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Reference
Hip-hop style reference
Boom bap, G-funk, trap, drill, cloud rap, grime, phonk, jazz rap and regional scenes with era-accurate drums.
How to use this list
Each row pairs a style term with a cue line written in the same grammar: what the music is, what plays it, roughly how fast, and how it feels. Copy the cue, then change one thing at a time so you can tell which token moved the result.
Hip-hop entries pin down two things the model often guesses wrong: the drum swing and whether the tempo is straight or half-time.
Combining entries
If you want rapped verses rather than sung ones, say so explicitly in the vocal token; melodic delivery is the common default.
If a take drifts away from what you wanted, remove tokens rather than adding more. Long prompts dilute; short, specific ones steer.
| Boom bap | boom bap, dusty swung drums, chopped soul sample, upright bass, 92 BPM, confident lyrical flow |
| Golden-era East Coast | east coast 90s, hard snare, jazz horn loop, scratched hook, 96 BPM, dense wordplay delivery |
| G-funk | g-funk, whining portamento synth lead, deep P-funk bass, talkbox hook, 94 BPM, sunny West Coast cruise |
| Southern trap | trap, rolling 808 slides, triplet hi-hats, dark bell melody, 140 BPM, half-time menacing flow |
| Drill (UK) | uk drill, sliding 808, skippy hats, ominous string plucks, 142 BPM, cold clipped delivery |
| Drill (Chicago) | chicago drill, heavy sparse 808, ominous synth line, 140 BPM, raw aggressive vocal |
| Cloud rap | cloud rap, hazy reverbed pads, slow trap drums, 128 BPM, floating detached vocal |
| Lo-fi hip-hop | lo-fi hip-hop, dusty drums, mellow Rhodes chords, vinyl crackle, 82 BPM, instrumental study calm |
| Jazz rap | jazz rap, live upright bass, brushed drums, muted trumpet, 88 BPM, thoughtful conversational flow |
| Conscious hip-hop | conscious hip-hop, warm soul loop, steady boom-bap, gospel vocal sample, 90 BPM, earnest message-driven verses |
| Alternative hip-hop | alternative hip-hop, off-kilter drum programming, odd sample flips, 94 BPM, playful inventive delivery |
| Memphis rap | memphis rap, distorted 808, cowbell pattern, murky vocal sample, 68 BPM half-time, eerie underground grit |
| Phonk rap | phonk rap, cowbell melody, saturated 808, chopped memphis vocal, 130 BPM, night-drive aggression |
| Crunk | crunk, shouted chant hook, booming 808 and clap, sparse synth stab, 76 BPM, rowdy club energy |
| Hyphy | hyphy, bouncy synth bass, snappy claps, 104 BPM, animated shout-along hook, Bay Area party |
| Bounce | bounce, rapid triggerman drum pattern, call-and-response chant, 100 BPM, relentless dance energy |
| Miami bass | miami bass, 808 sub booms, fast electro drums, 130 BPM, chanted party vocal |
| Trap soul | trap soul, airy pads, soft trap drums, pitched vocal sample, 138 BPM, moody sung-rap, late-night longing |
| Emo rap | emo rap, distorted guitar loop, trap drums, 150 BPM, melodic strained vocal, raw vulnerability |
| Rage | rage, blown-out synth lead, distorted 808, aggressive hats, 160 BPM, chaotic shout-rap |
| Plugg | plugg, glassy bell arpeggio, light 808 glides, airy hats, 130 BPM, dreamy laid-back flow |
| Horrorcore | horrorcore, minor organ loop, heavy kick, film-sample chills, 88 BPM, sinister narrative rap |
| Grime | grime, square-wave bass, 8-bar skippy drums, 140 BPM, fast aggressive UK flow |
| Afroswing | afroswing, afrobeats percussion under rap drums, warm guitar, 102 BPM, melodic sung-rap, sunny swagger |
| Boom-bap instrumental | boom-bap instrumental, filtered jazz loop, crisp drums, scratch fills, 90 BPM, no vocals, head-nod groove |
| Battle rap beat | battle rap beat, hard minimal drums, ominous piano stab, 88 BPM, no hook, aggressive space for bars |
| Old-school 80s rap | old-school rap, 808 drum machine, funk bass loop, simple scratch, 108 BPM, upbeat party rhymes |
| Experimental / abstract | abstract hip-hop, fractured drums, dissonant sample collage, 86 BPM, cryptic half-spoken delivery |
| Latin trap | latin trap, dembow-tinged hats, deep 808, reggaeton inflection, 92 BPM, melodic Spanish flow |
| Pop rap | pop rap, bright synth hook, clean trap drums, sung chorus, 100 BPM, radio-ready confidence |
Raw data: /guide/reference/lists/hip-hop-list.json · 30 entries
FAQ
Why does my trap prompt come out at the wrong speed?
Trap is usually written at 140 BPM but felt at 70. Keep both ideas in the line: 140 BPM with a half-time feel.
Do I have to use the whole hip-hop cue line?
No. The lines are built from independent tokens, so you can keep the two or three that matter and drop the rest without breaking the grammar.
Can I mix this list with another one?
Yes — keep one rhythm description, one lead instrument, one production word and a single tempo. Competing rhythm descriptions are the usual cause of muddled results.