:( sad boys :(
July 22, 2013 11:42 AM Subscribe
The concept of 'Sad Rap' has recently been explored by two rappers: Little Pain (Soundcloud, YouTube video for "High Cry") in the United States, and Yung Lean (Soundcloud, personal site, and video of "Hurt" (the video is... amazing?)) of Sweden. Pain and Lean have been compared to Lil B for their similar outsider art perspective on the genre, with the distinction that sad rap tends to focus singularly on the emotion of depression. For further reading, Vice's Noisey music blog has been chronicling both Pain and Lean in these articles: Meet Little Pain..., Meet Yung Lean Doer.... The Strangest New Thing in Music or a Logical Next Step for Hip-Hop from Pigeons and Planes. Hip-hop blog Refined Hype has a reaction piece which questions the very concept of 'Sad Rap' as a genre: Stopping Little Pain & Sad Rap Before It Starts. Producer Suicideyear provides the low key, somber beats for both artists.
Bump dis if u crye evry tim.
Cool, it is like the Depressed Gangsta song every rapper has, meets crying selfies,meets Tumblr.
Perfect storm of pop culture.
posted by Ad hominem at 12:00 PM on July 22, 2013
Cool, it is like the Depressed Gangsta song every rapper has, meets crying selfies,meets Tumblr.
Perfect storm of pop culture.
posted by Ad hominem at 12:00 PM on July 22, 2013
I'm crying tears of a rapper.
posted by Malla at 12:01 PM on July 22, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by Malla at 12:01 PM on July 22, 2013 [4 favorites]
The Strangest New Thing in Music or a Logical Next Step for Hip-Hop
Oh, it's a joke. Good, because I was just about to rip it to shreds. Both of them suck. I guess it's a funny little thing to do. It is not, however, a genre, and definitely not anything new. And to top it off, if either one of them thinks for an instant they have rap talent, they are mistaken.
Anthony Fantano reviews Yung Lean
Oh god thank you. That is so perfect.
posted by cashman at 12:38 PM on July 22, 2013
Oh, it's a joke. Good, because I was just about to rip it to shreds. Both of them suck. I guess it's a funny little thing to do. It is not, however, a genre, and definitely not anything new. And to top it off, if either one of them thinks for an instant they have rap talent, they are mistaken.
Anthony Fantano reviews Yung Lean
Oh god thank you. That is so perfect.
posted by cashman at 12:38 PM on July 22, 2013
Who are some of your favorite rappers?
I love Future. "Turn on the Lights" is the best song ever. You can cry to it. You can relate to it. We hate Macklemore. Free Big Lurch. Big Lurch needs to get out, so does Lil Boosie, and Max B. We like Metro Zu, but mostly Lofty.
Yung Lean is a real joker.
Big Lurch killed and ate his girlfriend. They can keep that guy.
posted by Ad hominem at 12:45 PM on July 22, 2013
I love Future. "Turn on the Lights" is the best song ever. You can cry to it. You can relate to it. We hate Macklemore. Free Big Lurch. Big Lurch needs to get out, so does Lil Boosie, and Max B. We like Metro Zu, but mostly Lofty.
Yung Lean is a real joker.
Big Lurch killed and ate his girlfriend. They can keep that guy.
posted by Ad hominem at 12:45 PM on July 22, 2013
Expecting to take rappers literally is perhaps the most emo aspect. Could it be that critics are the kernel of the subculture?
posted by rhizome at 1:03 PM on July 22, 2013
posted by rhizome at 1:03 PM on July 22, 2013
I kinda like High Cry, not often you hear "popped a tear I'm crying" and "fuck your Kush, reggie by the ounce,dont need no sour" in a song . Should have thrown in a "no gold anything" line.
posted by Ad hominem at 1:04 PM on July 22, 2013
posted by Ad hominem at 1:04 PM on July 22, 2013
Would The Weeknd count as a form of sad rap?
posted by LMGM at 1:26 PM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by LMGM at 1:26 PM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Yung Lean is a real joker.
Joker maybe, idiot maybe. "Free Big Lurch" is apparently a thing.
