Raider Klan

Raider Klan (stylized as RVIDXR KLVN) was an American hip hop collective formed in Carol City, Florida, in 2008. It grew to include members from other U.S. cities, such as Memphis, Seattle (Thraxxhouse), and Houston.^[1] They are widely regarded by fans, critics, and fellow artists as one of the most influential hip hop movements of the 2010s. In 2012, the Guardian cited them as one of the key acts bringing back hip hop groups.^[2]

Raider Klan
Origin	Carol City, Florida, U.S.
Genres	Southern hip hop
Years active	2008–2015 2017
Labels	Raider Klan
Past members	SpaceGhostPurrp Dough Dough Da Don Kadafi Muney Junior Jitt Denzel Curry Xavier Wulf Chris Travis Yung Raw Key Nyata Amber London Yung Simmie IndigoChildRick Nell Rell Dirty Redd Big Zeem Grandmilly Almighty Bumpin Lil Champ Fway Chiiirp Shvun Dxn Dead Craig Sky Lexington Slim Guerilla Ruben Slikk Mike Dece Lofty305 Young Renegade Junko Headhuntah Matt Stoops Soulja Mook JGRXXN MuffLucid Eddy Baker Harvey G Clip 275 Nisha Blanco Yung Kane Klvn Tyler Klvn Sailor Klvn Rico DJ Manny Virgo Black Kray

At its peak, the collective enjoyed a period of rapid growth, emerging alongside groups such as Odd Future and ASAP Mob. Raider Klan originally included rappers SpaceGhostPurrp, Dough Dough Da Don, Kadafi, Muney Junior, and Jitt, before expanding to include Denzel Curry, Chris Travis, Eddy Baker, Xavier Wulf, Ruben Slikk, Lofty305, and dozens more. Many former members went on to pursue successful solo careers or form new groups, such as Seshollowaterboyz and Schemaposse.

History

In 2008, SpaceGhostPurrp recruited Dough Dough Da Don, Kadafi, Muney Junior and Jitt to form the founding line-up of Raider Klan.^[1] SpaceGhostPurrp asked Denzel Curry to join the group after hearing his debut mixtape King Remembered Underground Tape 1991–1995, which Curry accepted.^[3]

On September 24, 2012, the group released 2.7.5. Greatest Hits Vol.1, a 44 track compilation of members solo and collaborative material.^[4] On March 1, 2013, they released their second compilation CD, BRK Greatest Hits Vol.2 : Collectors Edition.^[5] They released their debut album Tales from the Underground on October 31, 2013.^[6] The group's final release was 2015's The Mixtape 2.75.^[7]

Musical style and influence

AllMusic described Raider Klan's Southern hip hop style as "gritty" and "macabre",^[1] and Miami New Times described their music as "trad[ing] in the battering sounds of SoundCloud rap, a blood-raw strand of hardcore hip-hop largely pioneered in South Florida".^[8] The group often used a dark and lo-fi style of production.^[9] In 2018, HotNewHipHop said "For over a decade, Raider Klan has been making noise in Carol City with records featuring the same distorted bass, intentionally choppy sounds that we hear throughout Lil Pump and Ski Mask the Slump God's records today".^[10]

Raider Klan's sound was derived primarily from the early work of Memphis hip hop group Three 6 Mafia, while also incorporating elements of emo, house^[11] hardcore hip hop, drill^[6] and horrorcore.^[9] In a 2019 interview, Denzel Curry cited Odd Future as an important influence on the group.^[12]

Lyrically, they focused on topics ranging from drugs, sex and money to witchcraft, demons and hotep philosophy.^[9]

Raider Klan were one of the first underground^{[when defined as?]} rap collectives to integrate the style of early-Three 6 Mafia into their music, a pattern subsequently embraced throughout the hip hop scene, namely in the form of ASAP Mob and Drake.^[13] In 2018 article by Pitchfork writer Alphonse Pierre described Raider Klan members and affiliates such as Denzel Curry, Chris Travis, Xavier Wulf and Bones as pioneers of the Soundcloud rap movement.^[14]

The group's form of lyrical self expression was cited by Genius as influential to emotional rappers like XXXTentacion and Lil Uzi Vert.^[13] HotNewHipHop described Night Lovell's style of emo rap as heavily influenced by the music of the group.^[15] Ronny J's style of production was heavily inspired by Raider Klan, incorporating their style into tracks for rappers like XXXTentacion, Lil Pump, Smokepurpp and Ski Mask the Slump God.^[16] Rolling Stone described the music of Soundcloud rappers XXXTentacion, Lil Pump, Ski Mask the Slump God, Smokepurpp and WifisFuneral as derived from Raider Klan's material.^[17]

Aesthetics

 

Former Raider Klan member Denzel Curry

From the beginning of their career, Raider Klan made use of hieroglyphs-inspired text, in which most vowels were substituted with "V" or "X", and stylized in all capitals.^[13]

Letter	Translation
A	V
E	X
O	X
U	V

The origin of the style came about through SpaceGhostPurrp's fascination with Kemetism and Egyptian mythology,^[18] and as a way of having a language only members and fans of the group could understand.^[19] This style would eventually come to be used by other groups such as ASAP Mob.^[13]

The group's album covers often include features such as cannabis leaves, skulls and Horror film inspired fonts.^[9]

Raider Klan members often wore all black clothing, which SpaceGhostPurrp explained as being to represent their "black hearts". Because of this, in a 2012 article by the Guardian, writer Kieran Yates described them as "rap goths".^[2]

