Editing Horrorcore (section)

===Origins===
''[[LA Weekly]]'' listed [[Jimmy Spicer]]'s 1980 single "Adventures of Super Rhyme" as the first example of "proto-horrorcore", due to a lengthy segment of the song in which Spicer recounts his experience of meeting [[Count Dracula|Dracula]].<ref name="Kangas"/> The group [[Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde (group)|Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde]] specialized in horror-themed music. [[Dana Dane]]'s song "Nightmares" related a frightening narrative.<ref name="Kangas">{{cite news|url=https://www.laweekly.com/the-history-of-horrorcore-rap/|title=The History of Horrorcore Rap|author=Chaz Kangas|date=November 5, 2013|work=[[LA Weekly]]|access-date=August 1, 2020|archive-date=November 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103113249/https://www.laweekly.com/the-history-of-horrorcore-rap/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since 1986, [[Ganksta N-I-P|Ganxsta N.I.P.]] has performed horror-themed lyrics that he has described as "Psycho Rap", but he was not commonly considered to be horrorcore until the term came into mainstream prominence.<ref name=allhiphop>{{cite web|url=http://allhiphop.com/2014/09/29/ganxta-nip/|title=AllHipHop » Ganxta NIP: The Psycho Becomes A God Of Horrorcore|work=AllHipHop|date=September 29, 2014|access-date=March 26, 2015|archive-date=March 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150327002224/http://allhiphop.com/2014/09/29/ganxta-nip/|url-status=live}}</ref> Ganxsta N.I.P. has written lyrics for other groups, including [[Geto Boys]], who were also an influence on the early horrorcore sound.<ref name=allhiphop/>

In 1988, [[DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince]] released "[[A Nightmare on My Street]]", which described an encounter with [[Freddy Krueger]],<ref name=Kangas/> and [[the Fat Boys]] recorded the similarly-themed "[[Are You Ready for Freddy]]" for the film ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master]]'' and its soundtrack. 1988 is also the year [[Insane Poetry]] (at the time called His Majesti) released "Armed & Dangerous", followed by their debut single as Insane Poetry, "Twelve Strokes Till Midnight", one of the first examples of music specifically made to be horrorcore.<ref name=Kangas/> The following year saw the release of ''[[Boomin' Words from Hell]]'', the debut album of [[Detroit|Detroit-based]] rapper [[Esham]], who would become particularly influential on [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]] horrorcore (though he rejects the term, preferring "acid rap").<ref name="Kangas"/> 

Although [[Kool Keith]] claimed to have "invented horrorcore",<ref name=UKHH>{{cite web |url=http://www.ukhh.com/features/interviews/kool_keith/index.html |title=Kool Keith Interview |access-date=August 4, 2008 |author=Kane |author2=QED |date=July 19, 2007 |publisher=Original UK Hip Hop |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621054450/http://www.ukhh.com/features/interviews/kool_keith/index.html |archive-date=June 21, 2008 }}</ref> the first use of the term appeared on the group KMC's 1991 album ''[https://www.discogs.com/master/163094-KMC-Three-Men-With-The-Power-Of-Ten Three Men With the Power of Ten]''. Nonetheless, Kool Keith brought significant attention to horror-influenced hip hop with his lyrical content as a part of [[the Ultramagnetic MC's]] and his 1996 debut solo album ''[[Dr. Octagonecologyst]]''.

In 2024, writers at [[Complex magazine|Complex]] described [[Nas]]' 1994,  debut studio album ''[[Illmatic]]''  as "shocking, borderline horrorcore (before horrorcore was a genre)". The album showcased Nas's early '90s style of rap and was credited with generating significant hype for the MC.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rose |first=Complex Staff, Insanul Ahmed, OrNah, Noah Callahan-Bever, Christine Werthman, Ernest Baker, Rob Kenner, Frazier Tharpe, Damien Scott, Brendan Klinkenberg, Ross Scarano, Eric Skelton, Angel Diaz, Jordan |title=The Best Rapper Alive, Every Year Since 1979 |url=https://www.complex.com/music/a/complexstaff3/the-best-rapper-alive-every-year-since-1979 |access-date=2024-06-01 |website=Complex |language=en-us |archive-date=April 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240410033809/https://www.complex.com/music/a/complexstaff3/the-best-rapper-alive-every-year-since-1979 |url-status=live }}</ref>