HexD

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HexD (also known as surge [1] ) is a microgenre of hip-hop music that emerged in the late 2010s to early 2020s, characterized by heavy use of bitcrushing, mixed with sped-up and pitched-up vocals, resulting in a distorted, digital, hazy and psychedelic sound.

Contents

Notable acts include $pirit Gurlz, Fax Gang, Hexcastcrew, Sienna Sleep, Yabujin, purity://filter and Hi-C. [2] [3]

Etymology and characteristics

HexD is primarily characterized by the use of bitcrushing, a production technique that produces distortion through the reduction of bandwith and digital audio data. HexD artists usually apply bitcrushing to specific instruments or the entire master track, speeding and pitching up vocals, as well as overall instrumentation. [4]

The visual aesthetics of HexD draws influence from anime, internet aesthetics and early web 2.0 era iconography and artwork primarily associated with the 2006 online GIF-editor Blingee. [5]

History

Origins

In 2011, Untranced released a mixtape titled "Deleted Seniors," which featured EDM music mixed with heavy bitcrushing, marking one of the first times the extreme use of the effect was incorporated as an aesthetic quality in music. [5] Although the use of bitcrushing in trap music was originally pioneered by West Coast-based producer she_skin. The term "hexD" was later coined by Hexcastcrew member Stacy Minajj, who released the DJ mix Rare RCB hexD.mp3 in late 2019, which samples and remixes songs from the influential online rap collective Reptilian Club Boyz. [6]

Subsequently, YouTube channel and netlabel Dismiss Yourself, which focused on obscure internet music, uploaded the Stacy Minajj RCB mix to their channel on August 23, 2019, which became instrumental to the wider proliferation of the hexD genre. [7] [4] On April 5th, 2021, the label released the various artists compilation album "Surge Compilation Vol. 1", which helped popularize the movement. [7] [8] [9] [3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Zhang, Cat (2021-12-14). "The Year in Music on TikTok 2021". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  2. ↑ Matulaityte, Giedre. "15 bands and solo artists who are rewriting the emo rulebook". Alternative Press Magazine. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
  3. 1 2 Matulaityte, Giedre. "10 musicians who are shaping the underground scene on SoundCloud". Alternative Press Magazine. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
  4. 1 2 Press-Reynolds, Kieran (2025-07-23). "Meet the Most Cracked Music Archivist Online". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  5. 1 2 chalcopyrite (2024-03-07). "A Brief History of Lobit Music". WKNC 88.1 FM - North Carolina State University Student Radio. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  6. ↑ Meyer, Tom (14 September 2020). "The Influence of Rare RCB + HexD MP3". Passion of the Weiss. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  7. 1 2 "How Dismiss Yourself Became a Hub for Internet Weirdness". Bandcamp Daily. 2021-07-08. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  8. ↑ "THE FACE's guide to the American rap underground". The Face. 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  9. ↑ Zhang, Cat (2021-12-14). "The Year in Music on TikTok 2021". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
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