Emo rap

History and character

Origins

Emo rap (or emo hip hop, “sad rap”) fuses trap beats with sung-rapped vocals and the emotional imagery and music of emo and pop punk. It is born in the SoundCloud scene of the early-to-mid 2010s with a strong DIY spirit: Bones, Black Kray and Goth Money Records, Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, Lil Tracy, and the GothBoiClique collective (from 2012), Lil Peep; in Sweden, Yung Lean and the Sad Boys (“Ginseng Strip 2002,” 2013) are a direct antecedent through cloud rap.

Explosion (2017–2019)

Between 2017 and 2018 it goes mainstream: Lil Uzi Vert's “XO Tour Llif3” (2017, No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100), XXXTentacion's “Jocelyn Flores” and “SAD!” (the latter No. 1 in 2018), Lil Peep's “Awful Things” and “Falling Down” (with XXXTentacion), Juice WRLD's “Lucid Dreams” (2018, No. 2, built on a sample of Sting's “Shape of My Heart”). Trippie Redd, Iann Dior, 24kGoldn (“Mood,” 2020), and The Kid Laroi follow. The deaths of Lil Peep (2017), XXXTentacion (2018), and Juice WRLD (2019) deeply mark the scene and open a debate about mental health and addiction.

Aesthetics

Acoustic or electric guitars (often sampled from 2000s emo and pop punk tracks, or played), cloud rap pads and reverbs, trap 808s, melancholy vocals sung with Auto-Tune, lyrics about depression, loneliness, anxiety, substances, and lost love. Declared influences from emo (Mineral, Underoath, The Postal Service), nu metal, and post-hardcore.

Scales and keys

Natural minor (Aeolian)

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 (2-1-2-2-1-2-2).
• Example in B: B C# D E F# G A.
• Chords: Bm (i) – C#dim (ii°) – D (III) – Em (iv) – F#m (v) – G (VI) – A (VII).
• Use: 90% of emo rap: guitar arpeggios over i–VI–III–VII or i–VI–iv, vocal melodies that descend toward the tonic.
• Characteristic note: the b6 (G), which gives “sweet” sadness on the VI.

Major (emo / pop punk)

• Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. In D: D E F# G A B C#.
• Chords: D – Em – F#m – G – A – Bm – C#dim.
• Use: I–V–vi–IV progressions taken from pop punk, which in an emo context become melancholy because the melody insists on the vi.
• Real-world example: many of Lil Peep's guitar samples come from emo and pop punk tracks in major or modal keys.

Minor pentatonic

• In E: E G A B D (1 b3 4 5 b7).
• Use: vocal melodies with Auto-Tune (“safe” notes), hooks.

Dorian and harmonic minor (colors)

• Dorian in A: A B C D E F# G: less tragic melancholy.
• Harmonic minor in E: E F# G A B C D#: tension in the more dramatic tracks (Juice WRLD on his electric guitar pieces).

How to choose

• Sad and intimate: Aeolian with acoustic guitar.
• Nostalgic pop punk: major with I–V–vi–IV.
• Drama: harmonic minor.

Set Auto-Tune to the exact scale: sampled guitars often use chords with 9ths and sus that don't belong to the triad; if the vocal “jumps,” widen the scale (e.g., the full natural minor instead of the pentatonic).

Harmony

Guitar loops

A guitar arpeggio of 2–4 chords (often with add9, sus2, maj7) repeated over the trap drums. No strong cadences; the loop closes on the VI or the VII.

Typical movements

• i–VI–III–VII (Bm–G–D–A).
• vi–IV–I–V (the “minor” version of the pop punk progression).
• i–iv (Am–Dm) with the 808 on the tonic.

Voicings

Guitar with open strings and “emo” chords (Dadd9, Gmaj7, Em9 with open strings), mid register; pads underneath; no low notes beyond the 808.

Harmonic rhythm

One chord per bar (at 140 BPM ~1.7 s) or two bars per chord.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

Grid

Trap drums at 130–170 BPM in half time; hi-hats less aggressive than in classic trap (eighth notes, moderate rolls), sometimes absent in the verses.

Feel

Slow and melancholy despite the BPM: the clap on 3 and the long chords give the sense of 65–85. Some tracks use almost pop-punk drums (snare on 2 and 4 in double time).

Flow

Melodic sing-rap, long phrases, repetitions, simple rhymes; many phrases start after the downbeat.

Drums

Kick

Sparse, replaced by the 808; in pop punk-oriented tracks, kick on 1 and 3 in double time.

Snare / clap

Clap/snare on 3 (half time), often with a long reverb; in energetic choruses, snare on 2 and 4.

Hi-hat

Eighth notes with occasional rolls; soft velocity; in intimate verses reduced to quarter notes or absent.

Percussion

Few: snaps, reverse cymbals, crashes for the choruses.

Interaction

The guitar and the vocal are the protagonists: the drums must support without crowding. The 808 often comes in only after the intro.

Sections

Intro: guitar alone. Verse: light drums. Chorus: full drums, 808, crash. Bridge: stop or just guitar and vocal.

