The Rise of Emo Rap/Hip-Hop

We can't deny that the rise of this eclectic genre was paved by the passing of the icon himself, Lil Peep, in 2017. Me being someone who had never heard of him until he passed questioned the future of what could come from it. I didn't necessarily jump right in to the genre thereafter but as the genre expanded into a ton of different sub-genres, I started to pick up on the different artists making cool sounding music because of my brother who had been into the genre prior to Peep's passing. All of them play on the emotions of depression, sadness, making it in this world, and more real life situations.

Lil Peep's legacy brought us a ton of artists that would allow for people to create very unique music and sounds. nothing,nowhere., Lil Aaron, iamjakehill, Josh A, Convolk, and as of recent, jxdn are just a few that I've been jamming who have really hit the scene hard. There are 100s of artists out there doing it now. In my opinion, there are a lot of songs to get lost in. I think it's pretty interesting becuase they all sort of have a similar sound but add their own flare.

jxdn, one of my favorites right now, the newest of the artists coming out of 2020, hit the internet hard with the help of Travis Barker signing him to his label. jxdn has started making quite the name for himself. I look forward to seeing music announcements from him becuase I vibe with his sound so much. "Better Off Dead" which came out at the end of 2020 has literally stayed in my rotation since. That song just flows so well, has a rock feel to it, and everything was executed and produced very well.

Photo by @vinnygotheat 

All of this isn't to say that jxdn is the only one doing cool things within this genre-blended scene but he is definitely making waves. I see artists coming up from the roots of the genre that I keep finding myself add to playlist and share on the Coffee & Shugar Instagram. I'm here for it.  

Below is a playlist I love jamming to when I'm working out and working on creative projects. It also features jxdn's song "Better Off Dead". I think you'll enjoy it.

-James