Mumble rap, also called non-lyrical rap, is a style of hip-hop that became popular on the online music sharing site SoundCloud during the mid-to-late 2010s. The term was first used as a negative description for a vocal style where singers spoke or sang in a way that was hard to understand. This style moved away from traditional hip-hop, which focused on clear and meaningful lyrics, and instead highlighted other elements like melody, mood, and tone.

Although the term "mumble rap" began as a negative label, some people now use it to describe a new development in hip-hop. Critics and artists have argued that this style represents a natural evolution of the music genre.

Etymology and characteristics

The term "mumble rap" was first used in 2014 by Michael Hughes, a journalist for VladTV, during an interview with battle rapper Loaded Lux about the style's rise in mainstream hip-hop. People disagree about who first rapped in this style, though some credit artists like Lil Wayne, Gucci Mane, Chief Keef, Young Thug, Rich Homie Quan, Migos, Sahbabii, Playboi Carti, and especially Future. Future's 2011 song "Tony Montana" is often called the first mumble rap track. However, some sources from as early as October 2011 mention older songs by other artists that may have used a similar style. Artists like Das EFX and Fu-Schnickens may have rapped in a similar way years before the term was created. The term originally described rappers whose lyrics were hard to understand, but it now sometimes refers to artists who critics say focus less on strong lyrics or lyrical skill.

"Mumble rap" is often used as a negative term to describe unclear lyrics. Oscar Harold of the Cardinal Times said the term can be misleading, explaining that artists like Future rely more on pop melodies and effects like auto-tune than on unclear speech. Justin Charity, a writer for The Ringer, argued that the term is too simple and does not accurately describe a single type of rapping. He noted that many artists labeled as mumble rappers do not actually mumble, which shows the term may not be a helpful way to group artists.

There is disagreement about which artists are considered mumble rappers. Some people also mix up mumble/SoundCloud rap with other styles like trap and cloud rap. Troy L. Smith of the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote that 21 Savage is unfairly labeled a mumble rapper.

SoundCloud rap scene

In 2017, music critic Jon Caramanica from The New York Times said that SoundCloud rap had become the most important and changing movement in hip-hop. Todd Moscowitz, who started Alamo Records, described the scene as a "lo-fi movement," meaning the music often had rough, distorted sounds and was intentionally not highly polished. Ski Mask the Slump God explained that the genre used simple recording setups, even if they were not high quality. He said, "You could set it up anywhere, and that was the trend we followed. The strong, unpolished feeling—like the distortion—was our strength, and we used it to our benefit." Spin magazine reported that SoundCloud, the company behind the platform, did not use the popularity of SoundCloud rap to solve its financial issues. In January 2019, Stephen Witt from Rolling Stone magazine said the SoundCloud rap movement was slowing down. He pointed to the deaths of Lil Peep in 2017 and XXXTentacion in 2018, as well as 6ix9ine’s legal problems, as reasons for the decline. The death of Juice Wrld in 2019 was seen as the moment when SoundCloud rap ended.

Reception

Justin Charity of The Ringer explained that the debate about mumble rap is "really about discomfort with how a generation of young musicians has chosen to use their voices in strange, unprecedented ways, and against the wishes of their parents and forefathers." The Guardian compared mumble rap to the first wave of punk, noting a shared "simple sounds, playful nonsense, and a feeling of breaking rules." The Vibe linked mumble rap to earlier hip-hop styles and jazz scatting. For The Conversation, Adam de Paor-Evans argued that mumble rap is not a sign of laziness but a reflection of boredom caused by the fast pace of modern life. Red Bull Music Academy stated that "no matter what they are called—SoundCloud rap, emo-trap, or mumble rap—one thing is clear: these rappers are creating new music, once again changing what rap is, who it is for, and how it is shared."

Rap pioneer Grandmaster Caz said, "It's all good. They’re a different generation, they do a different thing, they have a different goal, and their influences come from different places. So I’m not mad at them." Funk pioneer George Clinton of Parliament-Funkadelic said he listens to mumble rap, adding, "we try to pay attention to whatever the new music is that gets on your nerves." Podcaster and television host The Kid Mero dismissed criticisms of the style, saying, "If the music sounds bad, why should I listen to what you have to say? If the beat is annoying, I won’t sit through it just to hear you say 'lyrical, metaphysical, giftical…' I don’t want to do that."

Rappers who have criticized mumble rap include J. Cole, Hopsin, Chris Webby, Logic, Russ, Joyner Lucas, Taboo of Black Eyed Peas, and Eminem. In Royce da 5'9"'s song "Caterpillar," he said, "boom bap is coming back with an axe to mumble rap." Eminem criticized multiple mumble rappers on his album Kamikaze. His diss track "Killshot," aimed at Machine Gun Kelly, included a line where he called MGK a mumble rapper. Rap artist Pete Rock criticized the style for moving away from hip-hop traditions.

Dr. Heidi R. Lewis wrote Make Rappers Rap Again: Interrogating the Mumble Rap "Crisis" for Oxford University Press. In the book, which includes an interview with DJ Drama, Lewis argues that mumble rap is real hip-hop. She studied how mumble rap connects to forgotten hip-hop elements like unclear speech, melody, DJs, and subgenres. She also examined how mumble rappers use references and work together, which are common in hip-hop. Lewis explained that mumble rap is more complex than it seems, especially in terms of rhythm and music production. She also discussed how mumble rap, often linked to the South, challenges ideas about what real hip-hop masculinity should be, including how mumble rappers focus on mental health, drug use, and ideas about gender and sexuality.