Phonk (/ˈfɒŋk/) is a subgenre of hip hop and trap music directly inspired by 1990s Memphis rap.[1] Mostly present on the SoundCloud platform, the music is characterized by nostalgic funk samples, often accompanied by vocals from old Memphis rap tapes. The genre typically takes samples from early-1990s hip hop, combining them with sounds from jazz,[2] and deploys distorting techniques such as chopped and screwed to create a darker sound.[1][2]
History
Often defined as the "sound of Gen Z",[1][2] the Memphis phonk sound was pioneered in the 2000s by artists such as DJ Paul, X-Raided, Phonk Beta, DJ Screw, and the collective Three 6 Mafia, with the Houston chopped and screwed seen as the precursor to the genre.[2] While phonk died down at the end of the 2000s, it saw a resurgence in the early 2010s. The word "phonk" was popularized by SpaceGhostPurrp, who released tracks such as Pheel Tha Phonk, Bringin' Tha Phonk, and Keep Bringin' Tha Phonk.[3][4]YouTube channels, such as TrillPhonk, also helped popularize the genre.[5]
During the 2010s, phonk saw a huge shift to SoundCloud, with the genre drawing inspiration from artists like XXXTentacion, Ski Mask the Slump God, Trippie Redd, and others.[2] Phonk toned down the trap variant, moving away from the "gritty, dark, Memphis-oriented sound", bringing to light more jazz and classic hip hop.[2] Between 2016 and 2018, Phonk was among the most listened genres on SoundCloud, with the hashtag #phonk among the most trending each year.[6][7][8]
Characteristics
A peculiarity of phonk is the fact that it's not anchored to a regional "scene":[1][2] this is tied with the nature of SoundCloud itself as a platform, which highlights subgenres derived from hip hop and experimental pop.[9] Indeed, phonk artist Lowpocus stated in an interview in 2017: "What is fascinating about [phonk] is that these artists come from all over the world: you can find producers of phonk in Canada, in the United States, in France and even in Russia!"[10] Other artists associated with phonk include DJ Smokey, Soudiere, Mythic, DJ Yung Vamp, NxxxxxS, and SwuM.[3][10]
