Love it or hate it, rage rap isn’t just here to stay; it’s mutating in real time. From its chaotic early days, with Florida rappers XXXTentacion and Ski Mask the Slump God screaming over Slipknot samples and blown-out 808s, to instrumentals flooded with hyper-speed hi-hats and synths so distorted they felt hostile, the genre has never been about comfort. It’s about release. And now, rage rap has officially entered its next phase.
That much was obvious Friday (Nov. 28) at South Side Ballroom, where OsamaSon led a full-scale takeover. He’s the next name in a growing line of artists shaped by rage rap’s pioneers, none more influential than Playboi Carti.
If we are talking about rage rap, then we have to talk about its current king, Carti, really quickly. Not just because of the moshpit-ready anthems or the internet meltdown tracks, but because of the whole universe he built around the music, the gothic streetwear, the shape-shifting vocal fever dreams and the mystery surrounding his presence online. Carti didn’t just inspire music; he inspired identity within the genre…