Unit 11 Dissertation

Trap

Does the media' s portrayal of Trap affect the success of UK musicians who focus on that genre?

Trap is a worldwide genre with artists from different backgrounds, heritages and upbringings. It brings A different variety of people together and mixes them into one big culture. Although gang violence still occurs on a regular basis, I still believe that this genre has a positive future for musicians.

The Trap genre has often been criticised for encouraging violence and gang culture. This is mainly because of the lyrics and actions used in music video's. Before Trap, artists would usually clash in rap battles which often caused tension. In the UK scene right now artists and groups are doing similar things, but are acted on. As bad as it sounds, most people who listen to Trap are usually engaged to the violence and are looking to find the most Savage (violent) artists.

Sky news worked on the subject last year where they had taken footage from Edmonton rappers and their music videos and used them to almost protest against the acts. The footage showed up to 5 people with weapons before the song had started playing. The chorus then worded "Anything Green Get Bun" which is basically shouting that anyone from the other side will get shot. The Sky reporter told us that "social media is playing an increasing role in gang violence" which is true, but not just in gang violence.  In fact Police reports show that social media-related crime reports an increase of 780% in four years. Crime has always occurred to this day and will continue for many years to come, as social media becomes more powerful, It becomes easier to blame the younger generation, especially if you voice it to an audience, which most Musicians do in Trap.

(KAII TV, 2016)

Although some groups are creating this style of music to boost their reputation on the street, some artists have become successful coming off the streets doing Trap. The way most artists blow is if somebody famous notices one of their tracks. For example, Rita Ora originally liked a Section Boys track and danced to it online. This brought all kinds of attention to the group's music. Section boys then went on to make a track with Chris Brown, which obviously brought them a lot of new fans from the UK and US. When rappers decide to make more mainstream music, it just becomes brand management and how you can promote your music. Another rapper who has recently blown up (who in fact attended a college with most of my friends) is Santan Dave. He was our age, creating music that we liked, which helped him gain a local following. The way he blew up was actually quite random. Millionaire artist Drake has recently been involved in some of the UK scene, as he "fell in love with the UK sound", by listening to Grime artist Skepta and BBK. He even got a tattoo on his right shoulder saying 'BBK' and this brought a lot more people to investigate the UK music scene. Drake heard one of Dave's songs 'Wanna Know'(Santan Dave, 2016) and remixed it at his studio. When this released, the UK went mad hearing the track. This showed Dave a different side to music industry, as he was offered promotions, signed with Nike and had him travelling on some of Drake tours around the world.

Music, just as an art, takes teenagers off the roads and gives them another road to choose for their future.(Drake, 2016) Local rappers from Camden NDubz started off with underground rap locally, but added melodies to the mix and got recognized instantly by gaining world wide tours, TV shows and nearly winning CBB. There's an endless amount of potential to become successful in the music industry with Trap. It's a worldwide genre that is vastly increasing in size of its following. Artists are looked at differently and are especially judged by their characters, as well as music with Trap, These are artists from Germany who create similar music, but have a different feel to the UK.

(IMMER READY, 2016)

The Trap music in Germany is dumb lit. The beats are are almost exact to US type beats, for example they use the same sample packs from Lex Lugar. This is mainly the snare drums instead of 808's. It's very hard to tell 808's apart. In this track the artist Morten was singing in the track which is more of an American style from artists like Future, Kodak and others. Saying it is more American Trap  to UK doesn't change the genre feel. It still involves key aspects including the visuals, which were really well done from my point of view. There was a lady in a Bally breaking down weed.  This is more of a US style because of the work put into it. UK artists have recently been putting a lot more into visuals, but aren't this style.

(16BARS.TV, 2016)

My second choice of German Trap was called Balkon (balcony) by Jumpa ft Chima Ede. This track was a lot more like UK Trap. This was every aspect, from vocals to visuals.  The visuals have a group of men on a balcony and in the middle of an alley. The effects used on the video made it all a bit grey and white. That could be another reason why it had a UK feel, they showed us some of the UK weather!  The track had the Foreign Trap feel though, with the acoustic stringed instrument with effects on it. The vocals were rapped and had a faster flow, until the chorus which was slowed down and had a melody over the top. This track was similar to an old school 67 style, one of the more successful groups.

