Subgenre of hip hop music based in horror-themed lyrical content and imagery
Not to be confused with Horror punk.
Horrorcore
Other names
Horror hip hop, horror rap, death hip hop, death rap, murder rap, murder music
Stylistic origins
Horror film
hardcore hip hop
gangsta rap
Cultural origins
Early-mid 1980s, United States
Local scenes
Detroit
Memphis
Other topics
Horror punk
death metal
deathrock
rap metal
psychobilly
witch house
shock rock
Juggalo
Horrorcore, also called horror hip hop, horror rap, death hip hop, death rap, or murder rap is a subgenre of hip hop music based on horror-themed and often darkly transgressive lyrical content and imagery. Its origins derived from certain hardcore hip hop and gangsta rap artists, such as the Geto Boys and Three 6 Mafia, which began to incorporate supernatural, occult, and psychological horror themes into their lyrics. Unlike most hardcore hip hop and gangsta rap artists, horrorcore artists often push the violent content and imagery in their lyrics beyond the realm of realistic urban violence, to the point where the violent lyrics become gruesome, ghoulish, unsettling, inspired by slasher films or splatter films. While exaggerated violence and the supernatural are common in horrorcore, the genre also frequently presents more realistic yet still disturbing portrayals of mental illness and drug abuse. Some horrorcore artists eschew supernatural themes or exaggerated violence in favor of more subtle and dark psychological horror imagery and lyrics.
Horrorcore has incited controversy, with some members of the law enforcement community asserting that the genre incites crime.[1][2] Fans and artists have been blamed for numerous high-profile instances of violent criminal activity, including the Columbine High School massacre,[3][4] the Farmville murders, murders of law enforcement officers, and gang activity.
^"'Horrorcore': Does Genre Incite Murder?". ABC News. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
^Tom Beyerlein, Staff Writer. "'Horrorcore' music fans linked to violence". journal-news. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
^Murphy, Sean (July 24, 2016). "Are the Juggalos a gang or a supportive fraternity?". Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
^Brown, Brooks (2002). No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death at Columbine. Red Wheel/Weiser. ISBN 9781590560310.
Horrorcore, also called horror hip hop, horror rap, death hip hop, death rap, or murder rap is a subgenre of hip hop music based on horror-themed and often...
Hunter in 2010, Scarecrow Tha Terrible in 2011, Legendary Hits, King Of Horrorcore and Back From Tha Dead (Deadly Proverbs) in 2012. A group album with The...
Memphis rap, also known as Memphis hip hop, or Memphis horrorcore, is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in Memphis, Tennessee in the...
King of Horrorcore, Vol. 1 is the debut official mixtape and the second solo record by American horrorcore rapper King Gordy. It was released in 2006 via...
King of Horrorcore II is the second mixtape by horrorcore rap artist King Gordy from Detroit. The album is a follow-up to his 2005 release The King of...
from Sacramento, California who has been described as "the creator of horrorcore rap". He is also a former 24th Street Garden Blocc Crip gang member, which...
known as a representative of the hip hop subgenre horrorcore. In 1992, he co-founded the horrorcore group Natas. He and his brother James Smith founded...
California. Together, Emma, McCroskey, Emma's parents and Wells attended a horrorcore concert the week before. When Wells' mother could not locate her daughter...
1968), known professionally by his stage name King Gordy, is an American horrorcore singer/rapper from Detroit, Michigan. He is one-fourth of underground...
and heavy metal with horror elements to pioneer the hip-hop subgenre of horrorcore. The group was formed in 1994, which brought together Prince Paul (The...
(Joseph Bruce) described the Geto Boys as the first rappers to perform horrorcore, with their song "Assassins", released on their debut album, Making Trouble...
artists of musical genres such as hardcore hip hop, gangsta rap, and horrorcore. Eminem is a major subject of such controversy; his early works, most...
follows: Drinking and spraying the inexpensive soft drink Faygo Listening to horrorcore and other types of underground rap music Wearing face paint, generally...
ostentação Frat rap G-funk Hardcore hip hop Dirty rap Gangsta rap Mafioso rap Horrorcore Memphis rap Hyphy Jerkin' Instrumental hip hop Latin hip hop Chicano rap...
American reggae rapper and singer Shaggy 2 Dope, half of the hip hop, horrorcore band Insane Clown Posse Shaggy Flores (born 1973), Nuyorican poet, writer...
and co-produce most of his tracks up to The Eminem Show. Detroit-based horrorcore artist King Gordy released his debut album titled The Entity, via WEB...
style fuses hip hop beats and metal samples. Its lyrical style draws from horrorcore, focusing on subjects such as resurrection, revenge, necrophilia, and...
Shady served as Eminem's vent for his frustrations, and he released the horrorcore extended play entitled Slim Shady EP simultaneously on cassette, vinyl...
Brothers, and Eminem himself. Featuring West Coast hip hop, G-funk and horrorcore musical styles, the majority of The Slim Shady LP's lyrical content is...
August 4, 2019. "A guide to the many styles of hip-hop, from hyphy to horrorcore". Red Bull. March 15, 2019. Archived from the original on August 4, 2019...
influenced by the Geto Boys, regards the song "Assassins" as the first horrorcore song ever recorded. It was covered by Insane Clown Posse on their 1999...
Flatlinerz is a horrorcore group from New York City. They are responsible for introducing the term "horrorcore" with their 1994 release U.S.A. (Under Satan's...
Luján, David (January 20, 2022). "Rap y terror: una introducción al horrorcore en 11 canciones". Shock (in Spanish). Retrieved March 21, 2022. "What...
which he links to the extremities of urban decline in the city: 'both the horrorcore of hip-hop outfits such as Insane Clown Posse, Esham and (to a lesser...
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