Some people have started petitions or movements called, "Free Big Lurch", due to the circumstantial evidence when he was convicted.
posted by Hoopo at 1:44 PM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Joker maybe, idiot maybe. "Free Big Lurch" is apparently a thing.
Some people have started petitions or movements called, "Free Big Lurch", due to the circumstantial evidence when he was convicted.
posted by Hoopo at 1:44 PM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Joker maybe, idiot maybe. "Free Big Lurch" is apparently a thing.
Point taken, Yung lean ain't the only one. Could be the illurminetty railroaded Big Lurch cuz he got too close to the truth about Drake's owl cult.
The Weeknd is certainly emo IMO, he wrote half of Drake's shit and refuses to do interviews because he thinks he is too ugly to appear in photos.
posted by Ad hominem at 2:01 PM on July 22, 2013
Point taken, Yung lean ain't the only one. Could be the illurminetty railroaded Big Lurch cuz he got too close to the truth about Drake's owl cult.
The Weeknd is certainly emo IMO, he wrote half of Drake's shit and refuses to do interviews because he thinks he is too ugly to appear in photos.
posted by Ad hominem at 2:01 PM on July 22, 2013
This is the only thing I can think of when someone says "Sad Rap".
Holy fuck, I am listening to this for the first time in more then 5 years.. god damn it, I'm going to piss myself laughing. I feel sorry for the kid who uploaded this..
posted by mediocre at 2:29 PM on July 22, 2013
Holy fuck, I am listening to this for the first time in more then 5 years.. god damn it, I'm going to piss myself laughing. I feel sorry for the kid who uploaded this..
posted by mediocre at 2:29 PM on July 22, 2013
Honestly I'm still trying to get my head around "circumstantial". Sure, there was a dead woman in my apartment whose organs had teeth marks in them, and sure they found human flesh in my stomach, and sure they caught me while I was right outside in the street staring at the sky while high on PCP covered in someone's blood. But it's all just speculation! Maybe I was just walking back home after having eaten someone else entirely!
More on topic, did I miss something or is there no mention of "What's Up Fatlip?" Sorry sad boys, one of those old men from the Pharcyde beat you to it by more than a decade. Here's a tissue.
posted by Hoopo at 2:36 PM on July 22, 2013 [4 favorites]
More on topic, did I miss something or is there no mention of "What's Up Fatlip?" Sorry sad boys, one of those old men from the Pharcyde beat you to it by more than a decade. Here's a tissue.
posted by Hoopo at 2:36 PM on July 22, 2013 [4 favorites]
I've been following Yung Lean for a little while and although I am not a fan of his rapping his beats are really great, most especially the beat for OREOMILKSHAKE.
posted by gucci mane at 3:00 PM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by gucci mane at 3:00 PM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
This is mainstream S. Korean rap, except that it's energized-sad instead of sad-sad.
posted by subdee at 3:07 PM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by subdee at 3:07 PM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
I've been following Yung Lean for a little while and although I am not a fan of his rapping his beats are really great...
I feel more or less the same way. It's sort of how I feel about certain big name pop stars, where I don't really care for them as artists, but I appreciate the production and the persona.
Also, regarding the idiotic Big Lurch comments, I agree that they're pretty stupid, but the kid is also 16. I'm glad nobody interviewed me and recorded it for posterity at that age.
posted by codacorolla at 3:08 PM on July 22, 2013
I feel more or less the same way. It's sort of how I feel about certain big name pop stars, where I don't really care for them as artists, but I appreciate the production and the persona.
Also, regarding the idiotic Big Lurch comments, I agree that they're pretty stupid, but the kid is also 16. I'm glad nobody interviewed me and recorded it for posterity at that age.
posted by codacorolla at 3:08 PM on July 22, 2013
This is mainstream S. Korean rap
Okay I'm intrigued. Got links?
posted by Hoopo at 3:20 PM on July 22, 2013
Okay I'm intrigued. Got links?
posted by Hoopo at 3:20 PM on July 22, 2013
The more I listen the less I understand.
Who the hell is this Yung Lean
Same song here?
Bandcamp?
Guide to Yung Lean says they are the same guy and he used to do a fake American accent?
