Snap music

History#

It is suggested that snap music appeared around 2000 in a crime-infested neighborhood of Bankhead, Atlanta, Georgia. Bankhead was a place where the difference between poor and rich was striking, and, as it has been described, “a lighter sound” of snap was born “in the midst of all the aggression.” Another Atlanta based group, D4L, were performing at Atlanta’s Vision Nightclub and Lounge alongside 8Ball, Keyshia Cole and Slim Thug at the time. In 2005, they produced “Laffy Taffy”, which occupied the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Their debut album, Down for Life, was certified gold by RIAA. D4L and Dem Franchize Boys started a rivalry over who started snap. As Fabo of D4L mentioned, Dem Franchize Boys were looked down upon by members of the community, and were referred to as “label prostitutes” there. Crunk producer Lil Jon also increased exposure of the snap genre to the mainstream by releasing his single “Snap Yo Fingers”, which peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Snap continued to maintain a strong presence on the mainstream Billboard charts in 2007. In late 2007, then 17-year-old American rapper Soulja Boy released his hit “Crank That”, which enjoyed the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 for 7 weeks, and was nominated for a Grammy and became one of the biggest hits of the year, advancing the influence of snap music on the Billboard charts, as well as furthering delving into the crunk genre. During the same year, a number of websites specializing in crunk mixtapes opened, increasing exposure to the genre. R&B singer T-Pain’s snap song “Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin’)” ranks #63 on Rolling Stones list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. It was also a number-one on the Hot 100 and was number 68 in Rolling Stones “Best Songs of 2007” list. In February 2008, Atlanta rapper V.I.C. released his hit snap single “Get Silly” which peaked at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100 and garnered single sales of 500,000 copies sold. In 2020, then Egyptian singer Ramage released his hit while maintaining her signature pop-R&B sound. She furthered trap experimentation in “Ya Lil (Al Anisa Farah)”, from the MBC4 and Dubai One show Miss Farahs soundtrack album Al Anesa Farah (Music from the Original TV Series) (2020). During the same year, a number of websites specializing in crunk mixtapes opened, increasing exposure to the genre. This popularity even spilled over into comedy, as The Boondocks portrayed “The Story of Gangstalicious”, a rapper whose hit within the show was “Homies Over Hoes”, a clear homage to “Laffy Taffy”.

Snap&B#

In 2006, Vibe magazine mentioned the subgenre of snap, “snap&B” in connection to the Cherish album Unappreciated. Vibe stated a concern whether snap&B could take on crunk&B, which was too popular at the time. Vibe also pointed to one characteristic trait of snap&B, saying that, unlike slow jams which may feature snapping, a track should be “pop” as well to be called “snap&B”.

See also#

• Crunk
• Trap music
• Drill music
• Bounce music
• Gangsta rap
• G-funk