The best cloud rappers. Cloud Rap and Its Main Representatives (2016)

0 In our country, all musical trends and movements are introduced from the outside; we have never had our own original and native ones and are unlikely to appear. Therefore, today we are Once again let's touch on theme song. I hope you didn’t forget to “bookmark” us, because we have a lot of useful information from the most different areas. Our website is actively developing and making grandiose plans, don’t forget about us. Today we will talk about such a mysterious word for many rap fans as Cloud, which means you can read it a little later.
However, before I continue, I would like to please you with a couple more popular news on musical topics. For example, what does Lil mean for rappers, what is ZEF, what does Bitrate mean, who is Biter, etc.
So let's continue What does Cloud rap mean?? This expression was borrowed from in English"Cloud Rap", and translates as "cloud rap".

Cloud rap is a special subgenre of rap music characterized by a calm, hazy, dreamlike and slightly slowed-down sound (lo-fi)

Cons cloud of rap consist of a bit of 140-150 beats per second. In this way, they are strongly reminiscent of the “trap” style; they also use wordless vocals, which actually gives a special charm to the entire composition. Interesting detail, cloud rap performers are not obsessed with money, and initially post their work on the Internet in free access. This method allows as soon as possible“promote” the musician and make him recognizable.

Nowadays, cloud rap has finally emerged as a separate subgenre, is widely known and enjoys a certain popularity. True, the heyday of this genre is long behind us, but it still has its own army of fans who simultaneously adore swag and trap.

Today there is a rethinking of the role of rhythm and beat that will likely allow a new wave to emerge, and some of us are already looking forward to this event. True, I am afraid that it might not be based on punk rock or something similar.

After reading this article, you learned What does Cloud mean?, and what Cloud rap means, and now you can navigate this musical direction.

The limitations and flatness of the modern music market in the CIS are largely explained by the fact that the so-called so-called music market was present in the USSR throughout its existence. "wall". Although it was purely formal, it actually touched almost every aspect of life. This was especially evident in music - we were always exactly 10 years behind Europe and America, which were progressing in this regard.

When the leading style in the world was thrash metal, then echoes of heavy metal only appeared in our country, and that was largely stolen and remade in our own way. But it’s yours, dear. But this does not apply to a specific genre, it covers everything that is directly or indirectly related to music.

When another trend is just emerging in our country and people learn about it, then parent country she is at the peak of her popularity. Accordingly, when another style becomes popular in our country, “over the hill” it declines by leaps and bounds.

That's what happened with retrowave. This happens with cloud rap, although both genres are not independent. Of course, they differ from their “fathers” (synthwave and trap, respectively), but not so much that they could be brought into separate genre.

In fact, our mass (this is where the emphasis is worth emphasizing) listener learned about cloud rap with the release of the video “ Black Siemens” Moscow rapper PHARAOH. And away we go. Bright, rude, perhaps ugly, but very truthful about the genre, in this moment, says last.fm: “formerly for the elite - now for roosters.”

What is this cloud rap and why is it often singled out as a separate genre of music?

First of all, he is young, his first steps began in the mid-2000s. It is impossible to say specifically who created this style, but the founding fathers and popularizers include: beatmaker Clams Casino and the extravagant and super-productive Lil B. Cloud Rap can be distinguished from other styles of hip-hop music by several characteristics:

1. Instrumental. Beats with a “fairytale, cloudy, sea” atmosphere. Every artist is suitable in this regard differently: specially slowed down to give the music detachment and a feeling of “diving into depth”, or fast (140 -150 bpm) to match trap.

2.Vocals/lyrics. Processed by the most in different ways, special craftsmen record their parts of clean vocals or screams themselves. Here, as in the instrumental, polarity and opposition are preserved. This is either an entertainment component (wasting money, promoting soft drugs or describing parties), or a “dark” side (hatred of the environment and moral principles, the beauty of death, nihilism). It often happens that the semantic load is deliberately absurd and deliberately twisted.