What's up with this guy, Yung Lean? This some kind of /mu/ troll or something? I'm too old for this.
posted by Ad hominem at 4:38 PM on July 22, 2013 [3 favorites]
Who the hell is this Yung Lean
Same song here?
Bandcamp?
Guide to Yung Lean says they are the same guy and he used to do a fake American accent?
What's up with this guy, Yung Lean? This some kind of /mu/ troll or something? I'm too old for this.
posted by Ad hominem at 4:38 PM on July 22, 2013 [3 favorites]
I'm not super-knowledgeable, but some energized-sad S. Korean rappers I know of are:
Outsider Like a Man, Alone, Love is War, Sadly Crying Bird
Tablo & Mithra (of Epik High) One, 1 minute 1 second, Umbrella, WrongBad, No Tomorrow
And some others like Eru I Hate You, Dynamic Duo Without You, LeSSang I'm Not Laughing, Electroboyz Should I Laugh or Cry, Bi Rain Not a Single Day + But I Love You, etc.
Should be noted that with the exception of Outsider, all of these people do more optimistic songs as well as hurt-sad ones, at which point the genre slides into the same territory as like conscientious hip hop. There's also a whole bunch of idol pop that's inspired by this style, e.g. Big Bang Lie, Day by Day; SPEED Lovey Dovey, Pain the Love of the Heart, It's Over, Painkiller; lots of stuff produced by Brave Brothers basically. (Or Shinsadong Tiger is good at this style too.)
It's not as drugged-out as the rappers in this thread, and is more relationship-focused than individual-focused, but there's a similar focus on exactly describing feelings of hopelessness and depression. It's actually considered really "manly" for men to be, like, deeply emotional and hard on their SOs and stuff in S. Korea, as far as I can tell.
posted by subdee at 4:44 PM on July 22, 2013 [4 favorites]
Outsider Like a Man, Alone, Love is War, Sadly Crying Bird
Tablo & Mithra (of Epik High) One, 1 minute 1 second, Umbrella, WrongBad, No Tomorrow
And some others like Eru I Hate You, Dynamic Duo Without You, LeSSang I'm Not Laughing, Electroboyz Should I Laugh or Cry, Bi Rain Not a Single Day + But I Love You, etc.
Should be noted that with the exception of Outsider, all of these people do more optimistic songs as well as hurt-sad ones, at which point the genre slides into the same territory as like conscientious hip hop. There's also a whole bunch of idol pop that's inspired by this style, e.g. Big Bang Lie, Day by Day; SPEED Lovey Dovey, Pain the Love of the Heart, It's Over, Painkiller; lots of stuff produced by Brave Brothers basically. (Or Shinsadong Tiger is good at this style too.)
It's not as drugged-out as the rappers in this thread, and is more relationship-focused than individual-focused, but there's a similar focus on exactly describing feelings of hopelessness and depression. It's actually considered really "manly" for men to be, like, deeply emotional and hard on their SOs and stuff in S. Korea, as far as I can tell.
posted by subdee at 4:44 PM on July 22, 2013 [4 favorites]
Pre-empted in 1991 by Ragga artist Papa San:
Maddy Maddy Cry
posted by Hairy Lobster at 4:46 PM on July 22, 2013
Maddy Maddy Cry
posted by Hairy Lobster at 4:46 PM on July 22, 2013
I was hoping for something like emo rap for a long, long, long time. Hopefully this lives up to it.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:01 PM on July 22, 2013
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:01 PM on July 22, 2013
Like... I'm a sad dude, I listen to the Smiths and The National. My happiest poem is sadder than most people's sad poems. I've had depression. And I found music for that in pretty much every mainstream genre, from rock to country. So it seems like the lack of that in rap was keeping me from embracing it. It really should have happened a long, long, long time ago.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:04 PM on July 22, 2013
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:04 PM on July 22, 2013
Charlemagne, do (e.g.) Linkin Park and the "conscious rap" and "stoner rap" crowds not count?
posted by subdee at 5:18 PM on July 22, 2013
posted by subdee at 5:18 PM on July 22, 2013
Same song here?
