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Abstract
My culminating experience project is titled Highlighting the Grey area because for quite some time, there has been no place for trap music that isn’t about the “trap” lifestyle. For decades American society has cycled between cultures and countercultures, and at this stage of society, trap music is still seen as a genre of music that is counterculture to the typical values of Americans. Similar to essentially all other genres of music, although the genre has roots in specific topics, there is space to develop material that pushes or in many cases usurps the sonic boundaries and the expectations of listeners. Although trap music has a reputation for not being as sonically unique as 90s Rap, as well as not being intricate lyrically, my goal was to make an album that did exactly that. This work is important because there is not much academic work done on trap music in general and as an avid listener and producer that works in the genre, I believe the genre should be uplifted, and studied for the intention of integrating the “in the box” DAW capabilities that students can use to express themselves through music. Rap music has always been a reflection of the artist’s environment which ultimately led to creation of trap, but the rich sonic elements of trap make it a genre that doesn’t need the dark topics in order to relate to the listener- especially in a society where the experiences aren’t as similar for everyone as they were in the 1900s. This kind of music is what I consider the Trap “gray area” and I intend to highlight it with a cohesive storyline, layered lyrics, and sounds from around the world.
Publication Date
7-1-2023
Campus
Valencia (Spain) Campus
Recommended Citation
Fenelus, Robed. ““Highlighting the Gray Area”: Developing the Trap Genre.” Master's thesis, Berklee College of Music, 2023. https://remix.berklee.edu/graduate-studies-contemporary-performance/255.