3. Samples. Indie, experimental, ambient, glitch or IDM music is often found here. Bones often samples hardcore tracks in his tracks.

4. Music. The basis is taken from southern rap, most often a Roland TR-808 drum machine and various snare rolls are used.

5.Spreading. Cloud rappers prefer to release their products for free and independently of labels, making huge numbers of mixtapes and distributing them online.

6.Clips. The video works fully represent the vaporwave movement: bright poisonous colors, Tumblr things and funny things, eye-catching 3-D models and VHS tape effects.

In the Russian-language segment, a “holy trinity” of clouds has currently formed:

I. Yung Lean (Junatan Hostad Lindoer). A guy from Sweden who is currently not even 20 years old. He came to popularity thanks to Tumblr, his debut mixtape “Unknown Death 2002” and the strange/fun video of the same name. Leader and ideological inspirer group "Sad Boys". Gained particular popularity in Europe.

II. Bones (Elmo Kennedy O'Connor). American, 22 years old. “The Man Who Lives on VHS Tapes.”

“The real white heavy music. A very dynamic and high-quality style,” from Scryptonite’s interview with Maxim magazine.

Reads about what all gangstas are about, but does it very in an unusual way: moving from a monotonous muttering, which is akin to the speech of a mentally ill person, to a heartbreaking scream, which is characteristic of extremely heavy and emotional music. The only one of the trio, at whose concerts you can see slam / mosh / circle pit / stage dive and other attributes inherent in hardcore / punk concerts. Leader and ideological inspirer of “TeamSESH”. Particularly popular in America.

III. PHARAOH (Gleb Golubin). Muscovite, the same age as Yung Lean, “meme man”, “Bones in Russian” and “skr, skr, skr”. A master of veiled phrases incomprehensible to most listeners, under which ordinary and long-worn themes about “chicks, cars and expensive tchotches” are hidden, but is presented under the theme of death, depression and destruction, which is unusual. Leader and ideological inspirer of the team “ Dead Dynasty”.

Today, the “cloud rap” machine is rushing along the hype road in full force. It will be extremely difficult to introduce something new at this speed, and even more so to jump in. This machine has become so popular that it is known almost everywhere, which gives artists of the genre the opportunity to make major tours, reaching a global scale. But the realization that this will not last long is still saddening. A striking example of this is dubstep. It fired, rattled, generated a bunch of third-rate material and sank into oblivion.

I’ve been in this subculture for about six months, it all started with getting to know the music and videos. Before I found out about Sad Boys, I listened to a lot of things, from Noize MC to Nirvana, but I think it was in the cloud rap cell that I found my music. If we talk about cloud rap itself, then for me it’s, first of all, cool clips by Yung Lean, Bones, Pharaoh, Tag Shai. I respect the Sad Boys, they tough guys I dream of seeing them live.

The difference between sadboys and the average
human is the desire to be sad.

Joining the culture, I began to borrow images from Yung Lean, tried to dress the same way, to fit in. Sadboys dress in the fashion of such brands as Tommy Hilfiger, Palace, Supreme, Adidas, Nike and Gosha Rubchinsky, but for me, the money spent on luxury brands is money down the drain. I try to just look for similar things and buy them, sometimes Aliexpress helps out. Unfortunately, my attitude to this is not always shared by my family and friends, who do not understand why I bought a Panama hat for 400 rubles and think that it is very stupid.

I don't make long-term plans for the future as long as I train in CS:GO and enjoy life. In the future, I want to become a successful eSports player or programmer and attend Yung Lean’s concert.

Dmitry, 17 years old, Magadan

I've been listening to cloud rap for two years now. Despite the fact that these are calm compositions, the lyrics often talk about sexual relations, expensive cars, smoking weed and spending money. However, this music is close to me not for its lyrics, but for the presentation itself.

