Artists choose to write shockingly upsetting music for a number of reasons: To express extreme emotions or to provoke a visceral response in listeners or say something about a particular issue or for the shock itself. Sometimes, they're presented as true story warnings, as in Bushwick Bill's "Ever So Clear." And sometimes they're the fulfillment of a fictional persona, as in DMX's "Bring Your Whole Crew." When done right, they can be artful, but sometimes a disturbing song is just a hollow gross-out. Either way, shockingly violent imagery has been a part of music forever -- we've just really honed the language in the last 30 years or so.
Obviously our extensive list of most disturbing songs is, well, yeah, very disturbing. So there's your warning. For those who don't want to read this list, we don't blame you. Mom, I'm sorry for this.
See also: -Top Five Most Disturbing Horrorcore Songs -Death at the Gathering of the Juggalos: "Four Dudes Who Had Been Sleeping With a Corpse."
30. "Yonkers" by Tyler, the Creator.
Surprisingly, the rapper who makes the music that "the devil plays before he goes to sleep" is actually straight edge. However, that by no means makes his music less disturbing. In "Yonkers," Tyler threatens to "stab Bruno Mars in his goddamn esophagus," and calls out B.o.B, Hayley Williams and even Jesus. The video, complete with him eating a cockroach, vomiting and eventually hanging himself, is even more messed up than the song itself.
29. "Even Shadows Have Shadows" by Eyedea.
The late Minnesota rapper knew how to string words together. In "Even Shadows Have Shadows," Eyedea intricately and quickly flows about his dissatisfaction with the world: "I'm caught between wanting to punch someone in the face and putting a bullet in my head to leave the human race." Sadly, in 2010, the then-28 year-old died from an accidental overdose.
28. "The Janitor" by Apathy.
Apathy raps the biography of the town creep, "a janitor at a junior high," who loves "little bodies." Not pleasant.
27. "Ballad of Worms" by Cage.
In the disturbing tale of his sickly, dying girlfriend, Cage describes their increasingly unsatisfying sex life.
26. "Texas Boy" by Big Lurch.
Alright, so the song itself isn't that messed up. Sure, it's not happy-go-lucky to threaten to "cut ya with the machete" or to claim to be "the devilous mischievous child, the bad seed," but there are much more brutal lyrics on this list. What is disturbing is Big Lurch's life outside of music. The Dallas born and raised rapper is serving life in prison for murdering his 21-year-old female roommate Tynisha Ysais in 2002. According to People, the victim was "discovered in her Los Angeles apartment with teeth marks on her face and on pieces of her lung, which had been torn from her chest. Big Lurch was arrested on a nearby street after police found him staggering naked, apparently dazed and covered in blood."
25. "Last Resort" by Papa Roach.
The song was a commercial hit and can still be heard on the radio quite often. But that doesn't mean that it's not uncomfortably graphic. Throughout the song, the lyrics discuss suicide. As the catchy chorus goes, "Do you even care if I die bleeding? / Would it be wrong, would it be right? / If I took my life tonight."
24. "Bring Your Whole Crew" by DMX.
DMX gives all cute, loving dogs a bad name. (We'll just blame it on Damien), and this is his darkest, a classic ode to gratuitous violence.
23. "Bugz on My Nutz" by Insane Clown Posse.
While basically any and all ICP songs could've made this list, we decided to go with the one where they "Met this bum in the back of a dumpster / Fucked her in the rumpster, juggaluga humpster."
22. "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails.
As uncomfortable as the chorus is, the music video is worse: a monkey tied to a cross, fetish equipment and a severed pig's head spinning around, for some reason.
21. "Confessions" by Cam'ron.
Told as confession in church, Cam'ron goes through a variety of sins, from doing and selling drugs to peeing in his grandfather's orange juice to incest with his aunt to raping his poodle.
