Jerk (music genre)

Jerk
Xaviersobased performing at Baby's All Right in Brooklyn on February 2, 2023.
Other names	Nu-jerk[1][2]
Stylistic origins	Pluggnb trap plugg Milwaukee lowend[3] cloud rap digicore[3] jerk rap hyphy
Cultural origins	c. 2020; New York, United States
Typical instruments	Drum machine autotune synthesizer pitch shifter sampler
Derivative forms	Jugg
Subgenres
Hoodtrap[3] Vampjerk[3]
Regional scenes
United Kingdom
Other topics
Internet rap microgenre 2k13 Hood EDM underground rap sigilkore

Jerk is a microgenre of hip-hop that emerged in New York City during the early 2020s, drawing inspiration from the original wave of jerk rap, known as jerkin' in the street dance culture, which initially gained popularity in the early 2010s.

Music critic Kieran Press-Reynolds while writing for British magazine The Face described jerk as "fidgety rhythms, staggered snares and mangled vocals", and noted that a variety of jerk rappers "boast" but also showcase "a quirky and sensitive lyrical undercurrent [that] tends to lurk beneath the tough-guy facade".^[3]

According to New York magazine The Fader, although Xaviersobased and his collective 1c34 are credited with spearheading the jerk microgenre,^[4] he never listened to the original wave of jerk rap and is more inspired by Milwaukee rap's lowend scene in his "percussion choices".^[5]

In 2021, New York rapper Xaviersobased formed the collective 1c34,^[6][3][4] who reimagined the sound of jerk rap into a completely different style, adapting its framework to fit the evolving aesthetics of underground rap.^[3][4] They are credited with spearheading and popularizing the movement which was then further developed by Californian producer kashpaint.^[3] This new style of jerk rap blended elements of cloud rap, digicore, Milwaukee lowend and plugg.^[3][7][8]

The Face labelled tracks such as Xaviersobased's "Patchmade" (2022),^[9] Phreshboyswag's "Inspire" (2023),^[10] and Nettspend's "Shine n Peace" (2023) as "jerk anthems".^[3] Artists such as Yhapojj,^[11][12] ksuuvi,^[8] Bloody!,^[2] idkcap,^[2] percosits,^[2] Tenkay,^[13] Nettspend^[14][15] and Feardorian^[1] further contributed to the movement.^[1] "Underground heroes" like Duwap Kaine later drew influence from the style, releasing the album DuwapSoBased in 2023.^[3] Artists Islurwhenitalk and Subiibabii were credited with pioneering the "vampjerk" style, which drew from the genre sigilkore.^[3][16]

While rooted in the US, the jerk scene gained further momentum in the UK, with the movement being regarded as a "new UK rap revolution".^[17][18] The British jerk scene saw wider popularity in 2024, being spearheaded by artists like Fakemink^{[19][20][21][22]} as well as YT^[9][23][24] with his singles "Black and Tan" and "Prada or Celine".^[25][26] These releases were followed by further contributions in the genre by artists such as Jim Legxacy, EsDeeKid,^[27] Len and Fimiguerrero.^[10][28][29]

Jugg Edit rap (also known as Jugg or FXspam) is a microgenre that draws from the "twitchy snare rhythms" of jerk.^[16] While writing for Pitchfork, music critic Kieran Press-Reynolds stated that the style's "breakout smash" was the song "everyday is the same" by rapper ocelot, who drew inspiration from rapper islurwhenitalk "a sigilkore deity who pioneered this sort of ultra-twitchy, rhythmic meltdown that's as much dance music as rap".^[16] Artists such as Gomi, len333, syrgn and ss3bby have also been noted as influential in the development of the genre.^[16] The style is characterized by "sequences of sound effects and sidechained bass that swallows everything".^[16] The term "FXspam" has also been used on SoundCloud to describe the scene for its use of "degraded samples".^[16]

• Internet rap
• Hyperpop