Everything about clothes is incredibly simple: black top, black bottom. These can be robes, jeans, T-shirts and T-shirts in dark colors. Personally, I prefer to dress in the BlackStore online store. In general, if we talk about sadboy style, everything is based not only on clothing, this also includes tattoos - gloomy colors in the form of ravens, graves, and crosses are especially relevant.

Now I like to work with music, I make my own music project, and in the future, perhaps, I’ll do cloud rap.

Vlad, Rostov-on-Don

For me, cloud rap is not so much a subculture as a lifestyle. Many people condemn this music for its slowness and emptiness, but in it you can find something unknown, something that is very difficult to feel. I use Bones, Young Lean and Suicideboys as the basis for my cloud. If we talk about domestic representatives of the genre, it is worth noting Pharaoh and the entire Dead Dynasty, as well as Krestall and Sabbat.

It’s difficult to say anything definite about clothing; often these are black looks with Panama hats, pants (torn or not), and sweatshirts. There are no clear rules in this area, so it is quite difficult to determine what is suitable and what is not. I can only say that skate clothing fits well.

I myself wear black pants, Vans, a parka, a black sweatshirt and a Panama hat or cap. I buy everything from Creative Space, Vans, Bershka, Swag Store.

At the moment I am making music, and in the future I want to become family man, earn money that I could spend on my family.

Evgeniy, 16 years old, Ekaterinburg

Cloud rap is a non-standard rap, but at the same time it maintains the rules of rhyme. The themes of the songs are also non-standard; Let's say that singing about love in this genre is not entirely appropriate. This style of music is usually relaxing and calming; You may not understand what is being sung about, but still enjoy it. I've been familiar with this movement for about a year, before that I listened to regular rap. And what, in my opinion, has nothing to do with cloud is clothing. In my opinion, this is already different, separate subculture. I remain loyal to Vans sneakers.

IN free time I play games, and in the near future I want to buy myself normal clothes.

Maxim, 17 years old,Severodvinsk

I became acquainted with cloud rap in the spring of 2015, listening to a couple of Yung Lean’s songs. Later I started liking other performers, Bones, for example. I recently started listening to Suicideboys and really liked them.

Before cloud rap, I listened to rock music, especially rock with female vocals.

I'm not trying to imitate the style, since I'm just a music connoisseur, but I wouldn't mind a Panama hat with hieroglyphs, it looks great.

Danir, 17 years old, Ufa

For me, it all started from listening to a friend’s audio recordings, where I came across Yung Lean, Bones and Suicideboys. I was inspired by their songs with all my soul, began to watch videos, read biographies. I also like sadboy associations because they go beyond musical culture, cover a much larger area than it seems at first glance.

If we talk about clothes, then these are monotonous black things: panama hats, T-shirts, caps and so on.

With the arrival of Cloud in my life, I became a more reserved person. Some friends stopped communicating with me, arguing that I was not the same as before.

There are no problems with this in my family, and my relatives do not object to my hobbies. In my free time I sit at computer games, I listen to music. Sometimes I go out for a walk... alone.

Expert comments

Alexei,
public administrator Yung Lean | SAD BOYS

Cloud rap in Russia began to gain popularity after the release in 2013 of numerous tapes and dark VHS clips from the American rapper Bones. The main force of cloud in Russia came in 2014, when the Kyoto video was released, which was shot by the plump Swedish teenager Yung Lean with his friends (Sad Boys Ent.).

Inspired by the works of foreign performers, musical parties began to appear in the CIS: HENTAIBOYS, FrozenGangBeatz, VELIAL SQUAD, HAUNTED FAMILY, Dead Dynasty.

Cloud rap is when teenagers create a lyrical image for themselves in some tracks flex-up-hasler-boy in, and in others they read about unrequited love and the desire to open up in the club.

The main audience of these performers are teenagers just like the musicians themselves. Some listen to Cloud because they want to stand out among their peers, others are simply bored old music and they are looking for something new, original.

