7 Best Halloween Hip Hop Songs For 2023 Spooky Season

The chill in the air. The flicker of jack-o-lanterns lining porches. The lure of haunted happenings around every corner. As October descends with its ghostly embrace, the streets resonate with eerie whispers and the bass-heavy beats of hip-hop anthems curated especially for the spooky season. There are plenty of options for your Halloween playlist, to both chill your bones and get the party going. With queens like Megan Thee Stallion serving us wicked rhythms in "Scary" and the enigmatic Travis Scott leading us into the abyss with "Lost Forever," there's no shortage of tracks to set the Halloween vibe just right.

And, of course, it's not a true Halloween bash without Drizzy's sharp-edged "Knife Talk" cutting through the party haze. However, that's just the tip of the tombstone. We've gathered just. a handful of tracks that would pair well with the orange and black holiday to make your October 31 night as haunting as the shadows that dance in the moonlight.

Megan Thee Stallion has always been open about her love for Halloween. In 2020, she released a series of YouTube videos titled Hottieween directed by Teyana Taylor. This track comes from her album Traumazine, which had several dark songs in the tracklist. However, this collaboration with Rico Nasty plays into a more fun side of the Halloween season. The production combines the sound of a creepy music box with what sounds like classic “alien music.” Meg discusses her dominance over men and women inside and outside the rap game as screams pop in during her verse. Her punchlines play into the horror theme, and the hook capitalizes on this. Rico’s verse takes it up yet another level, adding even more fun and theme references.

Travis Scott made headlines on Halloween 2020 when his Batman costume was made fun of, memed, and criticized. However, this track was much more intimidating than that look and has several aspects that make it a perfect song for Halloween. Many of Travis’ most highly praised songs have beat switches, and this is one of them. The first part of the song contains vocal and production contributions from James Blake as he croons over spooky piano keys, guitar chords, and other noises. The switch comes when feature Westside Gunn comes barreling in over a menacing drum-heavy production from The Alchemist. Westside's verse is as ad-lib filled as expected, and Travis follows him with a somewhat abstract verse with echoing vocal effects that enhance the eerie feeling.

This may be the most recognizable song from the list, and it fits the Halloween season excellently. It brings three titans from separate worlds of rap for a collaborative track that works in every aspect. Project Pat is a legend known for his iconic flow and tracks with Three Six Mafia, who often rapped over scary production. 21 Savage has carved his own lane of eerie trap music with his two Savage Mode and Without Warning projects. Metro Boomin created multiple menacing soundscapes for him across those projects. And, of course, we know Drake is a chameleon when it comes to music overall. Metro Boomin and Peter Lee Johnson have production credits on this one, as the trio raps over a minimally mysterious and scary piano. 21 tries his hand at Project Pat’s flow and does well, while Drake and 21 trade bars about what will happen to their opps.

Doechii is one of the most talented artists in the music world today and dropped this Halloween-esque song on her EP she/her/black b*tch in 2022. She showcases multiple flows on this track, switching from cold and calculated to something more energetic, doubling the speed in her verse's second part. The background vocals enhance the impact of this portion of the song. There’s a beat switch here, and there’s a third one during Rico Nasty’s portion of the song. She brings even more aggression than Doechii did in her verse as she jumps from one flow to another. Rico showcases her adaptability in real time as her verse finishes with the second beat from Doechii’s portion. Producer Kal Banx put in overtime as he crafted eerie synths and rumbling bass for the ladies to rap over.

Pusha T is an artist people may not typically associate with Halloween, but he has rapped over his fair share of menacing beats. Pusha spoke of how he and Pharrell had the film Joker playing in the background while they made the album; this track makes that apparent. Over creepy organ sounds and Pharrell’s signature drums, Pusha speaks of what happens to those who cross him. Through a delivery with fear-inducing confidence, the words sound like they’re coming through an evil smile from the rapper. Pusha switches his flow in the second verse, but the eerie confidence remains. This is one of several tracks from the album It's Almost Dry that features Pusha doing his own rendition of Joker’s laugh. This, paired with the screams and other odd vocal noises in the song, continues to add to its foreboding feeling.

A name like Flatbush ZOMBiES brings many thoughts to mind, and Halloween is likely one of them. This song was originally released in 2013 from their critically acclaimed mixtape BetterOffDead. They added it to streaming services for the first time in September 2023 - ten years after its original release. This track has all the components for a song made for this time of year. There’s a creepy vocal intro, eerie synth-based production from group member Erick The Architect, and vocal samples that only add to the spooky factor. Member Meechy Darko’s verse taps into the theme with ease, and he brings a humorous self-awareness to how wild some of his bars are. The music video finds the trio hunting zombies and is reminiscent of a movie from the past, making for a full visual and audio experience.

Doja Cat seems to have been in the mood for Halloween for her entire album rollout this year. This track takes the theme to the next level with the title, production, and music video. Even the cover art for the single ties everything together. The song has a menacing looped horn paired with strings that sound just as scary. Production came from d.a. got that dope and Doja uses two flows over his beat, with the first one bringing the creepy factor as she uses an innocent-sounding vocal tone. The confident aggression comes in during the hook as she practically yells in frustration at her haters. Lastly, her flow in the second verse has a somewhat carefree feeling as she weaves in punchlines with ease. 

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