For a hip-hop subgenre that for years was so unabashedly dusty – even avant garde at times – a surprising pattern has emerged in the lo-fi scene. Slums (I know that’s a specific group name but I feel like it’s been colloquialized to cover the whole sound) got it’s start in the mid 2010’s with artists such as Standing on the Corner, MIKE, Navy Blue, Maxo and more. Who would’ve expected first hearing something like Some Rap Songs that these guys would later be jumping on trap beats?
For most fans, especially those with a more narrow focus on this style, 2024’s Pinball was a breakthrough for MIKE; not only was he continuing a career defining run of albums, but he was also finally jumping on something short and more upbeat than usual with production from Tony Seltzer (who we’ll get to later). It’s an album that shuts up those who might have claimed he isn’t versatile and can only moan and ruminate.
Sideshow, who has been slated for a couple years as a candidate for a breakout lo-fi star dropped his much anticipated new album F.U.N. T.O.Y., which ended up being nothing but smooth, lowkey trap beats and faster flows almost reminiscent of Veeze. You’ve even got YL and Starker making drill songs in a true testament to their New York backgrounds.
On the other hand, there are artists like Tony Shhnow out of Atlanta, who are so core to this new wave of trap; yet every album of his has a different aesthetic and sound, including the boombappy Kill Streak series. Slime Dollaz, 10K Dunkin and others are all on the same wave, and that’s without even mentioning the world of Dark Plugg (does Atlanta have it’s own drill scene cropping up?).
The same way Slums was a weird offshoot genre of traditional conscious hip-hop, Plugg has grown as it’s own active offshoot of trap. With more atmospheric, light and fun production than Lex Luger or Metro and an Internet Age appeal (although there is some Zaytoven influence mixed in there). Those Caschcache! album covers sum up the sound perfectly. In a way, these scenes are mirrors of each other in their vibe appeal and underground community; it’s just a matter of if you want 808s or not.
Core to this crossover are the producers, namely Grimm Doza and Tony Seltzer. These guys consistently drop collabs with rappers on both ends of the spectrum – everyone from Boofpaxkmoney and Key! to Wiki, Tha God Fahim, and many more, often changing their own production style or suggesting the MC step out of their comfort zone. That’s not just a testament to their producing talent, but also to their taste-making ability as this whole stylistic intersection flourishes under their direction.
So why is this crossover happening now? Well, it’s a common misconception that all dusty boombap rappers only listen to Havoc type beats or jazz tapes. Look at Lupe Fiasco and the infamous A Tribe Called Quest performance or how much he praises Drake. Most rappers’ taste is probably much more diverse than you think, and I bet a lot of these guys grew up listening to trap. Look at MIKE; he’s still only 26 years old. He was probably playing “Love Sosa” on the way to school everyday like the rest of us.
On a more artistic level though, this new production style adds a whole extra dimension to these artists’ work and raises their potential. As great as many Slums or Plugg albums might be in a vacuum, it’s hard to imagine we’ll get anything better than Laughing So Hard it Hurts or Song of Sage at this point. There’s a ceiling to these styles that can only be broken by diversifying, and this is proving to be an exciting new wrinkle to the lo-fi formula.
If the pattern continues, there are candidates from both scenes that could benefit from some experimentation. For the lo-fi guys to do so successfully, they’ve got to have smooth delivery like Yungmorpheus, Mavi and of course Earl Sweatshirt (it’s different, but think how hard he went on “Ion Rap Beef“). I can’t even imagine what crazy shit Ta$e Grip members could come up with on trap beats. On the other hand, I could see Bigbabygucci or Realyungphil being willing to hop on more minimal production and their run-on flows working well there.
Regardless, these new developments are proving not only that these artists will have staying power by switching it up, but that you don’t have to be a fan of just one genre. Why force yourself to be an old head or purist when the rappers themselves don’t even feel that way?