The 414 is putting the fun back in hip hop.
Over the last decade, the Midwest has quietly become one of the most important regions in hip hop. From the rise of the dark and gritty drill sound out of Chicago throughout the 2010’s, to the overwhelming takeover of the offbeat flows and asymmetrical drums out of Detroit and Flint since 2020, the often overlooked region has been pumping out new talent and original sounds for over a decade.
Over the last year, Milwaukee has emerged as the next-up Midwestern City – with NoBells calling it “the most exciting city for rap on the planet right now.” Defined by its busy low-end production, unmistakable uniform claps, and highly catchy (and safe to say unorthodox) melodies that are oftentimes drowned in autotune, the city’s sound is fun, raw and accompanied by a host of goofy dances moves marked by flapping arms and knees and the iconic “disco fingers” – not to mention a long list of Milwaukee-specific slang including fun-to-say phrases like “Brudder,” “Fire Bittys” and “Onna g”.
While the scene has been bubbling for several years with notable early risers like Certified Trapper acting as a niche curiosity for most outsiders and bubbling mainstream stars like DC The Don, recently J.P.’s undeniably infectious breakout hit “Bad Bitty” has captured the country’s imagination and helped the 414 reach farther than ever before. In April, the Milwaukee sound hit a new highpoint with three spots on Billboard’s TikTok Top 50 for J.P.’s “Bad Bitty” (#27), Certified Trapper’s “Oi” (#21), and 414BigFrank’s “Eat her up“ (#50).
With new cosigns of the 414 sound rolling in daily from around the industry – from Veeze and Cash Cobain getting down to “Bad Bitty”, to Sexyy Red’s support of Chicken P, or The Game doing the dances to Myaap’s “Get to it” – it’s safe to say Milwaukee is up… on my doddy!
While the city has had longtime local staples in artists like Chicken P, Jigg, Joe Pablo, MarijuanaXo, Munch Lauren, StevedaStoner and Spaidez, the new wave of activity in Milwaukee can almost certainly be traced back to the summer of 2022. It was then that an unlikely Youtuber and 414-native named Tommy G unknowingly helped spark a new frenzy of activity with his Youtube documentaries following the city’s local rap scene (and adjacent car-theft epidemic known as The Kia Boys). Featuring artists of the new generation like Certified Trapper and Ayooli, the doc shined a light on the wild energy of the city as well as the unorthodox charisma, insider slang, and fierce resourcefulness of its local artists. Capitalizing on his time in the spotlight, Certified would rise to prominence in 2022 with his self-produced clap-heavy sound and wacky lofi visuals – giving many from around the country their first taste of the 414 and becoming the most widely recognizable face from the city.
After diving into the scene one will find a few different flavors of the Milwaukee sound, bound together by their common lingo, distinct production utilizing lowends and claps, and seemingly more born entertainers than any other zip code in America. Chicken P, who initially gained traction in the late 2010s, represents a more rap-first, street-focused sound that combines the melodies, claps, and overall Milwaukee feel with grittier, more Detroit-style production: a sound that is often traced back to his 2019 collab with fallen legend Jigg, “Fast Cash Babies.”
Now back on the streets and consistently dropping new and improved like his recent tape Hardest N**** Living, Chicken is no doubt one of the most promising 414 artists resonating outside the region – capitalizing on the growing taste for off-kilter flows and Detroit-type production with an unmistakable Milwaukeean flair. For those not quite ready to dive headfirst into the chaotic lowend side of the pool, other popular artists to check out in the street-first cateogry (with varying levels of wonky autotune) would include Joe Pablo, MarijuanaXo, SME Taxfree, Mula Mar, Axion, LBF Jay, Big Haulin, Dai Ballin, LilRb and RRB Duck.
Carvie P also deserves a special shoutout for creating two of the most quintessentially Milwaukee songs in “Rexx” (inspiring the subsequent “Potrexx” by LilQua, Naz Turnt and Zavy 50) as well as “Like Woah” with Stevedadstoner – yet another highly entertaining character displaying the resourcefulness of the 414 as he documents his impressive grassroots hustle with daily escapades and “free concerts” around the city.
