The name “horrorcore,” as the gore-minded hip-hop subgenre has come to be known, has become a sinister offshoot of the rap underground. The roots of horrorcore can be traced to Jimmy Spicer rapping about the time he met Dracula on his epic 1980 single, “Adventures of Super Rhyme,” or DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince’s “Nightmare on My Street,” which parodied the horror franchise ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ in the ‘90s. From the beginning, rap’s love affair with horror films always had a certain edge.
The ghastly genre gained notoriety through over-the-top, horror-movie-inspired cuts by Geto Boys and their Texas affiliate Ganksta Nip, the comic carnage of rappers like the late Koopsta Knicca of Three 6 Mafia, and the conceptual genius of the RZA-fronted Gravediggaz. Although the genre has spanned four decades and counting, it gained momentum in the ‘90s and early aughts through shocking songs such as “Kim,” Eminem’s gruesome love letter to his ex, and “Dead Body Man,” by his then-rivals Insane Clown Posse.
Elsewhere, horror made macabre appearances in verses by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Kool Keith as Dr. Octagon, and more. The style has since metastasized, spreading through contemporary channels, from City Morgue and Flatbush Zombies to Kim Dracula and $UICIDEBOY$ (who even have a song called “Stop Calling Us Horrorcore”). The sound of horrorcore has mutated over time, but the content – an obsession with all things ghoulish and gory – remains gleefully consistent. Just in time for that most horrifying of holidays, we present you with a critical collection of horrorcore staples (and a couple of soon-to-be cult classics).
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CHUCKKLEZ - Darker Side Ft. Kung Fu Vampire & Steven Angel (Prod. Dj Lil Sprite)
“One of the most disturbing icons of horror and sickness,” as this San Jose artist touts himself. With help here from the “goth rapper”
Pouya - HARD 2 DA CORE
From Miami, the mononymous Pouya (real first name, Kevin) was an early icon of underground rap. He was also an early champion of $UICIDEBOY$.
TERROR REID - I.D.F.A.
“His words will live in the back of your head,” an ersatz anchorman intones at the outset of this rap track with sinister intentions.
Insane Clown Posse - Mutilator
Proving once again that the Posse have lost none of their derangement. Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope have been at their slicing, dicing shtick for more than 30 years.
NECRO OFFICIAL PAGE - Madness
A classic horror soundtrack forms the basis of this recent track from the veteran Brooklyn rapper. He’s also one-half of the hardcore hip-hop group, the Godfathers, alongside Kool G Rap.
Brotha Lynch Hung - I Can Be A Killa
New from the Sacramento native who is sometimes credited as the creator of horrorcore – though he prefers to call his brutal style “rip gut”
Geto Boys, “Mind Playing Tricks on Me”
“At night I can't sleep, I toss and turn Candlesticks in the dark, visions of bodies bein' burned” raps Scarface on Geto Boy’s “Mind Playing Tricks on Me.” The 1991 landmark track through the horrors of paranoia, helped by the horrorcore subgenre on the map.
Tech N9ne - Paranoia
The fast-paced “chopper” rapper began searching for ghosts as a kid in Kansas City. His next album, his 25th, is expected soon
Ganksta NIP - Horror Movie Rap
“Can’t kill me ‘cause I’m already dead,” declared this horrorcore pioneer more than 30 years ago. This classic of the form samples the ‘Halloween’ soundtrack
Freddie Dredd - Darko
Lo-fi underground rap from this Canadian rapper-producer. He released his debut album, ‘Freddie’s Inferno,’ in 2022
clipping. - Say The Name
Borrowing from the terrifying urban legend of the Candyman, this song’s refrain did double duty as the title of Daveed Diggs’ rap group’s fourth album, ‘Visions of Bodies Being Burned’
SEMATARY - WENDIGO
Recent release from Zane Steckler, founder of the underground hip-hop group Haunted Mound. True to form, he records in the “Butcher House,” an abandoned slaughterhouse
Eminem, “Kim”
“Why you always make me shout at you?” Em screams as the voice of his ex shrieks in terror. Almost a quarter century later, this one still feels extremely jarring.
Brotha Lynch Hung, “Dead Man Walking”
Hotboxing in a casket: On this 1995, the man sometimes credited as the creator of horrorcore basically lays out the genre in a nutshell.
Tech N9ne, “Am I A Psycho”
Kansas City’s fiercely independent rapper and horrorcore innovator joins forces with B.o.B and Hopsin for a gruesome and torturous journey through insanity.
Insane Clown Posse, “Dead Body Man”
“I just ate my first dead body last week,” boasts Violent J, the rapper and wrestler who makes up half of hip-hop’s most Halloween-y duo. “Still gots a fingernail caught in my teeth.” TMI, ICP?
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