The 8 best Trap tracks of all time
Trap
Atlanta from 2003: 808 sub-bass tuned to a note, hi-hats rolled into triplets and thirty-second-note bursts, and a sparse, ominous synth line. Within a decade it was the default rhythmic grammar of pop worldwide.
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T.I. / Trap Muzik
The album that named it. T.I. was describing a place — the trap house — and the word ended up describing a drum pattern instead.
Bone Crusher / Never Scared
Atlanta at maximum volume, and the record that made the rest of the industry look south. Crunk rather than trap strictly, and the door it opened is the same one.
Dorrough / Ice Cream Paint Job
Not Atlanta, and a good demonstration of how quickly the template travelled. Everything is the 808 and the hook.
Waka Flocka Flame / Hard in da Paint
Lex Luger's production is the moment trap becomes maximal — enormous brass, a snare roll that functions as a countdown, and no melody to speak of.
Future / Codeine Crazy
Trap admitting to being sad. Future's use of Auto-Tune as an expressive instrument rather than a correction is the other great innovation here.
Migos featuring Lil Uzi Vert / Bad and Boujee
A number one built from a hook, a sub-bass and almost nothing else. By this point the form had stopped being regional and become simply how records were made.
Waka Flocka Flame featuring Roscoe Dash and Wale / No Hands
The friendly end of Lex Luger's run, and the one that stayed on radio longest. Trap could be menacing or it could be a party; the drums did not change.