History Main / MelodicRap

Melodic rap is a subgenre of hip-hop (specifically of PopRap) where, as the name implies, a rapper's flow is infused with a singing-like melody. While this style's been around in some form since at least the [=1990s=], it became wildly popular in the latter half of the 2000s and into TheNewTens, thanks largely to Music/TPain and Music/{{Drake}}, as well as Music/KanyeWest's wildly-influential 2008 release, ''[=808s=] & Heartbreak''. According to [[UsefulNotes/GrammyAward the Recording Academy]], melodic rap is defined as "a strong and clear presence of melody combined with rap cadence, and is inclusive of dialects, lyrics or performance elements from non-rap genres including R&B, rock, country, electronic or more." While other rap-adjacent sub-genres like NewJackSwing and HipHopSoul saw singers dipping their toes into rapping and/or singing over rap-styled beats, melodic rap is done almost exclusively by rappers.

See also the PatterSong, in which a light melody is combined with comedically fast and intricate lyrics. Patter songs come from the music hall tradition rather than hip-hop, but a handful of rappers (most obviously, Music/{{Eminem}}) have made melodic songs drawing from the style.

* Music/{{Eminem}} explored an IronicNurseryRhyme version of this in the mid-2000s to fit his SubvertedKidsShow aesthetic. His 2018 album ''Kamikaze'' and 2020 double album ''Music To Be Murdered By'' feature various melodic rap songs, though the irony level ranges between [[FollowTheLeader straight attempts to stay relevant]], [[AffectionateParody friendly satire]] and [[CopycatMockery mean-spirited]] {{Diss Track}}s.

* Music/{{Eminem}} explored an IronicNurseryRhyme version of this in the mid-2000s to fit his SubvertedKidsShow aesthetic. His 2018 album ''Kamikaze'' and 2020 double album ''Music To Be Murdered By'' feature various melodic rap styles ranging in irony level from [[FollowTheLeader unironic modernising of his sound]] to AffectionateParody to CopycatMockery {{Diss Track}}s.
** ''Music/{{Encore}}'' (2004)
** ''Music/{{Kamikaze}}'' (2018)
** ''Music/MusicToBeMurderedBy'' (2020)

* Music/{{Eminem}} explored an IronicNurseryRhyme version of this in the mid-2000s to suit his SubvertedKidsShow aesthetic. His 2018 album ''Kamikaze'' and 2020 double album ''Music To Be Murdered By'' feature pastiches of various melodic rap styles ranging in tone from AffectionateParody to TheDissTrack.

* Music/{{Eminem}} and his protégé Music/FiftyCent helped normalise half-sung hooks (and a few entire songs) in the early-mid 2000s, at a time when few other rappers were doing this, and were branded by the press as "rap crooners". Eminem abandoned the style at the beginning of the 2010s, but towards the end of the decade began to make songs parodying the style like the Music/{{Migos}}-mocking "Chloraseptic", the Music/{{Drake}} pastiche "Normal" and the novelty song "Tone Deaf".

* Music/{{Eminem}} and his protégé Music/FiftyCent helped normalise half-sung hooks (and a few entire songs) in the early-mid 2000s, at a time when few other rappers were doing this, and were branded by the press as "rap crooners". Eminem abandoned the style at the beginning of the 2010s, but at the end of the decade began to make songs parodying the style like the Music/{{Drake}} spoof "Normal" and the AutoTune novelty song "Tone Deaf".

* Music/SnoopDogg (TropeMaker and [[GenrePopularizer popularizer]])

* MC Solaar (one of the first to use that style of rapping in France)

Melodic rap is a sub-genre of hip-hop (specifically of PopRap) where, as the name implies, a rapper's flow is infused with a singing-like melody. While this style's been around in some form since at least the [=1990s=], it became wildly popular in the latter half of the 2000s and into TheNewTens, thanks largely to Music/TPain and Music/{{Drake}}, as well as Music/KanyeWest's wildly-influential 2008 release, ''[=808s=] & Heartbreak''. According to [[UsefulNotes/GrammyAward the Recording Academy]], melodic rap is defined as "a strong and clear presence of melody combined with rap cadence, and is inclusive of dialects, lyrics or performance elements from non-rap genres including R&B, rock, country, electronic or more." While other rap-adjacent sub-genres like NewJackSwing and HipHopSoul saw singers dipping their toes into rapping and/or singing over rap-styled beats, melodic rap is done almost exclusively by rappers.

The origin of melodic flows in hip-hop is actually pretty circular in origin. In the [=1950s=] Jamaican {{Reggae}} deejay Count Matchuki pioneered reggae [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toasting_(Jamaican_music) toasting]] by listening to black American radio [=DJs=] talking jive, and imitated it while playing and selecting R&B music with sound systems. He and other reggae deejays would go around with travelling sound systems playing the latest hits, and toast over them. Many of those toasts consisted of boasting, humor, and half-sung rhymes and chants, among other things. Toasting would soon spread to other Caribbean genres like ska and dancehall, and it would be a major influence on both hip-hop and electronic music later on.

Of course, a major point of contention with melodic rap, aside from some purists considering it to be too poppy, is where the line is drawn between it and straight-up R&B. While said line has been increasingly blurred since the late eighties, thanks to new jack swing and its later spinoffs, it only became blurrier with the success of Music/{{Drake}} from 2011 onward, whose melodic, R&B-drenched style challenged the boundary between rap and R&B music. Another point of criticism in recent times is the overuse of Auto-Tune by many melodic rappers. While T-Pain ''usually'' gets a pass, due to being [[GrandfatherClause the originator]], as well as being a good singer who simply uses it for artistic effect, countless others who've copied him have been criticized for simply throwing AutoTune on their voices haphazardly, and barely singing in key or rhythm, if at all. This led to melodic rap becoming a derided component of the "mumble rap" trend in the mid-[=2010s=] and onward, but the criticism did little to stop the commercial success of Auto-Tuned melodic rappers, particularly Music/{{Future}} and Music/YoungThug.