American Trap Music Cultural Analysis

When analyzing trap music as a lens of culture, the role of cultural codes is important to the reader as these codes reveal how the culture views itself and how it decides what is considered good or bad. In the American music industry the frame, or the author that ultimately decides what is or is not cultured, has historically been the major record labels who use their huge pool of money to promote the artists that will make them the most money. In American trap music, the major record labels play a much smaller part. With the rise of artist-owned labels, like Gucci Mane’s “1017 Brick Squad” and Future’s “Freebandz”, and the introduction of free music sharing sites like Youtube and Soundcloud, the artists themselves are able to both create

This shifts the frame power to the artists and their fans, who then judge what may be good or bad trap music. In American trap music the hierarchies, or levels of accessibility, are very broad, which allows the music of trap artists to be heard by anywhere on Earth. In the past it was the case that only those who purchased an artist’s physical music were able to listen, but as technology has advanced so too has the accessibility of American music. With the likes of Spotify, Apple Music and iTunes, artists are able to sell and stream their music worldwide with the click of a button, allowing for more listeners to serve as frames who will decide what is good or bad music with their consumer purchasing power. Taking it a step further, the prominence of Soundcloud and Youtube allow listeners to access trap music at no cost at all. Both YUNG BEEF and PXXR GVNG’s music is distributed almost solely through the free music sharing websites mentioned above. It has actually proved difficult to find any major record labels in Spain who represent any of the rising trap

The best example of American involvement in Spanish trap is the direct collaboration that a handful of American producers have done with YUNG BEEF and his associated PXXR GVNG. The best example is PXXR GVNG’s song “Guapo” that is produced by 808Mafia, a trap producer collective that has helped popularize trap beats in hip hop today, and features 808Mafia founder Southside (PXXRGVNGOFICIAL). This collaboration shows that Southside and 808Mafia heard about PXXR GVNG’s rising popularity and reached out to them to make this song happen. By choosing to work with PXXR GVNG, 808Mafia was also giving their sign of approval indicating that PXXR GVNG is an authentic trap collective that the trap world should keep an eye on. This sign of approval also most likely lead to one of YUNG BEEF’s biggest hits to date, Beef Boy, where he raps over a coveted Metro Boomin’ trap beat. This back and forth between American and Spanish trap music is bridging the gap between these two cultures, showing that trap music is now more global than ever before. The presence of American trap influences in Spanish trap is undeniable, yet these two cultures continue to cross “contaminate” with each other and effectively creating a trap culture that can transcend borders