In under half an hour, you can gain a comprehensive overview with firsthand testimony on the power of trap music. Directed by Christopher Scholar, The Birth of Trap Music takes audiences on a lyrical and 808-filled journey through the history of a musical genre long misconstrued.
In the film, Atlanta serves as the epicenter for the rise of the “trap” sound. The heavy 808-sub-bass kick drums, rapid-fire hi-hats, and sharp snares defined the sound that sprung about in the late-90s and popularized in Atlanta during an incredible reign in the 2000s.
I remember my first encounter with the genre vividly, as it opened the door to southern rap. The year was 1999 in Northern California. Outside of mainstream rap music on the East Coast, our local radio stations played Bay Area artists and whatever was hot out of Los Angeles. If you stayed up after 10:00 PM, there was one station that “experimented” with music that would never be heard during the day. Then one night, like magic, I heard a beat pattern that changed my life. After a few seconds, the lyrics hit:
“Ballers we be on some twankie twankies. Playa haters get found, stankie stankie. Chiefin fat blunts of that dankie dankie. Big diamond rangs on our panky pankies.”
The lyrics, the accents, the content, everything was brand new. One by one, each rapper served lines boasting of gaudy accoutrements, customized automobiles, and a host of threats. The track was “Outro/Ballers,” from Project Pat’s Ghetty Green, an album that by most accounts would be considered a classic. Between Project Pat, Three Six Mafia, and Cash Money ft. Big Tymers, my intro to trap music, was established.
My introduction to that track, that night, was almost divinely assembled. Unbeknownst to me, my family would relocate to Atlanta a year later, during a time when trap music was just taking off. Upon landing in the North Atlanta suburbs in 2000, my subwoofers would fall in love with my new landscape. Almost immediately, the sounds of Mac Dre and Andre Nickatina were replaced with Three Six Mafia, Hot Boyz, Project Pat, and Baby D. New Orleans had its rappers, as did Memphis, but Atlanta would separate itself as the mecca of trap rappers with a roster as long as a CVS receipt.
Baby D, Sammy Sam, T.I., Young Dro, Gucci Mane, Young Jeezy, and a whole host of others changed the landscape and the trajectory of Atlanta. Tree Sound and Patchwerk were studio names that even people outside of the music industry were familiar with. But the most important player during trap music’s rise was the DJ.
DJ Montay, Don Cannon, and DJ Drama were just a few of the bigger names pushing mixtapes before the rise of the digital era. Locally, another important name on the northside was DJ Southanbred. But by far, the most important name in Atlanta radio was Greg Street. Everybody in Atlanta knew to tune into the radio at 6:00 PM. “It’s six o’clock, it’s time for Greg Street to rock!” The O.G. of Atlanta radio offered his perspective on the expansive genre, along with the aforementioned Don Cannon and super producer Shawty Redd.
Instead of using historians to share history, Scholar allowed the history makers to share their stories. With outside influences like the federal government and mainstream media exacerbating an already dire situation (artists describing their neighborhoods as war zones), music was seen as an outlet to escape such circumstances. Artists like T.I., Young Dro, and Shad Da God shared perspectives along with producers like Drumma Boy and record label CEO Russell “Big Block” Spencer. The best part about the film is that you receive a full history lesson in what feels like much more than 30 minutes. Scholar and Co. did a phenomenal job in the shorts’ structure and its content.
The Birth of Trap Music gets a 9 out of 10. This was so good, it could actually be a part of a series. This was essentially episode one. It’s definitely worth a watch, if not for the music, then for the history lesson that comes with it. We didn’t just wake up and destroy our own neighborhoods, but that gets explained in-depth in the film. The Birth of Trap Music was the birth of a new phase of Atlanta and everything we enjoy today.
The Birth of Trap Music premiered at the 2026 Atlanta Film Festival on April 23.
-Jon Jones
Photo: Courtesy of ATLFF
Category: Documentary Short
Country: USA
Director: Christopher Scholar.
Executive Producers: Tip “T.I.” Harris, Christopher “Drumma Boy” Gholson, Christopher Scholar, Brodrick Haygood, Keithian Sammons, Bevin Brown, Andre Lipscomb, Patrick MacDonald
Cast: Clifford Harris, Christopher Gholson, Aldrin Davis, Demetrius Lee, Kawan Prather, Jerry Clark, Gregory White, Donald Cannon, Curtis Daniel, Leslie Braithwaite, Elliott Wilson, D’Juan Hart, LaDamon Douglas, Russell Spencer, Bryan Hightower, Xavier Dotson, Nikema Williams, CJ Williams, C-Rod Thomas, Doug Peterson, Antwan Williams, Cortney Brown, Andre Lipscomb, Keithian Sammons, Charmelle Fletcher, Richard Taylor
Runtime: 28 mins
U.S. Release Date: April 23