Most cloud artists try to present their sound as original as possible. That's why characteristic feature Cloud rap is a kind of fetishism in relation to various attributes (tea, fruit juice, masks covering the face). Some promote the aesthetics of the East, using hieroglyphs in track titles, insert excerpts from anime into tracks, others use cyberpunk images in their videos.

In 2015, Pharaoh and YungRussia blew up the RuNet. But can they be called cloud? I would call it punk rap. Their sound has long evolved, but cloud rap, which is described on the wiki and various media outlets, remained in 2013-14.

IN modern world exists great amount variety of musical styles, each of which is popular among different generations. Among young people, every year such a style of music as cloud rap is becoming more and more popular. What it is? This will be discussed in the article.

What is cloud rap?

Probably, many people know this style of music as rap. Cloud rap is a variation of it. It differs from its predecessor in particular smoothness. The beats in it are dream-like (usually wordless, in which the singers play some notes, which gives the effect of grandeur).

It is most suitable for calm people. The lyrics are abstract, sometimes even reckless. The main theme is life on the street.

What is "cloud"? This word has many meanings, but the most common of them are the following: cloud, fog, darkness, veil, turbidity. In other words, those people who are in eternal darkness and cannot find even a ray of light in their lives.

Features of writing cloud rap

What are its features? Today, cloud rap is gaining more and more fans, many of them want to try themselves in this style, but have no idea where to start. There are many mediocre cloud rap performers, but every newcomer wants to remain not only in the memory, but also in the hearts of his listeners. To achieve certain results in this field, you need to act according to the following plan:

1. First, try to write text with meaning, rhyme of any size. Develop your speech culture skills. Read your poems to your listeners; at first, they can just be your friends. After a while, try to come up with a little on the go. Don’t be afraid to improvise, because a real rapper cannot do without this quality.
2. Pay attention only to constructive criticism.
3. There is no need to look for special topics that no one has touched on. Read rap about what is around you, in your soul, on your mind. After all, everyone likes simplicity and sincerity. The longer you do this, the more beautiful and better your rap will become.
4. Particular attention should be paid to rhymes. They should not be precise, but uniquely interesting, so as to attract the listener.
5. Use less hackneyed words, try to choose non-standard expressions in order to develop your creativity as best as possible.
6. Your texts should be unpredictable.
7. Open all sides of your imagination. Listen to different artists in different directions. Then take any poem and remake it to suit your taste and style. Write a fairy tale.
8. Keep a diary and record all your ideas there, even the most extraordinary ones. This habit will help you see the world around you better.
9. Consult with professional performer cloud rap. Read the pages of writers, musicians, go to concerts, gain experience from them.
10. Find what inspires you and create.

Cloud rap: artists

As a rule, it is almost impossible to meet cloud rap performers at any large-scale performances, but if you search for information on social networks, you can see a lot of their tracks and even several clips. Representatives of this field set themselves the goal of inspiring their listeners, and earning money is in the background.

Who reads cloud rap? The performers of this original style of music are as follows:

• Th@Kid. One of the most prominent representatives this industry. Known to almost everyone who is interested in this kind of music. He gained his popularity thanks to writing songs that describe the cruelty of the oligarchs and the meagerness ordinary people In front of them. He performs small concerts around the world and, according to estimates, has more than 2 million fans.
• A$AP Rocky. Another performer who, traveling around the world, talks in his songs about the difficult life of ordinary people. Posted by him in social media The tracks are extremely popular, with a total of 20 million plays. The number of his fans varies from 1.5 to 2 million people.
• PHARAOH. They gained popularity among the people thanks to funny texts about gods and cartoon characters. They have 4200 subscribers. They constantly perform in clubs in Moscow.
• SquaddaBambino. Little known performer. A total of 6,000 subscribers and 200,000 listeners. Wrote only one album on the topic of smoking weed and devil-may-care attitude to life.
• YungLean. Musician from Sweden. He gained popularity through the Internet by posting his track on YouTube. He has 188,000 subscribers. All his songs are about Sweden and wild life in this country.
• NOK From the Future. Little-known musician. He was liked by listeners with his gentle songs and has about 30 thousand fans.
• AllINeed. Original performers with positive, but no less serious lyrics. Despite the presence of a variety of songs, they did not achieve much popularity among listeners.

