Editing Horrorcore (section)

{{short description|Subgenre of hip hop music based in horror-themed lyrical content and imagery}}
{{Distinguish|Horror punk}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Horrorcore
| other_names       = Shock rap, horror hip hop, horror rap, death hip hop, death rap, murder rap
| image             = Gravediggaz-02-mika.jpg
| caption           = [[Gravediggaz]], a pioneering horrorcore group, whose violent, horror-themed lyrics have been considered key to giving the subgenre its identity and shape.
| stylistic_origins = *[[Shock rock]]
*[[horror fiction]]
*[[shock value]]
*[[hardcore hip hop]]
*[[gangsta rap]]
| cultural_origins  = Early-mid 1980s, United States
| local_scenes      = {{hlist|[[Music of Detroit|Detroit]]|[[Southern hip-hop|Houston]]|[[Memphis rap|Memphis]]}}
| other_topics      = {{hlist|[[Horror punk]]|[[death metal]]|[[deathrock]]|[[rap metal]]|[[psychobilly]]|[[Witch house (music genre)|witch house]]|[[juggalo]]}}
}}

'''Horrorcore''' (also called '''shock rap''', '''horror hip hop''', '''horror rap''', '''death hip hop''', '''death rap''', or '''murder rap''') is a subgenre of [[hip hop music]] based on [[horror fiction|horror]]-themed and often darkly [[Transgressive art|transgressive]] lyrical content and imagery. Its origins derived from certain [[hardcore hip hop]] and [[gangsta rap]] artists, such as the [[Geto Boys]], who began to incorporate [[supernatural]], the [[occult]], and [[psychological horror]] themes into their lyrics. Other early originators and influences on the genre include [[Gravediggaz]], [[Flatlinerz]], [[Three 6 Mafia]], [[Brotha Lynch Hung]], [[Necro (rapper)| Necro]], and [[Kool Keith]].

Unlike most hardcore hip hop and gangster rap artists, horrorcore artists often push the violent content and imagery in their lyrics beyond the realm of realistic urban violence, to the point where the violent lyrics become gruesome, ghoulish, unsettling, or inspired by [[slasher film]]s or [[splatter film]]s. While exaggerated violence and the supernatural are common in horrorcore, the genre also frequently presents more realistic yet still disturbing portrayals of [[mental illness]] and [[drug abuse]]. Some horrorcore artists eschew supernatural themes or exaggerated violence in favor of more subtle and dark psychological horror imagery and lyrics.

Horrorcore has incited controversy, with some members of the law enforcement community asserting that the genre incites crime.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/law-enforcement-claims-horrorcore-genre-incites-crime/story?id=9739420|title='Horrorcore': Does Genre Incite Murder?|website=ABC News|access-date=October 14, 2019|archive-date=September 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130918115335/https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/law-enforcement-claims-horrorcore-genre-incites-crime/story?id=9739420|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.journal-news.com/news/crime--law/horrorcore-music-fans-linked-violence/HXLXoYmcZFdO98me49SDyN/|title='Horrorcore' music fans linked to violence|first=Staff Writer|last=Tom Beyerlein|website=journal-news|access-date=October 14, 2019|archive-date=May 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511100230/https://www.journal-news.com/news/crime--law/horrorcore-music-fans-linked-violence/HXLXoYmcZFdO98me49SDyN/|url-status=live}}</ref> Fans and artists have been blamed for numerous high-profile instances of violent criminal activity, including the [[Columbine High School massacre]],<ref name="Columbine">{{Cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2016/07/24/are-the-juggalos-a-gang-or-a-supportive-fraternity/|title=Are the Juggalos a gang or a supportive fraternity?|first=Sean|last=Murphy|date=July 24, 2016|access-date=October 14, 2019|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112034411/https://nypost.com/2016/07/24/are-the-juggalos-a-gang-or-a-supportive-fraternity/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="BrooksBrown">{{cite book
 |last=Brown
 |first=Brooks
 |date=2002
 |title=No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death at Columbine
|publisher=Red Wheel/Weiser
 |isbn=9781590560310
 |url=https://archive.org/details/pdfy-pC_WzWbOzxls5ms1
 }}</ref> the [[Farmville murders]], murders of law enforcement officers, and gang activity.