(Link Up TV | Music, 2017)

This track's by the group 67.  They are well known musicians who are taking off in the UK Trap scene. These two tracks (Balcon & Waps) are very similar when it comes to music, but the video creates a gritty atmosphere, which is a typical for UK Trap and gives the whole track a different feel. Although 67 are a music group and have sworn to be dedicated to music alone, they struggle to tour, as 'Feds keep shutting down shows' (the Police stop them from performing) because some are on music bans, or linked to individual crimes.

Artists like Skepta and Stormzy have very recently blown up from bringing out albums and individual tracks which have almost branched out to a higher end and wealthier group of artists. 

(BBC Music, 2016) Since Skepta won the Mercury award over David Bowie, there has been a lot more talk about UK artists, in the papers, musicians and the public, who are being encouraged to embrace UK Trap. This recent move has shown the audience another side to the UK scene. The speech he gave on creating his album showed the audience that he really is doing this for the music and the success, which is a point many artists have tried to get across but failed. Stormzy is another artist who has been persistently working to become a successful musician. He recently performed at the BRITS with Ed Sheeren in front of a pretty well known audience! The two performed brilliantly as they mixed both genres into an incredible act. Social media enjoyed the funny moments between Stormzy and the actor Bradley Walsh. He was almost giddy as Stormzy approached him and congratulated him on his success. The two then took a picture after the awards and performance. Small gestures like this can give someone an entirely different perspective on the person and his background. Also performing that night was Skepta from BBK who had a lot of controversy to his name after performing. He performed his most recognised song 'Shutdown' to the thousands in the audience, only for some of the words to be muted because they weren't allowed to be said, although the presenter had sworn several times during the show. A minor act like this is almost used as a metaphor to show how UK rap is observed. As bad as the media are, with stories of this type, on the youth in the UK it can be helpful in some ways to artists like this. Being looked at as an underdog gives people more of a reason for them to do well, For instance, if Skepta was an average American hip hop rapper and won something as great as the Mercury Award, it would have been an amazing achievement, but because of his background, style of music and raw passion for the scene it makes it that little bit better.

Although the media are very persuasive and can change people's opinions on certain subjects, for instance Trap music, they aren't the only ones who control the internet platform. In March 2016 UK rapper Nines posted a video of himself with North London rapper CBiz's chain and watch.

(UKG Music, 2016)    This video went viral and created a huge amount of tension between the two. People were locked on to see how CBiz and ER (CBiz's group) would react. As the viral spread across the UK and US it caught the eye of bloggers and reporters. In the same week an innocent civilian was shot in the head in Harlesden (Nines's area) and was killed. The immediate response, which flooded the internet, was that CBiz had committed the crime with one of his friends. Because of the coincidental circumstances, the Police had arrested CBiz because of the the way the internet had reacted. After many trials and court appearances there was not enough evidence to prove that CBiz was the murderer. This shows that, although the media have a huge impact on what people think, social media has the same amount of power, if not more.

My conclusion is that Trap is a genre that is easy to criticise because of the dark and gritty affect it lays out for an audience to see. It's being brought up by the youth of the UK and is almost becoming an accepted genre, as it is slowly, but gradually, building different types of following and is winning awards whilst doing that. The media doesn't cover the genre too much when it comes to success, but has a headline of 'London Rapper Showkey stabbed to death'.  They are quick to pick up on faults, but are slow to recognise positives. If the media were to cover more on the genre and the success it can come with, there would be less artists writing about killings and gang violence (as that's the only part you'll see). It's almost easier to get fame through taking one's life than to earn it by selling a record amount of albums. The success of UK Trap can be easily gained because of the humbleness of the culture and could become a major genre if it was appreciated more by the media.

Bibliography

16BARS.TV (2016) Jumpa feat. Chima Ede - Balkon (16BARS.TV PREMIERE). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLjdmjLBFZsc_4Sc7RAdKJJvqh_2CLFf3N&v=HT4xaZakYZI (Accessed: 2 February 2017).

