It’s an exciting time for hardcore and punk right now. We’re seeing the blending of genres everywhere from pop to rap, with elements of heavy music permeating outside of our own communities. In addition to the rise of emo rappers like $uicide Boy$ and Juice WRLD, several musicians in the rap and hip-hop scenes are taking the aggression of metal, punk, and hardcore and making it their own to forge the future of rock music. Here are five rappers embracing the scene.

Rico Nasty

Rico Nasty’s style is dripping in punk. The rapper can often be seen rocking liberty spikes and leather, and her style certainly reflects her music. Nasty has perfected her in-your-face, DMX-style scream and often collaborates with producer Kenny Beats to create bass-heavy, hardcore-inspired songs that never lose their energy. In her feature on Injury Reserve’s “Jawbreaker,” Nasty calls out those who criticize her blending of rap and punk: “You know you’re a Black girl right?/Your hair’s ‘sposed to be sewed in, not spiked up/I do what I want, not whatever gets the likes up.”

Ho99o9

Ho99o9’s been combining hardcore and rap for years now, earning them tour spots with Dillinger Escape Plan and Underoath. With booming 808’s, gritty lyrics focused on the lives of Black Americans and goth-inspired imagery, Ho99o9 is creating heavy music pulling influence from all over. The trio seamlessly moves from punk and metal riffs to trap beats without sacrificing any tenacity. 

Denzel Curry

You may know Denzel Curry from his “Bulls on Parade” cover, but the Florida rapper’s original music goes just as hard. Another collaborator of Kenny Beats, Curry has serious flow and bars combined with dark imagery. On “Clout Cobain,” Curry focuses on the dangers of putting artists on a pedestal, clout chasing, and drug abuse, certainly something that permeates the punk and metal scenes as well. 

lil aaron

lil aaron sits somewhere between blink-182 and Travis Scott. “Drugs” sounds like it came straight out of 2010 with its simple pop-punk lead, yet aaron manages to give it a modern twist with a trap breakdown. His Dark Matter EP takes influence from emo, seeing collaborations with Blackbear and Wicca Phase Springs Eternal.

Cold Hart

GothBoiClique members Lil Peep and Wicca Phase Springs Eternal have been at the forefront of the emo-rap genesis, but the collective’s budding artists are making waves of their own, namely SoCal-based Cold Hart. Seamlessly blending emo, trap, and punk, Cold Hart creates emotionally-layered, introspective tracks. It’s impossible to pin Cold Hart down to one genre. Sometimes he dabbles in R&B, while other tracks draw straight from punk.