Throughout 2023, a new crop of female artists contributed to the growing wave. Newcomers like young firecracker Myaap went all-in on the city’s sound. Utilizing recognizable samples infused with the signature clap-heavy production on tracks like “Wham,” “I Ain’t Hiding” and “Wine 4 Em,” Myaa’s countless viral Tiktoks and reels featuring the many wacky Milwaukee dances have made her one of the undisputable new faces of the city – showcased most recently on her new tape, YOP!.
Just this year, Yonaa seemingly came out of nowhere to captivate social media with her absolutely relentless bars and energetic emotes across a host of unreleased snippets. Since then she’s backed up her tough talk and explosive delivery with tracks like “Goat Talk,” Myaap collab “Choppa Sound” and her recent On the Radar Freestyle. 414JungleBaby also jumped in the mix this year with breakout hit “Red Light” featuring her signature Dej Loaf-esque, autotune-heavy sound. Lonnie Monae has been showing she’s “Really Onnat” with consistent releases. And not to forget Bristackz whose lovably chaotic energy, unapologetically wild bars, and fiercely independent approach fully embody the 414 spirit and are positively impossible to look away from – in peak form on tracks like “PINK,” “Gimmie Dat sh*t” and her latest tape DIE4STACKZ.
It would be impossible not to mention the bustling Milwaukee underground that produces even more out-of-the-box and sometimes alt-leaning flavors of the sound. There’s a long list of local favorites like Ayooli, Donny Ying, Lil Sinn and Ericwiththeglockinhissock, the various members and affiliates of the RunAlongForever collective including Maz G, S.U.N.N.Y Lou and Kill.dawn, as well as a number of forward thinking artist-producers like Tombo, Gucco, MKE Neely and friend-of-the-414, Feardorian – all of whom are pushing the boundaries of what is already the most unorthodox regional sound on the major stage. And of course, not to forget the many creative and innovative producers like Cryjing, Aczavier, P the Producer, Nedarb, Systematik, Tommy Electra, ThatGuyEli, Yeahitis, BeatsbyKelly, Babatobi, IBNFarmacia, and many more who are helping to craft the wild Milwaukee soundscape and export its infectious energy to the masses.
Even though J.P. had some early success in 2023 with his song “Juicey Ahh”, it wasn’t until he dropped “Bad Bitty” in February of 2024 that his popularity exploded. Shortly after being released, the song started gaining traction from the subtly hilarious videos he would record in his basketball team’s locker room at the University of Wisconsin and other random locations with his buddies like 414BigFrank. Drawn in by his goofy “young-oldhead” dance moves, the combination of the Milwaukee claps, 414 lingo, and J.P.’s surprisingly incredible vocal chops (what Russ referred to as “elite melodies”) proved to be the perfect recipe to introduce a wider audience to the infectious regional style.
Like many of the popular sounds in recent times from the “offbeat” Detroit flow to Sexy Drill to Jerk; the Milwaukee sound is fun, fresh and may take some getting used to. But once you’ve acquired the taste you can’t get enough. J.P.’s rise to viral star status seemingly overnight marked the first time since Certified Trapper’s initial rise that Milwaukee was making a splash on the national stage – and his hilariously titled new album Coming Out Party is sure to continue to convert nonbelievers and pique new listeners’ curiosity in the polarizing regional sound.
Already, the uniform clap pattern is sneaking its way into the sounds of attentive artists from around the country – some recent examples being Anycia’s recent track “Type Beat,” DC2Trill of Concrete Boys’ “Clap,” or Detroit’s Pablo Skywalkin entire recent project, Trapper Flow, dedicated to the sound.
The music, the moves and the many entertaining characters of the 414 have already begun to capture the imagination of industry. As the city’s sound and current stars continue to develop while new stars undoubtedly continue to emerge, it’s only a matter of time before the entire country is wildly flapping their arms and pointing their fingers to clappy lowend production in 2024.
Dive into the Milwaukee scene with J.P.’s new album ‘Coming Out Party’ below!
Milwaukee’s J.P. throws a ‘Coming Out Party’ for his debut project
