As contemptible a label as it is, "frat rap" is here to stay, at least for a while. The loose term has been applied to a new class of MCs who make no bones about their suburban privilege or subject matter, which usually revolves around partying and first-world problems. Fair enough — honesty is better than street posturing, and hip-hop long ago became the musical lingua franca for everyone born after, say, 1978.
From this loose scene, though — one based largely on the internet and around New England — a few possible stars with staying power have emerged. The most promising is Mac Miller, whose lyrical cleverness and controlled flow has pushed him to near bona fide stardom. Scrambling for a piece of that same fitted-hat pie is Chris Webby, who performs at Culture Room this Tuesday. A grad of Connecticut private schools who attended Long Island's Hofstra University, he makes no bones about rapping stories of basement-party life and citing Eminem as one of his biggest influences. With mixtapes with titles like Teenage Mutant Ninja Rapper, it's clear he doesn't take himself too seriously, and his slowly growing legion of fans appreciates the straight-up suburban nostalgia of his material.
