What was my first contact with Boom Bap?

I remember it clearly. The beat came in, booom bap, booom bap, and I was instantly locked in. No show, no glitter. Just kick, snare, sample. It was raw, honest, dirty. I could almost smell the dust. Those drums had soul, man. Every snare sounded like it was hit by hand. Boom Bap wasn’t just a beat, it was a pulse. My first real one.

What actually makes Boom Bap what it is?

Boom Bap lives in the drums. Period. That kick hits you in the gut, the snare cuts through the air. In between, the groove. That head-nod you can’t control. Everything comes from the sampler, from old records, from sounds that already lived a life. You can hear the crackle, you can hear the life. No polished sound just edges. The drums say more than words. They carry you, they slow you down, they talk to you. When it hits right, you feel it in your chest. Then you know: this is Boom Bap.

And what about Trap?

Trap is built different. Here, the 808s speak not the snare. Deeper, harder, more digital. Everything rolls, everything moves, no bap, more like brrrrr. Hi-hats race, kicks push you into the ground. Trap is energy, not reflection. It pulls you forward, lets you fly, even when it’s dark. Where Boom Bap grounds you, Trap lifts you up. Both are real just different speeds.

Why do so many people confuse the two?

Because everything blends together now. Beats sound mixed, artists switch styles all the time. In playlists you’ll hear Trap, Boom Bap, Drill all in one go. But if you really listen, you feel the difference. Boom Bap has weight. Every hit feels like body. Trap is lighter, more floating. Where Boom Bap presses you into the earth, Trap lets you glide.

What do I feel when I hear Boom Bap?

Peace in chaos. It’s like talking to old friends. These drums calm me down. They tell me: “Stay. Listen. Write.” I find myself in them. Every kick is a step, every snare a breath.
Boom Bap has something human. It stumbles, it sways, but it stays on beat, just like all of us.

Do you have to choose one?

No. There’s no war. Trap pushes you, Boom Bap grounds you. You need both to understand yourself. The trick is: know where the beat comes from. If you know why you nod your head, you hear differently. Then music becomes more than sound, it becomes attitude.

Why I am even talking about this?

Because it matters that rap listens again. Not just consumes. Drums are heartbeats, not numbers. Boom Bap reminds me of that, of feeling, of roots, of dirt under the nails. Trap has drive. Boom Bap has depth. And somewhere in between that’s where we are.

Doesn’t matter if it’s Boom Bap or Trap as long as you stay real with the beat

About

Vaynex is a beatmaker and producer from Basel, Switzerland.He builds Boom Bap beats that carry stories, raw, honest, and unfiltered.

For him, every drum hit is a sentence, every sample a piece of memory.

Boom Bap has something human in it. It stumbles, it sways, but it stays on beat, just like all of us.