the late 1980s....
 and bloodthirsty metal
Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in England and the United States. With roots in blues-rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified Distortion , extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall...
".

History

Horrorcore defines the style of hip hop music that focuses around "horror influenced" topics that include Satanism
Satanism

Satanism is a term that refers to a number of related belief systems. Their commonality is that they all feature the symbolism of Satan or similar figures....
, cannibalism
Cannibalism

Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating other humans. The ritualistic eating of human flesh is also known as anthropophagy, from Greek: ?????p??, anthropos, "human being"; and fa?e??, phagein, "to eat"....
, suicide
Suicide

Suicide is the intentional taking of one's own life. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"....
, murder
Murder

Murder as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent , and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide....
 and rape
Rape

Rape, also referred to as sexual assault, is an assault by a person involving sexual intercourse with or sexual penetration of another person without that person's consent....
. The lyrics are inspired by horror movies over moody, hardcore beats. As quoted by Mars to describe his horrorcore: "If you take Stephen King or Wes Craven and you throw them on a rap beat, that's who I am." The stylistic origins of horrorcore can be traced to the music of Detroit rapper Esham
Esham

Rashaam Attica Smith, better known by his stage name Esham , is an American rapping from Detroit, Michigan known for his hallucinogenic style of hip hop music which he refers to as "acid rap", which fuses rock music-based beats and lyrics involving subjects such as death, drug use, evil, paranoia and sex....
, who refers to his style of music as "acid rap
Acid rap

Acid rap is a subgenre of hip hop music, fusing rock music-based beats and lyrics involving subjects such as death, drug use, evil, paranoia and sex....
". Esham's music, sometimes described as a fusion of hip hop beats and death metal
Death metal

Death metal is an extreme metal subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs fast tempos, heavily distorted guitars, deep death growl vocals, morbid lyrics, blast beat drumming, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
 lyrics helped contribute to his popularization as a solo rapper as well as a member of the group Natas, and was an influence on the work of Insane Clown Posse
Insane Clown Posse

Insane Clown Posse is an United States hip hop music Duet from Detroit, Michigan. The group is composed of Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler, who perform under the respective personas of the Evil clown Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope....
, who have performed in this genre. Kool Keith
Kool Keith

Keith Matthew Thornton, better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an United States rapping. A founding member of Ultramagnetic MCs, Kool Keith has also recorded extensively both as a solo artist and under multiple aliases....
 claims to have "invented horrorcore".

Gravediggaz
Gravediggaz

Gravediggaz was an United States of America hip hop group from New York City, well-known for its dark sense of humor and abrasive, menacing soundscapes....
 are frequently cited as "ushering in" or popularizing the form with their debut album 6 Feet Deep
6 Feet Deep

6 Feet Deep was the debut album of the New York-based Horrorcore Supergroup Gravediggaz. It was released August 9, 1994, by Gee Street Records....
, released in 1994. The term was also appended to and popularized by Flatlinerz. The genre quickly faded from public attention, but has thrived in internet culture and sustains an annual "supershow" in Detroit called "Wickedstock". According to the January 2004 BBC documentary Underground USA, the subgenre "has a massive following across the US" and "is spreading to Europe". By contrast, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J....
 referred to it as a "short-lived trend" which "generated more shlock than shock". NME
NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music magazine in the United Kingdom which has been published weekly since March 1952. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart, which first appeared in the 14 November 1952 edition....
 agrees, labeling the movement as "rap music's brief fling" while at the same time noting that the genre is subject to revival in its review of Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg

Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg , is a Grammy Award-nominated American rapper, record producer, and actor....
's 2001 soundtrack, Bones.

Notable representatives


  • Brotha Lynch Hung
    Brotha Lynch Hung

    Kevin Mann, better known by his stage name Brotha Lynch Hung, is an United States rapper from Sacramento, California.Lynch first began rapping in 1986 under the name Ice Cold, along with his half-brother Sicx ....
  • D12
    D12

    D12 is an United States hip hop music group from Detroit, Michigan. D12 has had chart-topping albums in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia....
  • Eminem
    Eminem

    Marshall Bruce Mathers III , known by his primary stage name Eminem, or by his alter-ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer and actor....
  • Esham
    Esham

    Rashaam Attica Smith, better known by his stage name Esham , is an American rapping from Detroit, Michigan known for his hallucinogenic style of hip hop music which he refers to as "acid rap", which fuses rock music-based beats and lyrics involving subjects such as death, drug use, evil, paranoia and sex....
     and Natas
  • Flatlinerz
  • Ganksta N-I-P
    Ganksta N-I-P

    Rowdy Williams, better known as Gangsta N-I-P or Ganxsta Nip, is rapper from South Park, Houston, Texas and a member of the South Park Coalition, which he joined in 1987....
  • Gravediggaz
    Gravediggaz

    Gravediggaz was an United States of America hip hop group from New York City, well-known for its dark sense of humor and abrasive, menacing soundscapes....
  • Insane Clown Posse
    Insane Clown Posse

    Insane Clown Posse is an United States hip hop music Duet from Detroit, Michigan. The group is composed of Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler, who perform under the respective personas of the Evil clown Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope....
  • Insane Poetry
    Insane Poetry

    Insane Poetry is an United States hip hop music group from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1988, Insane Poetry is considered to be one of the first horrorcore groups....
  • KidCrusher
  • King Gordy
    King Gordy

    Waverly W. Alford III , better known by his stage name King Gordy, is an United States rapper.BiographyLife and music career...
  • Necro
    Necro

    Ron Braunstein, better known as Necro, is a Jewish American rapper, record producer, and Film director from Brooklyn, New York....
  • Prozak
    Prozak (rapper)

    Steven T. Shippy, better known by his stage name Prozak, is an Independent Rapper and Film Director from Saginaw, Michigan and is a member of Tech N9ne's Strange Music label as well as a member of the rap groups Project: Deadman, and Bedlam....
  • Three 6 Mafia
    Three 6 Mafia

    Three 6 Mafia is an Academy Awards winning United States Rap music group originating from Memphis, Tennessee, Tennessee. Formed in 1991 by DJ Paul, Lord Infamous, and Juicy J, they shortly thereafter recruited fellow Memphian rappers Koopsta Knicca, Gangsta Boo, and Crunchy Black....
  • Twiztid
    Twiztid

    Twiztid is a hardcore hip hop/horrorcore hip hop music group from Eastpointe, Michigan, Michigan, formed in 1997. Since their 1998 debut, the group has become the second most popular group on the Psychopathic Records label , and has a loyal following of Juggalos of their own....