The term "Trap" refers to two different genres:

Trap music is a sub-genre of hip-hop that originated in the early 2000s in the Southern United States. It is typified by its aggressive lyrical content and sound, where the instrumentals are propelled by 808 kick drums or heavy extended sub-bass lines, double-time, triple-time and other faster time division hi-hats, layered synthesizers, and "cinematic" strings.

Moving into the 2010s, a new movement of electronic dance music producers and DJs emerged who began incorporating elements of trap music into their works.

EDM trap music is based on use of the 808 Roland drum machine, fast hi-hats, pitched and re-sampled hiphop/rap vocals, pipe flutes, gangsta synth leads, and various FX. Similar to rap without the main vocal. EDM trap music has been gaining lots of attention from major DJs and labels.

Although the style originated many years ago, Trap music has recently been making a new school comeback in many new forms such as “Trap”, “Chirp”, “SeaPunk”, “PsyTrap”, and “TrapStep”. Earliest known examples can be found by artists such as Triple Six Mafia, UGK, Swisha House, and Gucci Mane. Tempos range widely from 135-175bpm.