I lost it at "No, I ain't a Rasta." Thanks for clearing that up, pudgy white kid in the suburbs in front of Mom's SUV!
posted by Hoopo at 5:21 PM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
I lost it at "No, I ain't a Rasta." Thanks for clearing that up, pudgy white kid in the suburbs in front of Mom's SUV!
posted by Hoopo at 5:21 PM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
CiS, even before emo rap, depressed gangsta was already a thing, every hardcore rapper has a depressed gangsta track. Between Pac and Biggie they got a buch. Look up biggie's Suicidal Thoughts it starts with the line "when I die I wanna go to hell, cuz I'm a piece of shit it ain't hard to tell"
There are depressed gangsta albums too, the are often kinda satanic though.Mista Thug Isolation. Especially the track Morose and Lugubrious. Also Uneven Compromise. I think 3 6 mafia Mystic Stylez is pretty sad.
posted by Ad hominem at 5:31 PM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
There are depressed gangsta albums too, the are often kinda satanic though.Mista Thug Isolation. Especially the track Morose and Lugubrious. Also Uneven Compromise. I think 3 6 mafia Mystic Stylez is pretty sad.
posted by Ad hominem at 5:31 PM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Charlemagne In Sweatpants: I was hoping for something like emo rap for a long, long, long time.
Sage Francis has been making emotional hip hop for a long time. I suggest starting with Personal Journals.
posted by Kattullus at 5:58 PM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Sage Francis has been making emotional hip hop for a long time. I suggest starting with Personal Journals.
posted by Kattullus at 5:58 PM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Can we call it hip mope?
posted by shortyJBot at 7:10 PM on July 22, 2013
posted by shortyJBot at 7:10 PM on July 22, 2013
Sad? Yeah, but not sad to me the way it's sad to them, I think...
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For me, this is the real shit: Coup - Underdogs...
posted by symbioid at 7:25 PM on July 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
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For me, this is the real shit: Coup - Underdogs...
posted by symbioid at 7:25 PM on July 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
Though I have to laugh at that "When Thugz Cry" article...
"The existence of such a subgenre is repulsive."
Oh lordy have nobody introduce this man to Joy Division. That's what I want in "Sad Rap"... The Joy Division of Sad Rap.
posted by symbioid at 7:27 PM on July 22, 2013
"The existence of such a subgenre is repulsive."
Oh lordy have nobody introduce this man to Joy Division. That's what I want in "Sad Rap"... The Joy Division of Sad Rap.
posted by symbioid at 7:27 PM on July 22, 2013
and Necro: I need drugs...
(warning: actual footage of dope shooting in case that's traumatizing to people)
posted by symbioid at 7:31 PM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
(warning: actual footage of dope shooting in case that's traumatizing to people)
posted by symbioid at 7:31 PM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
I went into this thinking "oh yay here are some Western rappers like might be similar to some Korean rappers I like!" (even before I saw subdee's comment), but then discovered it's a meme. Which made me (dare I say it?) sad. So thanks to all the comments that provide for further exploration of other artists.
Also, because you totally asked for it (or maybe just Hoopo), along with subdee's suggestions, I give you Tablo's Fever End (Part 1 and Part 2) because that's my sad-emo-rap album of choice (especially "집 (Home)," like, man, talk about crying). Subdee already mentioned Epik High upthread (which is Tablo, Mithra Jin, and DJ Tukutz), but the full album of Remapping the Human Soul is brilliant, and is generally what fans consider to be the "best" and "true" Epik High style (and why their latest album was so controversial for being so upbeat).
I'll also raise Primary's "Poison (featuring E-Sens)" and maybe Geeks' "Wash Away" (although I'm very partial to Love, Life 그 한가운데서, which is more atmospherically sad than lyrically sad).
Ps - hi subdee!
posted by paisley sheep at 7:34 PM on July 22, 2013 [4 favorites]
Also, because you totally asked for it (or maybe just Hoopo), along with subdee's suggestions, I give you Tablo's Fever End (Part 1 and Part 2) because that's my sad-emo-rap album of choice (especially "집 (Home)," like, man, talk about crying). Subdee already mentioned Epik High upthread (which is Tablo, Mithra Jin, and DJ Tukutz), but the full album of Remapping the Human Soul is brilliant, and is generally what fans consider to be the "best" and "true" Epik High style (and why their latest album was so controversial for being so upbeat).
