9 Rappers Who Will Make Your Ears Bleed

In 2016, hip-hop is everywhere. You can hear the genre's influence in all facets of pop culture and all styles of music, but within hip-hop alone, the spectrum is expanding. On one end, you've got radio-friendly rap laced with pop melodies and pristine production—we've seen rap top the charts and become widely accepted by society as a valuable form of art.

But for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction. On the other end of this spectrum, we're seeing alternative rap become more abrasive, experimental, and unfit for mass consumption. This is the stuff that not everyone can enjoy. This is the stuff that makes your headphones sounds like they're broken. It's also some of the most visceral music we've ever heard. These are the rappers who will make your ears bleed.

Broward County, Florida rapper XXXTENTACION is blowing up, despite the fact that he's been in an out of jail over the past years. His songs have millions of plays on SoundCloud and he has a cult-like following, but it feels like this is still only the start of his journey. 

XXXTENTACION's most popular songs are all-out aural assaults, with heavily distorted bass and screamed delivery. Almost as if he knows that this much intensity is hard to deal with for a full three minutes or more, the rapper's most aggressive tracks have calmer breakdowns or melodic moments—just check out "Look At Me" which uses an incredible sample of James Blake's remix of Mala's "Changes" as its bedrock.

Not all of XXXTENTACION's songs will make your ears bleed, though, and the versatility he demonstrates on tracks like this or this could be important for the longevity of his career. As he explains during this super in-depth No Jumper podcast, don't put XXXTENTACION in a box, because he'll surprise you.

Wisconsin-based rapper Syringe toys with extreme noise, fetishism, and masochism on his most recent project, HELLHORSE. Between guttural yelps and hefty growls, he experiments with melody and even moments of beauty. To put it bluntly, Syringe is a conflicted individual, and he channels that into a wildly exciting sense of versatility across his music.

Deliberately off-putting one moment before bringing in a gorgeous melody, his music is all over the place, as if a vivid depiction of bipolar disorder in musical form. It can be uncomfortable, and it can be remarkably pleasant. Whatever it is he’s trying to do, there’s a guarantee it’ll never boring.

Read more about Syringe here.

Unlike so many other rappers working with extreme sounds, Bill Saber keeps his vocals relatively collected for the most part. With his intimidating and calculated flow, he turns things up when required, but never goes into a gruff yell like many of his peers. Instead, the intensity comes mostly from the instrumentals he works with, from producers like The Virus and Antidote.

The bubbling intensity of his rapping definitely brings out the best in the beats, making his onslaught of extremity a little easier to digest. It’s a minimal difference at times, and although he definitely doesn’t work only with hard-hitting production, he’s still an interesting character with a lot of promise.

In his spare time, Connecticut-based rapper Eric North is known to make swords. He also released a downsampled 60kbps version of his most recent project, -DEFCON_6. He approaches intensity a little differently than other like-minded rappers, opting for a chilly severity more than outright ferocity.

His music is capable of making those who listen to it a little on edge, and there’s a sense that’s the exact intent, making his recordings all the more potent. Working with the likes of Hnrk and Eric Dingus, two producers known more for melody and soundscapes than anxious walls of noise, Eric North brings out demons in others. That’s a compliment, because the demons he attracts also make for some incredibly exciting sounds.

Ski Mask The Slump God brings to mind some of Three 6 Mafia’s grimiest material, so while his music might not be as deafening as some of the other artists on this list, he's just as extreme. Like watching Sam Raimi’s cult classic Evil Dead on a damaged-beyond-repair VHS, Ski Mask’s distinctively lo-fi material feels like a window into a violent, nightmarish world.

Everything sounds just a little bit off, except for Ski Mask’s rapping, making for a uncanny and bizarre listening experience. It sounds like a house party which Michael Myers could show up to at any moment, and there’s no more perfect listening experience for Halloween than that.

Catch him going wild on tracks with XXXTENTACION, too.

Though he's made was as a producer for artists such as DJ Paul, Xavier Wulf, and SuicideBoys, JGRXXN can hold his own as a rapper. The Los Angeles artist often jumps on tracks with flows reminiscent of Three 6 Mafia, paired with apocalyptic bass and stubborn hi-hat trills. On "Avant Garde II," JGRXXN kicks it in full gear, snapping over spooky production alongside SuicideBoys and Ramirez. The screwface content and insane levels of bass are not to be missed.