Atlanta, GA · trap · hip-hop · crunk

Waka Flocka

1 festival played

The blueprint for mosh-pit rap — Lex Luger sirens, shouted hooks, and a catalogue built almost entirely out of songs designed to destroy a room.

Waka Flocka, born Juaquin Malphurs, came up through Atlanta after moving from New York as a child, and first found an audience through Gucci Mane's 1017 Brick Squad camp. His breakthrough run arrived around 2009 and 2010 with "O Let's Do It" and "Hard in da Paint", followed by the debut album Flockaveli, which paired his blunt, shouted delivery with the heavy synth-and-drum productions of Lex Luger. "No Hands", featuring Roscoe Dash and Wale, became his widest crossover hit.

His approach traded intricate rhyming for volume, repetition and chant-like hooks, and the records he made in that period helped set the template for the harder, more physical strain of Atlanta trap that followed. He has continued releasing music and touring, and has also worked as a DJ.

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