The trap music subgenre gained mainstream prominence thanks to an unlikely source – the Nintendo 64 blockbuster GoldenEye 007.
Trap is a subgenre of hip hop that has become famous in recent years. If we search today on the internet where it came from, you will find many sources that trace it back to ’90 groups like Three 6 Mafia, UGK, Outkast, and Goodie Mob. But an unlikely video game is also among those pioneers; a small combination of beats from Scottish composer Grant Kirkhope make one of the first trap beats in history. The game is GoldenEye 007.
A coincidence that has left a mark in history
Who doesn’t remember the classic Nintendo 64 first-person shooter GoldenEye 007? This great title has become one of the most remembered of the fifth generation of consoles, not only for its gameplay that was ahead of its time but the soundtrack made by the Scottish composer Grant Kirkhope, who has achieved totally unintentionally, one of the first Trap beats. Plus, it still sounds amazing!
You can see some of the game’s Trap music influence in UGK’s Diamonds & Wood. The song was released in 1996 – a year after the GoldenEye film debuted in theaters and a year before the Nintendo 64 video game, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2022. The beat from Diamonds & Wood is quite similar to the pause menu music from the game.
GoldenEye becomes a TikTok star
As conveyed by TikToker bigtimemaca and Twitter user Genna Bain, the game’s pause music – instead of transmitting calm, as most titles do nowadays – Kirkhope presented a combination of rhythms and beats which, by pure coincidence, generated an incredible soundtrack that fits perfectly with the Trap subgenre. More than 20 years after its release, this track still has so much relevance in pop culture – not just for its connection to a classic video game but its ties to the origins of Trap.
With some great steps, the TikToker bigtimemaca shows us how incredible this soundtrack is, which Genna Bain has shared on Twitter, receiving a response to her tweet from someone she never imagined she would. The legendary Scottish composer responded positively.
More significantly, though, this soundtrack will go down in history as one of the first Trap music tracks in history.
