2008 Woodie Awards
Horrorcore dead or alive?
Kaleb Bronson
Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: Intermission
- Page 1 of 3 next >
Murder, suicide, horror, serial killers, darkness and death.
These are just some of the main overtones of the rap music genre called horrorcore that has made a name for itself internationally, as well as in Minnesota.
In the past few years, horrorcore music has been blamed for many public monstrosities like the Columbine school shootings and the Red Lake School shooting. Some horrorcore artists, such as the Insane Clown Posse and St. Paul 's own Jimmy Donn, were blamed for these human slayings.
"I never got involved until I was made involved," horrorcore rapper Jimmy Donn, aka The Devil Himself, said. "I made music which some considered horrorcore, then I was blamed for the Red Lake School shooting with Mars, and ever since then I sort of was thrown into it."
Donn and Mars were both thrown on many news networks and bombarded for the lyrical content of their music.
Horrorcore music is rumored to have begun with co-founder of Def Jam Recordings Russell Simmons. It is said that he called one of the original horrorcore groups the Flatlinerz, "a hardcore rap with some horror themes," in the 90s.
After this point, the genre was born.
Groups such as the Gravediggaz, which were parts of the Wu-Tang Clan and Esham, were coming from the darkness to represent their new styles, and soon thereafter the Insane Clown Posse (ICP) stepped into the gory musical arena.
Some rappers are trying to evolve the sound or make their own. Many have tried to switch up the title along the way with sayings such as "horror rap," "wicked sh-t" and "acid rap," all of which connect to the horrorcore mainframe.
"Horrorcore music is a horror story told in song form," Minnesotan based rapper Krow said. "If Steven King, Wes Craven and Clive Barker were hip hop artists, they would be classified as horrorcore. It's basically a gore-ified fantasy land where you can let your imagination run wild. Instead of writing a song about the hot girl next door who you fell in love with, you would write about how she won't talk to you, and what you're going to do about it, usually ending in violence," Krow said.
These are just some of the main overtones of the rap music genre called horrorcore that has made a name for itself internationally, as well as in Minnesota.
In the past few years, horrorcore music has been blamed for many public monstrosities like the Columbine school shootings and the Red Lake School shooting. Some horrorcore artists, such as the Insane Clown Posse and St. Paul 's own Jimmy Donn, were blamed for these human slayings.
"I never got involved until I was made involved," horrorcore rapper Jimmy Donn, aka The Devil Himself, said. "I made music which some considered horrorcore, then I was blamed for the Red Lake School shooting with Mars, and ever since then I sort of was thrown into it."
Donn and Mars were both thrown on many news networks and bombarded for the lyrical content of their music.
Horrorcore music is rumored to have begun with co-founder of Def Jam Recordings Russell Simmons. It is said that he called one of the original horrorcore groups the Flatlinerz, "a hardcore rap with some horror themes," in the 90s.
After this point, the genre was born.
Groups such as the Gravediggaz, which were parts of the Wu-Tang Clan and Esham, were coming from the darkness to represent their new styles, and soon thereafter the Insane Clown Posse (ICP) stepped into the gory musical arena.
Some rappers are trying to evolve the sound or make their own. Many have tried to switch up the title along the way with sayings such as "horror rap," "wicked sh-t" and "acid rap," all of which connect to the horrorcore mainframe.
"Horrorcore music is a horror story told in song form," Minnesotan based rapper Krow said. "If Steven King, Wes Craven and Clive Barker were hip hop artists, they would be classified as horrorcore. It's basically a gore-ified fantasy land where you can let your imagination run wild. Instead of writing a song about the hot girl next door who you fell in love with, you would write about how she won't talk to you, and what you're going to do about it, usually ending in violence," Krow said.