Members

• SpaceGhostPurrp^[20]
• Dough Dough Da Don^[1]
• Kadafi^[1]
• Muney Junior^[1]
• Jitt^[1]
• Denzel Curry^[20]
• Xavier Wulf^[20]
• Chris Travis^[20]
• Key Nyata^[20]
• Amber London^[20]
• Lil Fway^[21]
• Yung Simmie^[21]
• IndigoChildRick^[21]
• Nell^[21]
• Rell^[21]
• Dirty Redd^[21]
• Muff Lucid^[21]
• Big Zeem^[22]
• Grandmilly^[22]
• Lil Champ Fway^[23]
• Chiiirp^[23]
• Shvun Dxn^[24]
• Eddy Baker^[25][26]
• Dead Craig^[21]
• Sky Lexington^[27]
• Slim Guerilla^[28]
• Mike Dece^[29]
• Young Renegade^[30]
• Matt Stoops^[31]
• Soulja Mook^[32]
• J-Green^[33]
• MuffLucid^[34]
• Junko^[35]
• Harvey G^[36]
• Junko Headhuntah^[37]

Discography

Albums

• Tales From the Underground (2013)

Compilations

• 2.7.5. Greatest Hits Vol.1 (2012)
• BRK Greatest Hits Vol. 2: Collectors Edition (2013)

Mixtapes

• The Mixtape 2.75 (2015)

References

1. Simpson, Paul. "Raider Klan Biography by Paul Simpson". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
2. Yates, Kieran (30 August 2012). "Return of the hip-hop crew". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
3. Todd, Nate. "5 things you didn't know about Denzel Curry". Retrieved 14 February 2020.
4. "SpaceGhostPurrp shares compilation of Raider Klan's greatest hits". 24 September 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
5. "The-Drum's favourite releases of 2013". 22 December 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
6. Malcolm, Jamie. "Raider Klan – 'Tales From The Underground'". Retrieved 15 February 2020.
7. Montes, Patrick (13 May 2015). "Raider Klan featuring Amber London, SpaceGhostPurrp & Dough Dough Da Don - F*ck Out My Way". Retrieved 15 February 2020.
8. NGUYEN, DEAN VAN. "Denzel Curry Comes Home to Miami for His Zeltron Word Wide Rap Battle". Miami New Times. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
9. "Fifteen Pivotal Miami Music Moments From the 2010s". Miami New Times. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
10. Zidel, Alex (6 June 2018). "Hip-Hop Olympics Bracket Week 5: "Florida Boy"". HNHH. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
11. Charity, Justin (29 June 2017). ""We Wanted to Be Better Than Atlanta"". Retrieved 15 February 2020.
12. A, Aron (21 June 2019). "Denzel Curry Credits Odd Future For Paving The Way For Raider Klan". HNHH. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
13. "The Impact Of SpaceGhostPurrp & Raider Klan". Retrieved 14 February 2020.
14. Pierre, Alphonse (20 September 2018). "How Denzel Curry Helped Pioneer SoundCloud Rap". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
15. Pierre, Alphonse (24 June 2018). "10 Emo Rap Artists To Know". HNHH. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
16. FITZGERALD, KIANA. "Meet Ronny J, the Producer Behind XXXTentacion, Bhad Bhabie, and Lil Pump's Hardest Beats". Complex. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
17. TURNER, DAVID (June 2017). "Look At Me!: The Noisy, Blown-Out SoundCloud Revolution Redefining Rap". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
18. Smith, Bruce (14 July 2013). "SpaceGhostPurrp Laments Trayvon Martin's Death; Calls Himself "Zimmerman Killa" July 14, 2013". Retrieved 15 February 2020.
19. Jones, Charlie Robin (7 June 2012). "EXCLUSIVE: Spaceghostpurrp Feature & Film". Dazed. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
20. "A Guide to Raider Klan". Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
21. ""Klan ain't dead": SpaceGhostPurrp updates crew roster with new mixtape". 28 June 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
22. "Interview With Big Zeem Talking Past And Present: Whats New With Grandmilly and Zeroklique, Past History With Raider Klan". Retrieved 14 February 2020.
23. Schiewe, Jessie. "PREMIERE: Get Dark with Raider Klan's Amber London on 'Life II Death'". Retrieved 14 February 2020.
24. "Shvun Dxn x Myth Syzer - Stairway To Blackland Mixtape - UNIONSTREET". Retrieved 2017-09-19.
25. Eddy Baker Speaks on the Fall of Raider Klan. Ham Radio.
26. "SPACEGHOSTPURPP ANNOUNCES RAIDER KLAN REUNION SHOW". Retrieved 20 February 2020.
27. Thomas, Datwon (14 February 2013). "New Mixtape: Sky Lexington of Raider Klan "Wet EP"". Retrieved 14 February 2020.
28. GAGLIARDI, GREGORY (8 March 2019). "There can only be one: The Slim Guerilla interview". Retrieved 14 February 2020.
29. Hitt, Tarpley (5 December 2018). "Mike Dece Was a Rising Star in the Rap Game. Then He Backed Trump". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
30. SKELTON, ERIC. "Denzel Curry's Decade, in His Own Words". Complex. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
31. "A History of A$AP Rocky & SpaceGhostPurrp's Beef". Retrieved 14 February 2020.
32. Castro, Lee (6 September 2013). "Denzel Curry on SpaceGhostPurrp and Raider Klan: "He Didn't Kick Me Out; I Chose to Leave"". Retrieved 14 February 2020.
33. Wright, Amanda. "Denzel Curry". Retrieved 14 February 2020.
34. "Hypno 808 BMKG full CD na youtube!". Retrieved 14 February 2020.
35. Lyons, Patrick (29 May 2015). "Raider Klan - Murder Mitten Feat. Rell, Dough Dough Da Don & Junko". HNHH. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
36. Lyons, Patrick. "Raider Klan - Raider Klan: The Mixtape 2.75". HNHH. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
37. "Jango Bio". Retrieved 1 March 2020.