While some see rap as a lone wolf genre, duos and bands of rappers or rappers and producers have been a thing since the dawn of the genre, as evident in this post.
Most of these groups occupy the same niche, but they're just my personal favorites in the genre.
1. The Sugarhill
Gang (late 1970s onward)
This group was one of the first Hip-Hop groups to receive national fame, bringing MCing out of the world of Bronx block parties and into the world of recorded artistry, with their hit "Rapper's
Delight", a genre-defining single which kids knew by heart.
Listen:
https://youtu.be/mcCK99wHrk0
2. Run-D.M.C (early 1980s onward)
This trio of black innovators fused samples of rock and heavy metal to pioneer hardcore hip-hop, a socially conscious, confrontational form of the genre. Their music was in many ways ahead of its time, as it predates the rap-rock fusions of the 90s and early 2000s.
Listen:
https://youtu.be/GND7sPNwWko
3. Three 6 Mafia
As their name implies (though they claim it's because they originally had 3 members and ended up as 6 members), this
Memphis group isn't very christlike, despite frontman Juicy J being a pastor's son. Three 6 Mafia pioneered and popularised the
Memphis Rap style, which included refrences to the occult, depictions of horror movie style violence, and intense sexual refrences, all over looped vocal samples from earlier southern rappers, pioneering a subgenre of rap later dubbed "horrorcore". Their rattling, bassy beats pioneered the trap rap genre which became ultra-popular in the 2010s.
Listen:
https://youtu.be/Hqw3mRjPByY
4. $uicideboy$ (early 2010s onward)
Inspired by
Memphis rap as a whole, and Three 6 Mafia in particular, this New Orleans cajun duo has a big following for their unique sound which they've subbed "Shadow Rap". Starting on SoundCloud in 2014, this duo is comprised of maternal cousins Aristos
Norman Petrou (stage name
Ruby da
Cherry), who had a background in punk rock and metal, and
Scott Anthony Arceneaux Jr. (stage name $crim), who was a hip-hop producer and party DJ. Named after a suicide pact they had made in case they aren't succesful musicians by the age of 30, this duo found great success with their unique sound, influenced by different soundscapes such as
Memphis rap, Chicago drill rap, modern trap rap, revivals of
Memphis rap in the early 2010s by artists such Lil Ugly
Mane and SpaceGhostPurrp, as well as Lil
Wayne and other Louisiana artists, and even metal, which introduced screaming in a few of their hundreds of songs. Their beats usually feature standard modern trap production mixed with looped rap samples in the
Memphis style and occasionally female singer loops. Their style and fanbase has a whole "musical universe" which encompasses $uicideboy$ and their
Grey 59 record label, as well as other horrorcore artists such as BONES, Pouya, Fat
Nick,
Xavier Wulf, Lil Ugly
Mane, Ghostemane, Sematary and City Morgue. Their lyrics usually deal in dark matters such as suicide, depression and addiction, combined with standard braggadocio rap lyrics, with refrences to both occultism and christianity in their lyrics and visual style.
Listen:
https://youtu.be/VgjTx7RVJPI
5. City Morgue (late 2010s onward)
This scary duo, comprised of
Junius Donald Rogers (ZillaKami) and
Vinicius Sosa (SosMula), has a cult following. Taking inspiration from $uicideboy$ (who they've toured with multiple times, and share most of their fanbase with), City Morgue attempts to resurrect and modernise the
Nü Metal sounds of the early 2000s, taking inspiration from horrorcore, trap rap, hardcore punk, industrial music and metal. Their music is sonically abrasive, featuring scream rapping and loud guitar riffs or other industrial samples, with edgy lyrics that bring up anime and horror movie imagery, though they do have some somber tracks.
Listen:
https://youtu.be/2T25zA7d5xA
this round, we're naming the first twin's family.
1 (the Sugarhill
Gang):
SO: TSG
they have 2 daughters and a son.
Muriel,
Lois,
Vivienne,
Maurie,
Daphne,
Candace,
Caroline,
Julienne,
Matilde,
Mirabelle.
Thomas,
Guy,
Brian,
Henry,
Lee,
Damian,
Alberto,
Friedrich,
Suleiman, Alford,
Finnegan.
2 (Run-DMC):
SO: DMC
They have 3 sons:
Darryl,
Daniel,
Mack,
Jay,
Jonah,
Jameson,
John,
Ward,
Matthew,
William,
Joseph,
Simon,
Ernest,
Bradley,
Smith, Whitford,
Michael,
Victor,
Steven.
3 (Three 6 Mafia):
SO: TSM
They have 3 sons and a daughter.
Lola,
Chantal,
Marion,
Marine,
Alessandra,
Alberta,
Georgia,
Virginia,
Michele,
Adel.
Paul,
Jordan,
Cooper,
Robert,
Adam,
Lucius,
Lorenzo,
Carlton,
Darnell,
Terrell,
Ricky,
Miguel,
Ovide,
Marc, Pharaoh, Ramasses,
Memphis, Ozymandias
4 ($uicideboy$)
SO: SCB
they have 2 sons.
Eric,
Andrew,
Adolph,
Anthony,
Antonis,
Antonios,
Antonius,
Antonín,
Antoninus,
Anton,
Antonio,
Antoniu,
Antoni,
Tony, Thompson,
Scott,
Sherman, Aristos,
Aristotelis,
Aris,
Pavlos,
Alexis,
Russell, Shermar,
Sherwood,
Ramiro,
Ivan,
Antoine,
Jerry,
Elmo,
Connor,
Kennedy,
Zeus,
Christos,
Leopold,
Keith,
Farrell, Sinai,
Frederick,
Wayne,
Dwayne,
Marshall,
Bruce, Pouya,
Kevin,
Nicholas,
Peter,
Petrus,
Petros,
Pedro,
Pierre,
Boutros,
Wulf,
Xavier.
5 (City Morgue)
SO: CTM
They have a son and a daughter.
Junius,
Vinicius,
Donald,
Peter, Rogers,
Roger,
Freddy,
Jason,
Ronald,
Kobe,
Kimball,
Royce,
Orpheus,
Emmett,
Hernan,
Daniel,
Josiah,
Uzi,
Denzel.
Emma, Sundus,
Martina,
Arista,
Ruby,
Petra,
Erica,
Whitney,
Andrea,
Paula,
Emma,
Danielle.
This message was edited 8/10/2023, 4:48 AM