Rap is the second most popular music genre among Gen Z in Greece, with 61.5% saying they listen to some form of rap (conscious, trap, mumble, drill), according to a survey* by “aboutpeople” for Eteron.
It ranks just behind pop (69.4%) and well ahead of “laiko” – a Greek pop-folk genre – (53.7%), rock (52.5%), and “entekhnο” (48.7%), a Greek orchestral genre with elements from Greek folk rhythm and melody.
This explainer breaks down the findings related to rap and trap music.
*The survey was conducted between May 5–9, 2025, with a sample of 520 respondents aged 17–29.
(fyiteam)It began in the early 1970s in the Black working-class neighborhoods of New York (Bronx and Harlem), with the first generations of rappers giving it a strong political and radical character.
Over the past decade, it has become the most popular music genre worldwide.
In Greece, rap first appeared in the 1980s, and its audience has grown significantly in recent years.
Rap is one of the four core elements of the hip-hop movement, alongside deejaying, graffiti, and breakdancing.
(fyiteam)Trap is a subgenre of rap that emerged in the early 1990s in the underprivileged neighborhoods of Atlanta, inside so-called “trap houses” (places where drugs were sold), where users felt “trapped” and rapped in their own slang.
Trap gained wider recognition in the late 1990s.
In Greece, it appeared in the early 2010s, with several artists (e.g. Light, Snik, MadClip) achieving major commercial success in the following years.
(fyiteam)In Greece, 79.8% of Gen Z consider rap and trap to be different music genres, even though the latter is essentially a subgenre of the former.
The main perceived differences between rap and trap lie in the themes of their lyrics—seen as completely different by 49.2%—followed by the lifestyle they promote (25.8%) and their sound (23.1%).
As a result, while in other countries (e.g. the U.S.) there’s no clear distinction between rap and trap, in Greece they are widely seen as separate—both in form and in content.
The Gen Z rap audience in Greece is roughly split into three groups:
Men (25.9%) seem to prefer trap more than women do (20.3%).
Among Gen Z listeners of rap in Greece:
However, a significant portion finds them problematic:
Meanwhile, 16.9% feel the lyrics treat men and women equally, while only 6.5% believe rap has no issue with LGBTQ+ individuals.
Gen Z listeners of rap in Greece tend to view trap lyrics quite negatively:
Only small percentages hold more positive views:
(fyiteam)Although 60.3% of Gen Z view women rappers positively and 67.8% say they listen to fem rap, many believe gender inequality persists in the scene: 50% of male and 74.7% of female respondents don’t think women have the same opportunities in rap.
Additionally:
(fyiteam)Gen Z in Greece seems to have a clearly more favorable view of rap lyrics compared to trap, with the latter often perceived as sexist and materialistic—dominated by constant references to cars, wealth, and luxury.
However, this perception doesn’t necessarily translate into rejection of the subgenre.
As seen earlier, a significant part of the audience wants to see the scene evolve—particularly through greater inclusion of women and stronger social or political engagement from both rappers and trappers.
(fyiteam)In Greece, rap is seen not just as a music genre but as a cultural space with political, social, and ideological dimensions, largely due to its lyrical nature.
The coexistence of different subgenres, such as trap, generates conflicting perceptions of what rap represents, making it a site of intense cultural negotiation.
After all, rap functions as a vast musical umbrella, full of thematic contradictions—just like society itself.
