From OutKast to Lil Yachty, Atlanta has been a musical hub for hip-hop since the late 80s. In recent years, a new sub-genre of hip-hop has resurfaced: trap. If you’ve never listened to trap, envision this: loud bass and eccentric beats.

Taj-Malik Tavares, a junior trap-enthusiast said his favorite trap artist is the lesser-known 22 Savage. He finds his deep love of 22 Savage within the passion Savage expresses in his beautiful beats. “He’s my favorite because of the way he develops his music into a God’s dream,” said Tavares, “He makes me want to be a better person.”

The Trap enthusiast said he finds deep joy in Savage’s songs. “He is a god walking on earth. I love everything about him.”

Sophomore Isaiah Hiley is only slightly less expressive in his enjoyment when listening to rapper XXXtentacion. “I’m not going to pretend like X is particularly inspiring or has a good message in his music,” said Hiley.

But Hiley said listening to ballads by his trap hero helps heighten his musical capabilities. “When I listen to X my trap proficiency goes up threefold,” he said.

Isaac Ashmore, a junior and one-time trap artist said he’s never experienced anything quite like the excellence of rapper Lil Peep. “Lil Peep is the essence of intelligence walking upon the sands of our time,” said Ashmore. “His utter brilliance and profound knowledge of music theory is what drives our innovative thought into the post-Internet era.”

As evidenced by the passionate participants listed above, trap music is not only inspiring but increasingly developing into better versions of itself. Whether it’s the flagrant, and obviously wise, lyrics of Famous Dex or the boisterous beats of XXXtentacion, there’s a trap song out there for everyone.