Volume 3: The Underground

The big picture

Phonk started in the early-1990s Memphis rap scene: lo-fi, dark, deliberately crude. Internet producers rediscovered it in the 2010s and mutated it into slow-tempo beats with heavy distortion, cowbell samples, Memphis vocal chops, and a deep 808 that sounds like it's being crushed. Brazilian Phonk pushed the formula faster and harder, adding funk carioca and Brazilian bass culture for aggressive, high-BPM tracks built for drift culture and workout videos. Both now live under one umbrella despite sounding very different.

Beat anatomy

What the drums sound like

• Hi-hat triplets or rapid hi-hat patterns, the driving pulse of phonk
• Cowbell: the signature sound, sharp and clicky on the offbeat
• Heavy 808 kick, distorted and pushed to the point of breaking up
• Clap or snare with a reverb tail, wide and cavernous
• Brazilian Phonk: faster hi-hats, aggressive kicks, higher energy overall

What the instruments sound like

• Distorted 808 bass: the low end crunches and clips, intentionally
• Memphis rap vocal samples: chopped and pitched speech from old rap records
• Dark synth pads: minor key, slow-moving, atmospheric
• Electric guitar (distorted): aggressive riffs, especially in Brazilian Phonk
• Violin or orchestral samples: pitched down and distorted for drama

Signature moves

• The cowbell loop: a pattern that doesn't line up with the kick, creating a lurching feel
• Sample chops: an old Memphis vocal chopped into a rhythmic melody
• Distortion as aesthetic: everything is slightly broken on purpose
• Drop structure: Brazilian Phonk lives for the drop, build then release
• Drift energy: the beat feels like it's accelerating at a constant tempo

Soundtrap starter

• Original Phonk: set BPM to 80. Search "dark drums" or "trap drums" with hi-hat triplets
• Brazilian Phonk: set BPM to 148. Search "aggressive drums" or "hard trap"
• Add a cowbell, or a high metallic percussion loop
• Search "dark bass" or "808 bass" and turn it up until it pushes
• Add one dark synth pad in a minor key, slow-moving chords

The big picture

Hyperpop is the internet's answer to maximalism. It takes pop song structures and amplifies everything to an absurd degree: faster tempos, higher pitches, heavier distortion, more extreme emotions. What sounds like chaos is actually a precisely constructed exaggeration of pop conventions. Born from SOPHIE, PC Music, and 100 gecs in the mid-2010s, it's become the native sound of Gen Z online culture and has influenced mainstream pop more than most people realize.

Beat anatomy

What the drums sound like

• Extremely loud, clicky, digitally processed drums
• Hi-hats at very fast subdivisions, 32nd notes or faster
• Snare like a digital explosion, heavily compressed and layered
• Sudden stops and starts, the beat drops out without warning
• Polyrhythm: multiple drum patterns at different rates at once

What the instruments sound like

• Synthesizers: extremely bright, harsh, digitally aggressive, no warmth
• Pitch-shifted vocals: way up (chipmunk) or way down for contrast
• Distorted bass: square-wave bass that buzzes and clips constantly
• Glitches and artifacts: digital errors used as musical elements
• Pop melody fragments: recognizable ideas that get warped and destroyed

Signature moves

• Pitch shift: vocals and instruments shifted drastically up or down
• The breakdown: sudden silence or drastically reduced texture
• Layering to excess: 20+ tracks that shouldn't work but somehow do
• Emotional whiplash: aggressive to vulnerable in two bars
• Breaking the grid: hyperpop isn't always locked to a tempo grid

Soundtrap starter

• Set BPM to 160. Search "electronic drums," aggressive and digital
• Add a bright "synth lead" or "pluck," louder than feels comfortable
• Add a distorted bass loop and let it fight with your synth
• Use Soundtrap's pitch tools to shift elements up or down dramatically
• Break something on purpose: delete a random bar and see what happens

The big picture

Jersey Club is high-energy dance music from Newark and Jersey City in the late 2000s. It's built on fast, syncopated kick patterns, chopped vocal samples, and a groove that makes it physically impossible to stand still. With roots in Baltimore Club, it has cross-pollinated with hip-hop, reggaeton, and house, and exploded through dance content on social media. Its choppy vocal-sample style now appears far outside the genre.

