The Aggressive Beauty of DMV Crank, 2024’s Most Exciting Rap Subgenre
Marked by a mix of wild samples and delirious tempos, the scene is giving rise to striving young stars including Skino, Nino Paid, and Jaeychino.
Yes, D.C. rapper Skino put out a song powered by a sample of “Gangnam Style” this year—but it’s far from just another lazy flip desperately seeking virality. Where the original smash hit is a candy-colored trot, “Maurice Scott”—produced by TrapMoneyBiggie and named after a reality show contestant who was caught up in a cheating scandal—makes those same EDM whooshes concrete-hard, as sharp-edged drums and cowbells crash into each other with the force of a city bus blindsiding a clown car.
That chaos gives the recognizable melody a menacing feel, and Skino takes full advantage of it. Like many rappers from the Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area, otherwise known as the DMV, Skino’s words land just a little ahead of the beat, blurring the line between punching in one bar at a time and just letting it all spill out. His writing is straightforward—bits of gunplay, the occasional clunky metaphor—but combined with his rushed delivery and the jagged exuberance of the beat, “Maurice Scott” is a delirious headtrip that keeps the listener pleasantly off-balance. It’s a prime example of DMV crank, the cacophonous rap subgenre that was everywhere this year.
