Crunkcore combines the
post-hardcore genres of
screamo and
emo with
hip-hop, particularly the
Southern hip-hop genre
crunk, along with
electronic music such as
electropop,
dance,
pop, rock, and the
metal genres of
nu metal and
metalcore. Writer and musician Jessica Hopper claims that
Panic! at the Disco's fusion of emo and electronic elements influenced the development of crunkcore in the mid-2000s.
Kerrang! noted retrospectively that a mostly online presence through mediums such as
Myspace was a major feature of crunkcore. The lyrics of the genres are mostly party-themed,
hedonistic, and sexually explicit.
Family Force 5 is a lyrical exception, instead melding the sounds of the genre with
Christian-themed lyrics.
Hollywood Undead,
Brokencyde, and
3OH!3 are credited as the primary artists behind the creation and emergence of crunkcore. The roots of the genre are in the output of the
rap rock group Hollywood Undead, but the genre achieved popularity through Brokencyde, who are considered the most responsible for crunkcore's rise.
Warped Tour co-creator and CEO
Kevin Lyman calls the group 3OH!3 "the real tipping point for scrunk" as "they were the first emo-influenced act to depart from traditional instruments in favor of pre-programmed beats", while still retaining many of the stylistic elements of emo. That group achieved the genre's greatest success, the 2008 single "
Don't Trust Me". The genre declined in the 2010s, although Brokencyde and 3OH!3 continued to record and tour, respectively, for the next few years.
Blood on the Dance Floor and Family Force 5 are the most prolific artists in the genre, with a respective eight studio albums and five studio album and nine
EPs. Crunkcore is typically characterized by the use of screamed vocals, although some crunkcore artists do not scream. For example, 3OH!3 do not "incorporate the blood-curdling screams of many scrunk acts".
Millionaires and
Kesha likewise eschewed the screamed vocals typical for crunkcore but retained the sexually explicit lyrics and thus are still often considered part of the genre. == Influence ==