Beat anatomy

What the drums sound like

• The signature kick pattern: kicks on unexpected beats, stuttering and bouncing
• High-pitched snare or clap, sharp and percussive
• Hi-hats running fast and continuous
• The "skip" pattern: bass-drum hits that feel like they skip over the beat
• Minimal crash cymbals, the kit is lean and functional

What the instruments sound like

• Vocal chops: the essential element, short fragments looped and rearranged rhythmically
• Bass: simple, punchy, follows the kick pattern
• Synthesizers: bright stabs used sparingly, the drums are the main event
• Sample flips: recognizable pop, R&B, or hip-hop samples chopped and rebuilt
• Air horns and FX: DJ-style sound effects for energy peaks

Signature moves

• The vocal chop loop: 2–3 syllables looped rhythmically
• The kick roll: rapid kick hits building into a section
• Call and response: a vocal element followed by a drum fill
• The breakdown and reload: energy drops, then reloads with full force
• Sample flips: a recognizable sample as the melodic foundation

Soundtrap starter

• Set BPM to 138. Search "club drums" or "dance drums"
• Look for an off-kilter, skipping kick pattern, not straight four-on-the-floor
• Search "vocal chop" or "vocal sample," your main melodic element
• Add a simple bass loop underneath
• Keep it lean: 3–4 tracks. Jersey Club is about groove, not layers

The big picture

Grime came from East London in the early 2000s, born from the collision of UK garage, jungle, dancehall, and hip-hop. It's defined by an angular, choppy 140 BPM instrumental style and by MCs who flow over it with rapid-fire, rhythmically complex delivery. The sound is metallic, cold, jagged. Melodies are built from short, stabbing synth notes rather than smooth progressions, and the energy is aggressive and confrontational.

Beat anatomy

What the drums sound like

• Sparse, metallic drums, not warm or organic
• Kick and snare patterns with lots of space between hits
• Hi-hats used minimally; when they hit, they accent
• Claps that sound digital and sharp, not organic
• Silence used deliberately, the spaces matter as much as the drums

What the instruments sound like

• Synth stabs: short, sharp, metallic notes, the defining grime sound
• Eski beat style: ice-cold high-pitched melodies, from producers like Wiley
• Strings: orchestral, used dramatically and sparingly
• Sub bass: deep but restrained, sits back rather than dominating
• Video game sounds: 8-bit and chiptune elements as melodic content

Signature moves

• The eski flip: a high-pitched, syncopated melodic pattern from early grime
• Silence drops: the beat stops completely, leaving just the MC's voice
• Minimal production: very few elements, space is the point
• The riddim: a grime instrumental MCs freestyle over, traded between MCs
• Reloads: crowd culture in the music, energy resets within a track

Soundtrap starter

• Set BPM to 140. Search "electronic drums" or "digital drums," cold and metallic
• Add a bright, stabbing synth loop: short notes, not sustained pads
• Add a minimal bass loop that sits low and stays out of the way
• Leave space. Three elements that breathe beat six that fight

The big picture

Alté (pronounced "al-tay," from "alternative") is a movement born in Lagos in the 2010s that blends Afrobeats rhythms with indie, R&B, soul, electronic, and experimental influences. Where mainstream Afrobeats optimizes for global pop appeal, Alté prioritizes artistic expression, visual identity, and countercultural attitude. Artists like Odunsi (The Engine), Santi, and Lady Donli built a sound that honors its African roots while refusing to be defined by them: eclectic, textured, and often deliberately lo-fi.

Beat anatomy

What the drums sound like

• Afrobeats patterns with more space and less density than the mainstream
• Hand percussion: talking drum, shekere, congas blended with electronic drums
• Deliberately lo-fi drum textures, slightly muffled or dusty
• Trap-influenced drum machines blended with organic percussion
• Hi-hats used minimally and expressively, not constantly

What the instruments sound like

• Guitar: clean electric or acoustic, often indie-influenced chord shapes
• Piano and Rhodes: jazz- and soul-influenced voicings, lush and warm
• Synthesizers: vintage and retro, analog warmth over digital brightness
• Strings: lo-fi orchestral textures, often with vinyl crackle on top
• Bass: warm and melodic, following the emotional arc of the track

