One year ago today, I wrote my first article for JNTM titled, “Top 5: Trap Music Producers”. Well it has been a whirlwind year for the then burgeoning genre of EDM with roots in the hip-hop community. In 2013, Trap artists rose to the top of popular festivals edging out the reigning genre dubstep.

I was planning on writing another “Top 5” post, but there are so many trap artists and sub genres I think a simple retrospective of the genre with suffice. Let’s take a look at what 2012’s top trap producers are up to and the future of the genre.

Looking Back at our Top 5 from 2012

Baauer

Since we profiled Baauer in 2012 his career has skyrocketed. However annoying “The Harlem Shake” phenomenon was it did help bring Baauer and trap into the public eye. Since his breakout success Baauer has feuded with Azaelia Banks, collaborated with Jay-Z, and embarked on tours with Danny Brown and RL Grime.

Most recently, the Brooklyn transplant collaborated with RL Grime on the massively popular “Infinite Daps” If there is a face to the Trap movement it’s probably Baauer.

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Bro Safari

Bro Safari also had a successful 2013.  He headlined the Animal House tour with other trap mainstays, ETC! ETC!, CRNKN, and Brillz. Additionally, Bro Safari had a short run opening up for EDM wunderkind Skrillex on his Fall Club Tour 2013.

The young producer has produced remixes for Kill the Noise, Steve Aoki, and Skrillex. In June he released the collaborative EP “Animal” with UFO!

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Flosstradamus

The duo has a had a killer year delivering one of the best sets at Hard Summer and producing remixes for Flux Pavilion and Major Lazer.

Flosstradamus has fully embraced their identity as trap artists and will continue their success going into the New Year.

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UZ

The enigmatic producer has enjoyed moderate success in the past year. He has continued his “Trap Shit” series and released tracks through Boys Noize Records and OWSLA. Additionally, UZ has crafted remixes for Jack Beats, Zeds Dead, and Alex Metric.

It’s still a mystery who is behind the mask, but I think we will see more of the gilded masquerade in 2014.

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Kid Kamillion

Looks like we can’t predict them all! Kid Kamillion has virtually fallen off the map in 2013. After releasing his massive remix to A-Trak‘s “Heads Will Roll”, Kid Kamillion has slowly been releasing tracks throughout the year.

Kamillion never made it on the festival circuit and it appears he is only performing in his hometown of New Orleans. I just listened to his newest EP, it’s not bad but it’s nothing special.

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Artists Who Blew Up in 2013

RL Grime

What began as a side-project of hard house producer Clockwork has quickly become the more recognizable name in EDM. RL Grime’s popular Halloween mixes are some of the best in trap music as the young producer intuitively mixes contemporary trap with 90’s hip-hop staples.

Earlier this year RL Grime embarked on the “Infinite Daps” tour with Baauer and Ryan Hemsworth. Additionally, he performed some of the hardest sets at Hard Summer and Hard Haunted this year. Remixes of tracks by Chief Keef, Rihanna, and Benny Benassi indicate we will be seeing more Grime in the New Year.

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TNGHT

Artists Hudson Mohawke and Lunice had been producing hip-hop tracks for years before joining forces to form TNGHT.

The duo’s 2012 debut ep “TNGHT” garnered critical acclaim and has been used in everything from shoe commercials to being sample on Kanye West’s “Blood on the Leaves.” Stellar performances as Hard Summer and Coachella cemented their status as trap innovators. Several artists have adopted TNGHT’s use of “brass” synthesizers.

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Brillz

Brillz rose to fame after releasing an insane remix for Kill The Noise’s “Roots”, and he has been releasing track after delicious track since.

Brillz debut release “TWONK” puts a new spin on traditional trap utilizing elements of moombahton and jack swing.

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What So Not

Hailing from Australia, What So Not has been making waves after releasing The Quack EP with OWSLA records. The record features tracks with Action Bronson, D Mac and Blood Diamonds.

What So Not, utilizes crunchy synthesizer and a heavy style that isn’t seen often. Their remix of Major Lazer’s, Get Free has attracted over 500,000 hits on Soundcloud.

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TROPKILLAZ

Based in Brazil, TROPKILLAZ make some seriously huge trap anthems utilizing the brass style made popular by TNGHT.

TROPKILLAZ have collaborated with another one of my favorites Yellow Claw as well as gLAdiator. They have not been producing tracks for a long time but hopefully we will see them stateside in the New Year.

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Honorable Mentions

These producers are just as good as the last five but I thought of them later!

Yellow Claw

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gLAdiator

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/54228089″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/105291251″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

CRNKN

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GTA

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Mayhem x Antiserum

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Djemba Djemba

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ETC! ETC!

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[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/114284736″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

L D R U

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Obviously, there are other trap artists out there and this article just goes to show how much the medium has evolved.