In addition to the above representatives of cloud rap, there are many others, and thanks to the popularity of the style, their number is increasing every day.

The history of rap

You already have an idea of ​​what cloud rap is. Now it's time to talk about the history of its origin. Rap in its current form originated in the 1970s among African Americans. He moved to our country from Jamaica.

Initially it developed as a way to have fun, but over time, DJs began to make money with the help of rap. Then the style became widespread on radio stations.

The apotheosis of the development of the music industry was the emergence of rap battles.

Founders and time of appearance of cloud rap

The cloud rap style first emerged in the late 2000s. Popular performers included Lil B - Brooklyn and ClaimsCasino - New Jersey.

Lil B is the founder of cloud rap. Thanks to his music, people realized that black people can also have a subtle organization of the soul. He has 200,000 subscribers and 5 million plays. Its main theme is American society.

ClaimsCasino is a representative of cloud rap, which is closer to regular rap with a transition to trillwave. He writes almost no words. Mostly his tracks contain only music, but even that can win any heart.

Many representatives of this musical style claim that listening to cloud rap is best in those moments when you want to relax or fall asleep.

Why is this style of music popular?

In the modern world, cloud rap is becoming increasingly popular, this is due to the following factors:

1. It's easy to do.
2. Each topic is vital and close to ordinary people.
3. Music brings a calming effect.

In addition, one should not put aside the fact that many performers of this style are young people, and this attracts young representatives of the fair sex to them, and, accordingly, to the music.

Tools for creating music in cloud rap

When you create music, all boundaries of what is acceptable are lowered. There are no rules. This creative process. But even this requires certain knowledge. Therefore, before starting work, it is recommended to familiarize yourself with famous performers of this style.

The basis for creating music in cloud rap is a certain set of tools, which includes:

• Beat - used to create a picture in music. The basis is Kick, Clap or Snare, Hat, Shaker, Cymbals, Percussions, which is necessary to add variety to the melody.
• Bass - used to increase the number of low frequencies from which the message is sent to the public.
• Pad - used for volume.
• Lead or Instrument - the basis that is present during the sound of the entire melody.
• Strings or Instrument 2, 3, 4 - addition to the main melody. Used in the sing-along, in the chorus, at the introduction.
• Beats and bars - time interval in the track. Without them it is difficult to write a minus.

But this is not the whole list. You can use many other tools to complement this. It all depends on you, your desire, skill, imagination. The main thing is to listen to yourself, and then everything will work out.

Vocal recording

Once the backing track is ready, you can start recording the vocals themselves.

The record is created as follows:

1. You need to choose a high-quality microphone. For rap, a condenser is best, as it will convey all the subtleties of the sound.
2. Place the microphone correctly. You don't need to bring it too close.
3. There must be absolute silence in the room where the recording is taking place.
4. Don't use effects if you want to appreciate not only the music and the echoes of the words, but also the vocals.
5. Make back-up additions to the base.

Of course, there are many more additional tools and aspects, but for them you need professional equipment, which is often present only in special recording studios.

To gain a huge following, there must be a good combination of vocals and music, and to achieve this, you must have the following:

1. A high-quality dramatic part.
2. A good melody that will touch your heartstrings.
3. Carefully crafted bass.
4. High-quality arrangement.
5. The minus should be dynamic.

Quite often, beginning performers record using the FlStudio program.

Having analyzed all the above information, it can be noted that every day the number of cloud rap representatives increases several times. And this should not surprise anyone, since this musical style truly created for people.