Rare Phonk

Rare phonk is the original SoundCloud-era form of phonk, the Memphis rap revival style built by producers such as *DJ Smokey*, *Soudiere* and *DJ Yung Vamp* in the mid-2010s. In contrast to the later drift phonk wave, rare phonk keeps full vocal samples from 1990s Memphis tapes audible over lo-fi, jazz- and funk-inflected loops, dusty drums and psychedelic textures. Organised through online collectives such as *Purple Posse*, it favours hazy, nostalgic atmospheres and obscure sample sources: the rare records its name advertises, rather than the stripped, bass-heavy loops of its commercial successor.