BBC Music (2016) Skepta wins the 2016 mercury prize. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If7Xa-OX7No (Accessed: 23 February 2017).

Drake (2016) Wanna know ft. Drake - Dave (official audio). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbZ0OXmXw38 (Accessed: 2 February 2017).

IMMER READY (2016) Morten x abermillion (prod. By morten) (official 4k video). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLjdmjLBFZsc_4Sc7RAdKJJvqh_2CLFf3N&v=4dr7z6iME4c (Accessed: 2 February 2017).

KAII TV (2016) A1FromThe9 (Edmonton) and Poky (AP) were on sky news (8/5/16). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Swu_6f2omQ (Accessed: 2 February 2017).

Link Up TV | Music (2017) 67 (monkey x Dimzy x LD) - #WAPS (prod by Carns hill) [Music Video] @Official6ix7 | link up TV. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPI7VNsN2K0 (Accessed: 23 February 2017).

Santan Dave (2016) Dave - wanna know. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2H0mXC2Wbs (Accessed: 2 February 2017).

UKG Music (2016) Rapper NINES robs C BIZ’s chain and watch. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jVbSOVRybo (Accessed: 23 February 2017).

Will CT (2017) ED SHEERAN feat. STORMZY - shape of you - live at the BRIT awards 2017. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kUCKEJvTGI (Accessed: 23 February 2017).

Citations, Quotes & Annotations

16BARS.TV (2016) Jumpa feat. Chima Ede - Balkon (16BARS.TV PREMIERE). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLjdmjLBFZsc_4Sc7RAdKJJvqh_2CLFf3N&v=HT4xaZakYZI (Accessed: 2 February 2017).

(16BARS.TV, 2016)

Unit 9 Portfolio

For my first track I swerved away from my first four tracks as found an instrument I thought would really work with my style of genre. The Piano was the same as the one chosen for my first track which was the highpass filter and the reverb added on top. This track has a mixture of techniques used in it, from cutting up areas to Fade ins ect. These were to replicate something similar to tracks by Krept and Konan. The 808 is punching through the bottom of the track which was a key area for me as you can imagine, I did that to bring the track something that you really enjoy from the top all the way down. In this next track I wanted to create something with a sample as the main riff. This was the strings that i found online. They were accompanied by a nice 808 without the roughness that i used on my previous track. This type of sound was meant to sound similar to '67 Red Rum' The way the drums are laid out with a simple beat(high hats and snares) the rest of the track was me playing around with lowpass filters and EQ's. This is a track where i can see vocalists on especially because of how similar it sounds to :

Ethnography

Trap

The genre Trap was introduced in the late 1990's in the UK. This type of sound was similar to genres like hip hop, was created in the UK. The reason why this took off in areas like London was because it started off and still is postcode encouraged. The main attributes of a 'Trap beat' is the simplicity. A simple track with usually a man rapping over the top.

Sonic

The average trap beat is not hard to create because unlike other genres, Most instruments used, like particular drum patterns that play at a 120-140bpm tempo are samples online, that you would download as an mp3. Some drums used have been taken from other genres and have been given new meanings. For example a crash from an Asian percussion kit is often used in most trap beats.  These would be added behind a piano riff and possibly a pad. These are played a special type of way including minor and major notes that are usually used to create a darker and more intense atmosphere. There would then be a rapper writing vocals for the instrumental which is another difference to other genres, being that the rappers write to the beat rather then the beat being made especially for some vocals.

Topics

 When rappers create their lyrics, it tends to include a number of topics;

where they live, how much money they make, how they make their money and how they interact with woman. The main topic is the postcode. People who live in areas with their friends will make it clear in the tracks they rap on. The reason of this is to either promote the area they live in or brag about the area. This causes allot of clashes because of the postcodes people rap about. Some people may not like that area and will comment on it. Only recently has this become a serious threat to young people in the UK as more and more people are dying because of what they rap about.

Visual

People want to be successful in the uk rap scene have to live a certain life style. People often shoot music videos because people want to show of their designer shoes, jeans and cars. If you have this apearance and your music is good then you're more then likely to succeed. There are also other wats to attract this specific audience and that would to be 'savage'. This means if you either run an area or are someone that people are scared of due to reputation. Thats more of the Quietpvck Trap rather then normal uk.