I'll also raise Primary's "Poison (featuring E-Sens)" and maybe Geeks' "Wash Away" (although I'm very partial to Love, Life 그 한가운데서, which is more atmospherically sad than lyrically sad).
Ps - hi subdee!
posted by paisley sheep at 7:34 PM on July 22, 2013 [4 favorites]
A Necro song posted to Metafilter. Now I have seen it all
posted by Hoopo at 8:38 PM on July 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Hoopo at 8:38 PM on July 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
I honestly can't figure out to what extent this whole phenomenon, or any given part of it, is a joke.
I also can't figure out to what extent that's because it's the point, and to what extent it's just because I'm old.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 9:17 AM on July 23, 2013
I also can't figure out to what extent that's because it's the point, and to what extent it's just because I'm old.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 9:17 AM on July 23, 2013
Yeah, back in my day jokes didn't have beats like this, so I'm a bit confused by it too. I mean, I would listen to songs with beats like Oreomilkshake. But this Yung Lean kid's rhymes and delivery are awful, like really fucking bad, and Little Pain's persona is too embarrassing to be believed. Those crying selfies with the shades...I'm cringing just thinking about it. It can't be for serious. It just can't.
One thing that sticks out for me after reading ad hominem's "Guide to Yung Lean" link is that not long ago you would be crucified for switching your style and image up like that in a transparent attempt for broader appeal. It would be seen as proof you are inauthentic and fake. These days it doesn't even seem to matter; I guess maybe it's the effect of a generation having grown up with the means and opportunity to embarrass themselves online from the get-go.
posted by Hoopo at 11:03 AM on July 23, 2013
One thing that sticks out for me after reading ad hominem's "Guide to Yung Lean" link is that not long ago you would be crucified for switching your style and image up like that in a transparent attempt for broader appeal. It would be seen as proof you are inauthentic and fake. These days it doesn't even seem to matter; I guess maybe it's the effect of a generation having grown up with the means and opportunity to embarrass themselves online from the get-go.
posted by Hoopo at 11:03 AM on July 23, 2013
Yung lean is on reddit right now
His favorite 3 6 mafia track is Da Summa
His hat cost 6hunna
Says dipset is the golden age of rap.
He likes Pancakes I think.
posted by Ad hominem at 10:54 AM on July 24, 2013
His favorite 3 6 mafia track is Da Summa
His hat cost 6hunna
Says dipset is the golden age of rap.
He likes Pancakes I think.
posted by Ad hominem at 10:54 AM on July 24, 2013
For those who don't want to visit reddit, this Suicide year AMA from /mu/ may shed some light
Here is what suicideyear said about Yung Lean/"faggot"
>>37989213
Ehh, kind of a poser i guess. He told me about how he and his friend came up with the idea for Yung Lean after they saw this guy posting as "Faggot" here on /mu/, they decided to take that general idea, exaggerate it with a less socially awkward character.
So, maybe they are the same guy, maybe not. But /mu/ trollery confirmed.
posted by Ad hominem at 11:05 AM on July 24, 2013
Here is what suicideyear said about Yung Lean/"faggot"
>>37989213
Ehh, kind of a poser i guess. He told me about how he and his friend came up with the idea for Yung Lean after they saw this guy posting as "Faggot" here on /mu/, they decided to take that general idea, exaggerate it with a less socially awkward character.
So, maybe they are the same guy, maybe not. But /mu/ trollery confirmed.
posted by Ad hominem at 11:05 AM on July 24, 2013
Mista Thug Isolation is a masterpiece in my opinion.
Lil Wayne's I Feel Like Dying is terribly sad.
posted by gucci mane at 6:07 PM on July 25, 2013
Lil Wayne's I Feel Like Dying is terribly sad.
posted by gucci mane at 6:07 PM on July 25, 2013
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posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:58 AM on July 22, 2013