Trap music has taken on a lot of different forms over the years. In its inception, it was deeply southern hip-hop, specifically about drug dealing. Though T.I. coined the term early on and made Trap Muzik accordingly, the vision was executed even earlier. Records like “Pocket Full of Stones” by UGK capture the essence of what trap music was early on.
However, with time, it also lost some of its specificity. Rappers like Gucci Mane and Young Jeezy kept the flame alive, but artists eventually took creative liberties. What used to be a subgenre based on the rapping became fixated on the production.
Nowadays, you don’t have to trap at all. You can just make something with vaguely dark 808s like Travis Scott or even EDM artists. Then give it the old trap label.
T.I. Seems Okay With The New Era of Trap Music
But how does this make T.I. feel knowing he’s the one who arguably created it? He actually seems fine with it. In a throwback interview with Acclaim Magazine, the Atlanta legend looked at how trap music shifted away from its original purpose. The most important thing for him is to make sure that its history doesn’t get erased with all of its many changes.
“Now, I welcome the change because as long as the term is relevant and it lives on, I think that’s the most important thing. They both talking about ushering in a new way of doing things,” T.I. explained.
“You know, Trap music at the time when I released my album was a new way of doing things, it was a new genre,” he added. “Trap music now is changing the tone of music again, just in more of a EDM, electro, dance, whatever. Whatever the actual term of it is, let’s use EDM for lack of a better word, it’s ushering in a new sound, a new way of approaching music, so I think in those ways, the terms are the same.”
At the end of the day, to T.I., the history is what matters most
Preserving the legacy of trap is why T.I. has partnered up with legendary producer Drumma Boy to produce The Birth of Trap Music. He told Variety in a statement how he doesn’t want the fact that trap was more than just music back in the day.
“Look, man, before it was just a pop culture buzzword, the trap was our reality,” he shared in a statement. “It was survival. We took the struggle of life beneath the poverty line in the Crack Era, set it over some organs, snares, synths, hi-hats, and heavy 808s, and gave a voice to the voiceless. ‘The Birth of Trap Music’ ain’t just a documentary, it’s our history. Period.”
The post T.I. Says Trap Used To Be About ‘Survival’ but Still Welcomes That Its ‘Ushering in a New Sound’ Today appeared first on VICE.