Technological

how you experience it

I've grown up listening to trap from from secondary school times. It was a genre that no one really listen to because it was a new style of grime really. Most of my friends listened to US styles which instrumenal wise were fairly similar. I also new a couple people who rapped on channels like pacmantv (main channel for this style on youtube), becuase it was such a local thing. Thats another reason why i felt more enganged in the music. Because most people like music from different countries like America and think they are actually from there, for example Ryan. But i like this because mist of the rappers i listen to either share the same post code or are based so close to me.

body

time

When discussing time on the trap genre we could be talking about Bpm, when it was originally made or when it had blown up. 

The Bpm stays fairly similar when composing a trap beat. It varies between the 120-140 bpm. This is because the speed of this is a head bouncing timing or what i like to call a 'Hype Bpm' with a simple piano riff and a couple dramatic crashes before the drop and lyrics makes the song exiting before you reach 8 bars.

The instrumental is just as important when creating a 'Banger' 

The time where trap really came alive was around 2010 allthough it was around but not as popular in the early 2000's. the genres has evolved during this time, even Bpm wise.

MIDI To MAXI

In this track I spent a couple afternoons trying to find a nice guitar melody to play over the piano that i had created on midi. When i had found it out on logic I when to the studio to work on it by playing  around with the pitch bender. I got someone i know from the studio to play what i wanted. Once we had got the best recording for that i went hope and chopped it up and added all the effects on it like reverb and delay. We used and electric guitar which was plugged into a Breakout box (Delta series 66) The bass we used was the same breakout box, but with a different sound choice chosen. None of the instruments were recorded with microphones as we wanted the clearest sound with the effects used from the breakout box. Effects like the low pass filter were used to create an atmosphere whilst the guitar was panned left to right. 

               









   

Finally the Keytar that i used was borrowed off Grant when i had some free time in the studio. It was easy to plug in and had allot of different instruments to choose from including strings piano's and pads, I actually went for the strings and used enough reverb and filter to create it into a pad and adjusting to my original sound i had created. This sound was used to back up the track during the verses where the guitar wasn't involved. Once again no microphone was used in this recording.
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In this project I have 4 layered Steinway pianos which are all separate, in the sense that each one of them is either panned to the left or right or they have different reverbs. I've done this so that the piano is spread across the track as it is the main aspect. I will have to look into different mic's so that i can decide which one would be perfect for the piano, I know it will be a condenser, but I will have to do more research into which one.


The Glacier pad is used to fill out the lower end of the track as the piano is playing quite high notes. It shares the same riff but is played an octave lower around the middle C and is playing single notes without it also playing an octave higher like the piano does.

The track currently has no drums on it because i wanted to mix the style of UK Trap with the 808's with some live recorded drums. whether or no they will work together, I would still like to experiment with the two which is why i have made it a target for my next step. Also you can see it is clipping on the mixer which is another point that i will look into once the drums have been recorded and mastered. Usually i would use a lot of reverb on my snares and drum pads, but if i record them live i may choose a Titan mic to record it with so that i can get a really get the sound of the room.


We finally finished this track which was created by Me,Josh and Jack. It was originally used to created as a trap beat but with help from by the performers they created it into a live set instrumental. This one was quite hard to cut and mix which I think can be noticed. Personally i prefer the Trap version! For this track I had Josh work on the drums which were used with many different Mic's. We had the audix for the Hi tom, middle and Low part of the kit, We then had the sm57 for the snare and the D6 for thee kick to capture the punch of it.



We then were all in the same studio so I used the piano once everyone had recorded to play my piano which wasn't the hardest. We used the sm57 to record the piano because it was already set up. It does sound a little distorted but fits well in the track.
I then had Jack recording the bass through out. Unlike my first recording of bass We used the sm57 mic again to record the bass from the speaker rather then it being plugged in directly. He suggested using the fretless bass which actually sounded really nice and was a good choice from him.
I personally prefer the first track to the 2nd because I feel it was easier to cut up because of the tempo and I enjoyed using the drums from logic although Josh's gave a nice live sound.