Cloud Rap article
Cloud Rap Subgenres, Explained
A guide to the subgenres and related styles adjacent to cloud rap: witch house, emo rap, lo-fi hip hop, Drain Gang's hyperpop fusion and Memphis rap roots.
Cloud rap shares territory with several adjacent styles and gave rise to a number of related subgenres. Understanding these helps map the broader landscape of atmospheric, underground and emotionally introspective hip hop.
Witch House
Witch house emerged from the electronic music underground around the same period, sharing a dark, reverb-heavy aesthetic and an emphasis on mood over technical virtuosity. Where the latter is primarily vocal rap, witch house is typically electronic and instrumental or features heavily processed vocals. Artists like oOoOO and Salem operated in both worlds, and the two scenes overlapped significantly in the Tumblr era.
Emo Rap
Emo rap draws on this emotional directness and atmospheric production while adding influences from emo and post-hardcore rock. Artists like Lil Peep and XXXTentacion developed this fusion in the mid-2010s, incorporating guitar textures, confessional lyrics and a more overtly rock-influenced aesthetic. The SoundCloud rap wave of 2016 to 2019 was substantially shaped by this combination.
Lo-Fi Hip Hop
Lo-fi hip hop as a listening genre shares the hazy, textured production aesthetic but is primarily instrumental and designed for background listening. The term now encompasses a specific YouTube and streaming niche of looping, sample-based beats with jazz and soul influences. The two traditions share producers and a sensibility but serve different listening contexts.
Drain Gang and Hyperpop-Adjacent Styles
The Drain Gang collective — Bladee, Ecco2k, Thaiboy Digital and associates — developed a style that blends the original atmospheric production with hyperpop's synthetic, maximalist tendencies. Their work represents one of the most distinctive contemporary extensions of the original aesthetic into new sonic territory.
Memphis Rap and Screwed Music
Cloud rap draws heavily on earlier Memphis rap traditions and screwed and chopped music from Houston. The slowed tempos, 808 bass and lo-fi quality of Memphis rap from the 1990s (Three 6 Mafia, DJ Screw and others) are clear precursors to the cloud rap sound. SpaceGhostPurrp in particular has acknowledged this lineage explicitly in interviews.
For a complete introduction, see the complete guide. For the history, see the history guide.
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