Signature moves

• Aesthetic layering: lo-fi vinyl textures, room noise, ambient sounds, intentional
• Genre blending: an Afrobeats groove into an indie-rock guitar in 16 bars
• Emotional directness: lyrics and production both wear their feelings openly
• Visual-music integration: Alté is as much a fashion movement as a genre
• Language mixing: Yoruba, Pidgin, and English in the same verse

Soundtrap starter

• Set BPM to 95. Search "Afrobeats drums" or "percussion"
• Add a clean "guitar" or "indie guitar" loop
• Find a warm "piano" or "Rhodes" loop for harmony
• Add a "vinyl" or "lo-fi" texture loop for atmosphere
• Keep it mid-tempo and emotional, not aggressive, not passive

The big picture

Afro House fuses the structure and energy of house music with African rhythms, percussion, and sensibilities. It emerged from South Africa and the broader African electronic scene and is now global, from Johannesburg to Ibiza. It's connected to Amapiano (which it predates and overlaps), but Afro House is generally darker, more bass-heavy, and more rooted in classic house structures. Black Coffee, Themba, and Enoo Napa brought it international attention while keeping it rooted in African identity.

Beat anatomy

What the drums sound like

• Four-on-the-floor kick on every beat, driving and consistent
• African percussion over the house machine: djembe, talking drum, shakers
• Congas and bongos adding polyrhythmic texture above the groove
• Claps and snares used sparingly, usually on 2 and 4
• Deep, resonant kick with lots of low-end weight

What the instruments sound like

• Deep bass: sub-bass that moves through the body, not just the ears
• Organ and piano: soulful chord stabs in the gospel-house tradition
• African vocal samples: chants, calls, and traditional vocal textures
• String pads: wide and atmospheric, creating space rather than filling it
• Kalimba and thumb piano: melodic, bright contrast to the deep bass

Signature moves

• The percussion breakdown: drop the electronic drums, feature only African percussion
• Vocal spiritual energy: chants or samples that feel ceremonial
• The long build: tracks and sets are patient, energy builds over many minutes
• Bass movement: the bass melody moves independently of the chords
• Hypnotic repetition: small elements repeating with tiny variations

Soundtrap starter

• Set BPM to 124. Search "house drums" for that four-on-the-floor kick
• Add an "African percussion" or "conga" loop on top
• Find a deep "bass" or "sub bass" loop
• Add a "piano" or "organ" loop for soul, minimal chord stabs
• Search "African vocal" or "chant" for spiritual atmosphere

The big picture

Drill started in Chicago, was transformed in London into UK Drill, and has since been localized across Europe. Italian Drill and French Drill are two of the most developed variants, both taking UK Drill's dark, sliding 808 patterns and blending them with local culture, language, and street realities. Italian Drill is often darker and more orchestral, with heavy strings, piano, and minor-key classical samples. French Drill pulls from French trap and carries North and West African influences, making it more rhythmically complex.

Beat anatomy

What the drums sound like

• The UK Drill foundation: sparse kicks, delayed snare
• Hi-hat triplet rolls, the signature drill pattern, three per beat
• Deep, sliding 808 bass that bends between notes
• Italian Drill: more dramatic fills, orchestral percussion
• French Drill: tighter, more trap-influenced, sometimes faster hi-hats

What the instruments sound like

• Piano (Italian Drill): dark classical melodies, minor key, slow, cinematic
• Strings (Italian Drill): orchestral, a film-score atmosphere
• Synth pads (French Drill): atmospheric and minimal, supporting the 808
• Sliding 808: the melodic bass that slides between pitches, essential to all drill
• Bells and chimes: high-end melodic contrast to the heavy low end

Signature moves

• The 808 slide: the bass bends between two pitches instead of jumping
• Orchestral sampling (Italian): classical samples as melodic backbones
• The build and snap: tension builds through hi-hat activity, then snaps to sparse
• Cinematic atmosphere: production creates a dark, filmic feeling
• Language as texture: Italian and French lyrics used as rhythmic instruments

Soundtrap starter

• Set BPM to 142. Search "drill drums" or "UK drill" for sparse kick and triplet hi-hat
• Add a dark "piano" loop in a minor key for Italian flavor
• Or add a "synth pad" or atmospheric loop for French flavor
• Add an "808 bass" loop, ideally one with pitch movement
• Add "strings" for the Italian cinematic feel