TIA: As an art form that prides itself on self-expression, hip-hop has always been loud.
And today, we’re hearing that style of yelling in rap more than ever.
TIA: Everyone from boisterous MCs like South Florida’s Ski Mask The Slump God...
SKI MASK: When I did the yelling part, I didn’t let it go, I didn’t let it be good until
I got it perfectly.
It’s like you gotta bring it from your core.
TIA: ...Harlem’s Sheck Wes…
SHECK: I was anticipating to change up the whole flow of the song because I was like
hmm I wanna hit them with like they gonna think it's boring.
TIA: And Comethazine, of St. Louis.
COMETHAZINE: I just be screaming on the shit now, I don’t know.
I guess I’m pissed off. I don't know, bro.
It’s energy, energy yeah.
TIA: But who were the first rappers to really make yelling on a track a trend?
TIA: From its earliest days, hip-hop has always been a way to express yourself.
From happiness to sadness and everything in between, MCs often spit their feelings on wax.
TIA: In the beginning, MCs rapped to rock a party and usually played it cool,
but Run-D.M.C. took it to another level, with the help of their Def Jam records producer, Rick Rubin.
RUN: Back in the 70s we used to have old disco records with no beats hardly.
So we had to find something to scratch, so we would take the heavy metal records and
just scratch the drum part over and over so that's how we came up with the heavy metal idea.
TIA: Tracks like “Rock Box” and “It’s Like That” mark some of the earliest examples
of MCs yelling on their records.
TIA: And while they weren’t always yelling, in 1986 the group broke new ground in hip-hop
by collaborating with Aerosmith on “Walk This Way,” that took their popularity to new heights.
TIA: Around the same time, another Queens rapper and Def Jam signee LL Cool J,
brought an even more charismatic energy on songs like “I’m Bad.”
TIA: Next up, the former punk band-turned-rappers the Beastie Boys dropped their debut album,
'Licensed To Ill,' featuring “Fight For Your Right.”
TIA: As hip-hop evolved over the course of the 80s, even more high-energy acts like the
Fat Boys, Public Enemy, and N.W.A. arrived who sometimes, but not always, yelled at us.
And then came Onyx.
TIA: The Queens MCs came out swinging, both in their energy and literally, with their
debut album Bacdafucup in 1993.
We got the chorus from Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" that's where the idea came from.
We wanted to have black people, hip-hop, slam dancing in the gym just like that.
TIA: Now, we see that kind of thing at rap shows all the time.
TIA: Their single, “Slam” took over the charts, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
STICKY: What I want our legacy to be remembered as is that we just brought that mad face to music.
That's it, know what I’m sayin?
That mad face, that slam dancing, that angst, that energy.
TIA: And we saw Staten Island’s legendary Wu-Tang Clan bring a whole new energy to hip-hop.
ODB: What Wu-Tang is is really is straight up it’s raw it ain’t no cut in it ain’t
no speed or nothin’ baby.
It’s straight up raw.
TIA: The 90s gave us a number of other loud acts, like the Brooklyn duo M.O.P.
TIA: Lil Fame and Billy Danze have carved a special place in rap with their singular
Brownsville, Brooklyn style.
BILLY DANZE: We ain’t angry at one person we angry at majority of the fuckin’ country.
We from Brownsville, dawg and niggas don’t know how it is in our world.
All that is is just frustration.
TIA: And down south, there was Louisiana’s own Mystikal.
MYSTIKAL: Mystikal, how would you describe your style?
I don’t know.
Different, unique.
And I know that’s broad but that’s what it is.
TIA: Later the world was also introduced to DMX, one of the loudest and most unforgettable rappers.
DMX: I came out like that nigga that every dude wanted to be, know what I’m sayin?
Ready for war.
Ready for fuckin’ war.
TIA: DMX’s growls and gruff sound set him apart from his contemporaries, and made his
voice one that you couldn’t ignore.
DMX: I’m only 26 so I just be doin’ it, you know what I’m saying?
And not even thinking about getting on just doing it because I love doing it.
I like getting a response, know what I mean?
TIA: By the early 2000s, DMX had earned himself 15 songs on the Billboard Hot 100,
and to this day is still a household name in hip-hop.
TEKASHI: DMX, Blood. That’s a huge inspiration to me, DMX. I don't think he fuck with me though.
To be honest with you, I don’t think DMX fuck with me but I always pay homage.
TIA: The 90s also gave us Three 6 Mafia, whose impact is reflected in everything from today’s
rappers emulating their old flow, to their old beats.
TIA: As a whole, the late 90s brought us plenty of loud songs and loud rappers who sometimes yelled.
There was Master P…
TIA: ...Pastor Troy…
TIA: ...Busta Rhymes…
TIA: And Ja Rule, just to name a few.
TIA: But the early 2000s were arguably ruled by another rambunctious artist: Lil Jon.
TIA: Lil Jon started as a DJ, but his high energy ad libs and verses helped popularize
crunk music and define the sound of an era.
LIL JON: Wasn’t no cats in Atlanta making records for Atlanta people to get crunk and rowdy to.
So as a DJ I saw that and I was like, Man, let’s make a record.
TIA: Lil Jon ultimately scored himself 21 songs in the Hot 100 and 8 Top 10 hits,
helping to cement his place in the soundtrack of that time.
TIA: But as the early aughts came to a close and Crunk began to fade, some point to Atlanta’s
Waka Flocka Flame as the next one in rap's lineage of yelling along with being the father
of today's loud style.
TIA: And even Waka himself thinks so.
TIM: A lot of these new artists now you can really trace them back to when you first came out.
WAKA: Nah, nah see we gonna rephrase that.
I’m not one of the first I AM the first, of my generation, to carry it.
TIA: His rowdy songs and intensity made him stand out from his peers.
WAKA: I don’t have no formula.
I just hear the beat, rap, and go hard.
TIA: Shortly after in 2012, Chief Keef dropped a few of his early bangers and got a lot
of attention just from the energy he was putting into each track.
JAY: Most of the words that you hear now it came from Chief Keef.
Like opp, thot, all that shit.
CORDAE: Everybody remembers where they were when the first time they heard "Don’t Like."
TIA: Of course there were plenty of other artists, like Philly’s Meek Mill, who became
known for just how loud he is on the track, even if he isn’t always yelling.
TIA: As the 2010s rolled on, we got even louder artists like OG Maco…
TIA: ...and OT Genasis.
TIA: Today, so many artists have taken this delivery to a new level.
Like the late XXXTENTACION, whose posthumous album, ‘SKINS’ features
a distinct metal-influenced sound.
TIA: Brooklyn’s Tekashi 6ix9ine has also made a name for himself as someone who’s
almost always yelling at us.
TIA: Other artists, like City Morgue’s ZillaKami and SosMula….
TIA: Denzel Curry…
TIA: And Rico Nasty have all helped push forward yet another wave of yelling.
TIA: And those aren’t even almost all of them.
Yelling on a track isn’t distinct to just one artist.
But whether rappers are yelling because they’re mad or they just wanna make sure you hear them,
hip-hop quieting down any time soon.
TIA: I’m Tia with Genius News bringing you the meaning and the knowledge behind the music.