So What Exactly Is Experimental Rap Anyway? I Asked 6 Rap Experts.

Artists, producers, and journalists speak to how useful the term is.

Photo credit: Bobbi Yamada, Peter Kramer, Getty

Illustration: Jefferson Harris

Earlier this month, JPEGMAFIA got the computers ‘putin ahead of his EXPERIMENTAL RAP album. He told Pigeons & Planes that he was claiming the throne as “The King” of experimental rap, which turned into a sarcasm-tinged tiff between him and Earl Sweatshirt. But beyond the fireworks of what writer Arielle Lana LeJarde deemed “2pac vs biggie for guys with an MF DOOM tattoo,” JPEGMAFIA sparked a community-wide discussion on what experimental rap even means in 2026.