Letty: Mumble rap you either love or you hate it but
but are you even using the term correctly?
Lil Yatchy: I just don't understand because I don't see where I be mumbling.
21 Savage: They saying I'm a mumble rapper but you can hear every word I goddamn say.
Letty:  The title “mumble rapper” has both been used as an insult and a nod to newcomers in hip-hop
by fans, rap vets and the new guys themselves.
Lil Uzi Vert: We what you call a mumble rapper. Just “Yeah.” So you say “yeah” after everything and make it rhyme. It don’t matter what it is.
Letty: But to know why this is so divisive let's dive into hip-hop history.
Similar qualities have existed in hip-hop for a long time.
Acts like Das EFX and Bone
Thugs-n-Harmony focused more on melody and flow than bars.
Letty: Lil Wayne planted the seed for today's rappers in 2008 with "Lollipop"
and artists like Future and
Young Thug took the torch and ran with it.
Wiz Khalifa: We call it mumble rap.
Ebro: So y'all got a name for it?
Wiz Khalifa: Yeah, me and my homies. I mean it ain't no disrespect to the little homies
but like they know what's up. They say they don't want to rap.
Letty: The mumble rap resurgences could also be a byproduct of heavy drug use.
Future: I remember being so fuckin' high on this song.
Like, I couldn't even open my fuckin' mouth.
I know it's a little something that you can't  understand, but it's that make you feel like you like it.
That's what you like it for.
Letty: Today's mumble rappers prioritize repetition and harmony over bars to create a vibe
Rich the Kid: They used to say I used to mumble rap a lot.
They used to tell me, pronounce my words more. But like, if the kids like it, my fans like it, whoever
this music pertains to, if they like it, that's for them.
Letty: These rappers also frustrate others who love lyricism.
Letty: Recently, Rick Rubin talked about arguably one of hip-hop's greatest MCS, Eminem
and his gripes.
Rick Rubin: So for him, it's a little bit of a culture shock
because there's a new wave of hip hop
that's not really what he's about. I could
see he was frustrated by it.
Letty: Elsewhere, the ever lyrical Kendrick Lamar had a more compassionate perspective telling Forbes,
Like Kendrick, plenty of non mumble rappers have come to the trends' defense.
Young M.A: The Lil Yachtys and the Lil Uzi's definitely outweighing the game right now.
These kids out here, they making money man. They enjoying it. They not gonna stop being who they are.
And I can respect that.
T.I.: Did you understand everything ODB was saying?
Elliot: No.
T.I.: You did? Y'all from Brooklyn.
T.I.: Did you understand everything Bone Thugs-N-Harmony was sayin'?
Elliot: That was a little fast for me, that was a little fast.
T.I.: Did your momma and daddy understand everything that James Brown was saying?
Your mama and daddy didn't understand what James Brown was saying.
Letty: So whether mumble rap pisses you off or
gets your vibe right this won't be the
first nor the last time hip-hop becomes
something beyond understanding.
Peter Rosenberg: And there are people singing along to words, and you don't know what the words are!
Future: It done made up the words!