Typical mistakes

Trap drums that are too aggressive and clash with the emotion; hi-hat rolls over delicate phrases.

Bass

• Soft, long 808, moderate saturation; follows the root of the guitar chords.
• Occasional glides on chord changes.
• Range: 40–70 Hz; harmonics at 100–200 Hz.
• Relationship with the guitar: the guitar needs an HP at 120–150 Hz to leave the low end to the 808.
• In some rock-oriented tracks, distorted electric bass.

Harmonic instruments

• Acoustic guitar and clean electric guitar (arpeggios, open chords), sampled or played; sometimes distorted electrics (power chords) in the choruses.
• Ambient pads, reverberated piano.
• Soft synths and bells.
• Mid register (C3–C5), wide stereo, reverbs and chorus.

Melody and vocals

• Vocal: sung-rapped, melancholy, mid register (tenor), with Auto-Tune as a color (retune 10–30 ms); simple, repetitive melodies.
• Hooks: sung, often the high point of the track.
• Doubles and harmonies: wide unison doubles, harmonies in thirds in the choruses.
• Ad-libs: few, reverberated.
• Effects: generous hall reverb and delay, sometimes light distortion and “lo-fi” vocals (deliberately imperfect DIY recordings).

Instruments

Acoustic guitar, electric guitar (clean and distorted), 808, trap drums, pad, piano, synths, vocal with Auto-Tune.

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Augmented Strings — Emotional strings and pads: Soft legatos under the choruses to heighten the emotion.
• Piano V — Reverberated piano: Grand or upright piano with soft velocity and a long hall, for intros and bridges.
• Jup-8 V — Warm pads: Pads with slow attack and chorus that fill in behind the guitar.
• Solina V — Nostalgic string machine: String ensemble with deep chorus for a 2000s / indie feel.
• Mellotron V — Melancholy flutes and choirs: The Mellotron adds nostalgia and grain in the choruses.

Song structure

Short tracks (2:00–3:00). Arrangement by dynamic contrast between intimate verses and full choruses.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

Emotional vocal in the center, wide and reverberated guitar, 808 present but not aggressive, supportive drums. The sound can be deliberately lo-fi (Lil Peep) or clean and pop (Juice WRLD, The Kid Laroi). References: Lil Peep “Come Over When You're Sober, Pt. 1” (2017), Juice WRLD “Goodbye & Good Riddance” (2018), XXXTentacion “?” (2018). Balance: vocal 0, guitar −4/−6, 808 −4, clap −6, hat −10.

Kick / 808

HP 25–30 Hz; fundamental 40–60 Hz; saturation for harmonics; mono; light sidechain.

Clap / snare

HP 200 Hz; body 250 Hz; crack 2 kHz; plate/hall 1.5–2 s at −14 dB (pre-delay 20 ms).

Hi-hat

HP 600 Hz; LP 12 kHz; low volume; pan ±15.

Guitars

• EQ: HP 120–150 Hz; cut at 250–400 Hz if “boxy”; dynamic EQ 2–4 kHz from the vocal; moderate brightness at 6–10 kHz.
• Compression: light (2:1, 2 dB) to even out the arpeggios.
• Space: hall 2–3 s at −14 dB, light chorus; wide stereo (double-tracked guitar ±70 or stereo widener).
• Lo-fi: for the DIY aesthetic, tape saturation and an LP at 10 kHz.

Pads and piano

HP 200 Hz; long reverb; volume below the guitar.

Vocal

• Chain: Auto-Tune → EQ → FET compressor 5–7 dB → de-esser → opto 3 dB → saturation → EQ.
• EQ: HP 100 Hz, −2/−3 dB at 250–350 Hz, +2 dB at 3–5 kHz, air +2 dB at 10–12 kHz.
• Space: hall 2–3 s at −14/−16 dB (pre-delay 40 ms), 1/4 delay at −18 dB; wetter than in trap.

Doubles and harmonies

Doubles −6 dB pan ±60; harmonies in thirds −8 dB, more reverberated.

Buses, sidechain, master

Vocal bus 1–2 dB; music bus glue. Sidechain kick/808 → guitars (1–2 dB). Master −9/−7 LUFS integrated, true peak −1 dBTP.

Common mistakes

Guitar without an HP that muddies with the 808; excessive reverb that makes the vocal unintelligible; 808 too distorted for the mood.

Reference tracks for the mix

• Lil Uzi Vert — XO Tour Llif3 (2017)
• Juice WRLD — Lucid Dreams (2018)
• Lil Peep — Awful Things (2017)
• XXXTentacion — SAD! (2018)

Reference listening

• Yung Lean — Ginseng Strip 2002 (2013)
• Lil Peep — Benz Truck (2017)
• Lil Uzi Vert — XO Tour Llif3 (2017)
• XXXTentacion — Jocelyn Flores (2017)
• Lil Peep — Awful Things (2017)
• XXXTentacion — SAD! (2018)
• Juice WRLD — Lucid Dreams (2018)
• 24kGoldn ft. Iann Dior — Mood (2020)