Everybody loves trap music.
It's been around for decades on the Southern hip-hop scene, but 2012 saw the trap house get raided by electro and house producers. And despite the fact that the EDM trap phenomenon is barely a year old, Ultra Music Festival has already granted the genre its own showcase.
So if you like dirty, aggressive beats, dark melodies, and dancing as if modesty is just some vestigial social trait, don't miss these five shahs of Trapistan on Ultra 2013's Trapped stage.
See also:
-Ultra 2013's Weekend Two Is Officially Sold Out
-Ultra Music Festival 2013 Phase 3 Lineup: Tommie Sunshine, Dieselboy, Kleinenberg
-Ultra 2013: Ten Acts We're Excited to See
Carnage
This Los Angeles-based Guatemalan producer is a man on a mission to eat all the world's Chipotle and destroy all the world's dance floors. He's got a violent moniker. And his trap style is equally bloody -- hard-hitting textures over lethal doses of bass lean. His Bang! EP, on Fool's Gold Records, has more tinny ticks than a time bomb, and once the drop explodes at Ultra, there'll be nothing left.
UZ
The trap star known as UZ is a real mystery. Every hipster in the trap wants to know who lurks behind the terrorist mask and gold faceplate. Of course, though, it doesn't matter who's at work in the kitchen, as long as (s)he keeps putting out that real trap shit. Each UZ production is darker, grittier, and rowdier than the last. We don't know who UZ is, but (s)he is an absolute professional. This is Grade-A trap steak, served extra rare.
DJ Craze
Seriously, it doesn't matter what Craze is spinning -- trap, moombahton, house, electro -- because this six-time DMC world DJ champion is a master. He's been representing for the 305 as one of the best turntablists on the planet since the early 2000s, and he's firmly rooted in hip-hop tradition. A trap set from this man in his hometown during the biggest EDM weekend ever seen in Miami will be more than worth an hour of your time.
Baauer
Hold the collective groans. Because there is more to this New Yorker than "Harlem Shake." Even though that song just topped the Billboard charts, the "Shake" has been an anthem for a year, and Baauer's got lots of other hits, including "Dum Dum" and "Swerve." He started making music when he was 13, he loves waffles, and he'd go gay for Daft Punk. Plus, Baauer always drops the kind of unleashed trap set that inevitably ends with dry humping a stranger who just finished a sizzurp slurpee. Want to learn more about him? Read the Reddit AMA that he did last week.
Flosstradamus
Honestly, it's kind of weird that Dillon Francis is headlining Ultra's Trapped stage and not Flosstradamus. Sure, Francis is a huge name, but Floss's J2K and Autobot are the EDM kings of the trap thing. People literally riot when they play sets (even if they're prerecorded). They had Grand Central stuffed with freaks like a hood couch be stuffed with paper. These are the true shahs of Trapistan.
Ultra Music Festival 2013. With Deadmau5, Swedish House Mafia, Tiesto, Avicii, and others. Friday, March 16, to Sunday, March 17, and Friday, March 22, to Sunday, March 24.. Bayfront Park, 301 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. Visit ultramusicfestival.com.
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