The Hip-Hop Artists That Inspire Vexed Vocalist Megan Targett

Vexed, the up-and-coming alt-metal band from the U.K., recently dropped Culling Culture, their ferocious debut album that comes equipped with a Swiss Army knife of influences, all of which point to the future of modern extreme metal. One prevailing influence is the swagger and aggression of new age rap and hip-hop — so much so that we asked vocalist Megan Targett to go in-depth about which hip-hop vocalists inspire her on many levels.

There’s a ton of depth to Vexed’s music and on Culling Culture the band showcases their multi-faceted skill set. They go right for the jugular on “Hideous,” which melds elements of tech-death, djent and hip-hop and, elsewhere, the U.K. four-piece expand into dream-like passages that offer a ray of hope amid the despondent lyrical themes.

What’s most compelling about this myriad of influences is that nothing is ever in too sharp of a focus. Rather than employing a cut and paste approach to songwriting, Vexed carefully inject their songs with shades of many styles, offering a sense of exploratory dynamism that keeps them from being pigeonholed into any one narrow category.

Targett’s vocal delivery is wide-ranging, but often sticks to a rhythmic cadence and it’s clear where some of these aspects come from. But we’ll let her tell you more about that with her picks for her hip-hop influences on Culling Culture directly below.

Culling Culture is out now on Napalm Records. Get your copy here and follow the band on Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.