According to critic Matt Preira, writing in the Miami New Times, hipster-hop constitutes a "discernable transition in rap music," one which incorporates elements of hipster culture. Preira claims that it is "a brewing microgenre poised to take the mainstream by storm".[3] Chicago Reader critic Miles Raymer says that hipster rappers "screw around with old school signifiers," but that hipster rap "embodies the same sort of utopian, big-tent ideal that old-school hip-hop did." According to Raymer, it works the "leading edge of the interplay between rap music and dance music," while being defined by hipsteresque fashions and attitudes.[2]
In summary, hipster rap is characterized by a blurring of the lines between "'pure' rap, hip-hop, R&B, pop, and rock".[4] Critics have often associated it with Seattle, Washington groups such as Mad Rad, although the group denies that their music falls into the genre.[5]
