Why did trap gain space at festivals, but remains unfair in the annual streaming rankings?

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Style has ups and downs on platforms’ end-of-year lists, but has gained prominence in event line-ups in 2023. For trappers, reaching the rankings is a matter of time. From left to right: Kayblack, Wiu and Veigh Disclosure In Brazil, country music is in charge of the radio and streaming rankings, followed by other styles such as pop, funk, forró and piseiro. But what about trap, today the most listened to subgenre of rap? Although it has an increasingly strong presence in the playlists of young Brazilians and in festival line-ups, the style has ups and downs on the year-end lists of the main platforms: In 2021, the presence of trap began to appear timidly. In the annual YouTube top 10, Mc Poze do Rodo took 8th place with “Vida Louca” and 10th with “A cara do Crime”; In 2022, trap did not appear on the list of most viewed videos on YouTube, but was highlighted among the most listened to songs on Spotify, with “Malvadão 3”, by Xamã, in 2nd place; In 2023, the highlight in the rankings was Veigh, with two albums in the annual top 5 most listened to on Spotify. Even without appearing on streaming’s end-of-year lists, trap had good times in 2023. “Conexões de Máfia”, recorded by Matuê with American Rich The Kid, reached first position on Brazilian Spotify, reached 3 million plays in 18 hours and even won a place in the global top 40. KayBlack charted seven songs from his EP “Contradições” on the national charts on Spotify. In Brazil, “better only” reached 2nd place in March. Trap gains space at festivals At festivals, the genre is more prominent than in streaming. The increase in the presence of trap at large events, outside the niche of this style, is clear. In the first edition of The Town, a São Paulo festival for the creators of Rock in Rio, the Factory stage was almost entirely dedicated to the genre, with trappers such as Veigh, KayBlack, Wiu, Teto and Yunk Vino. The line-up also had Orochi and Matuê on the The One stage. The rapper from Ceará, one of the precursors of the style in Brazil, was also the main attraction at another festival: Planeta Atlântida. For producer, trap wants to talk about other themes Ecologyk, trap producer Disclosure/Facebook of the artist Ecologyk started producing in 2009, when he was 15 years old and was still better known by his real name, Paulo Cabral. He has worked outside the bubble with artists from other genres, such as Lucas Silveira, from Fresno. The list of trappers who have passed through the São Paulo producer’s studios is long: Commonly known as FK, Sidoka, Veigh, Wiu and Derek are among the main names. In an interview with g1, Ecologyk commented on the new phase of the trap. “It has become more accessible for anyone who has a computer or cell phone to produce their music. People who never imagined they would be a music producer or MC, today have access. I won a platinum record with songs that were recorded on a hundred reais microphone.” Matuê performs at Lollapalooza 2022 Marcelo Brandt/g1 As with other styles, TikTok and Instagram are allies of trap. These social networks, of course, help spread the genre’s hits. “The young audience is on these platforms, consuming them all the time. So, having content related to music in this style, people will identify more and consume more.” The producer explains that the style’s audience grew very “organically”. Before, everything was very “niche”. “They were more message songs [um rap mais consciente, como é o caso dos Racionais MCs]. Trap was open to approaching other subjects, party music. The audience grew and the scene was forced to become professional.” What do trappers think? To g1, Veigh said that the movement is growing. For him, independent artists are increasingly organizing themselves and creating their own record labels and events. It’s a matter of time: one day, trap will appear in the annual rankings of most listened to songs and artists. Artists began to create their own record labels to escape the constraints of major label contracts. This is the context behind the emergence of labels such as: Trap The Fato, by Derek (ex-Recayd Mob) 30praum, by Matuê Supernova, by Veigh Mainstreet, by Orochi Where does trap come from? Lil Wayne at the iHeart Radio Music Fest, in Las Vegas, in 2012 Eric Reed/Invision/AP Born on the streets of the American city of Atlanta, this subgenre of rap took its name from the expression “trap houses”, a slang term used to define places where drugs are sold in the United States. The style was thought of as a form of expression for those who were part of this reality. The most obvious inspiration is gangsta rap, strong in the early 90s and with similar lyrical themes. Groups like Three 6 Mafia and the duo UGK were some of the first to make trap, with verses about ostentation, money, women and street life. The musical basis of trap, in turn, comes from an electronic drum called the Roland TR-808. It produces a synthesized sound, with faster BPMs (beats per minute) than Boombap, a more classic and slow style of rapping. In the 2000s, trap gained more prominence in the American market with big names like Gucci Mane, Rick Ross, Chief Keef and Lil Wayne. They took the base created in the 90s and added elements to create the aesthetic we know today. These are the ingredients that continue to make trap trap: from the exaggerated use of autotune, a tool created to correct vocal errors, to ad-libs. Key words can be used to fill gaps in verses and maintain the flow. They also make references to elements mentioned in the lyrics: there is the sound of a car (“Skrr”) and a gun discharging (“Grrr”), for example. Trap in Brazil has been in search of its own identity, without fear of mixing the style with reggae, pagode, funk and whatever else appears on the trappers’ headphones.

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