Swearing has become one of modern music’s most enduring supporting acts. There’s no denying that swearing gives catharsis, strengthens bonds, and even boosts perceptions of authenticity. Research has even found that listening to censored music can reduce athletic performance. Whether you’re a fan of profanity or not, it’s here to stay, with 40% of Billboard hits containing swearing in 2021, compared to 0% in 1990.

But as millions of fans dig into their favourite music at the end of a long f****** day, many head online to discuss their favourite artists – some much more passionately than others. 

To discover which artists inspire the most colourful language from their fans, the experts at concert ticket marketplace, Fanatix analysed over 250,000 Reddit posts from this year, spanning over 100 artists. Using a text analysis lexicon, they counted instances of profanity across each fanbase, ranking artists and genres according to the swearing habits of their fans.

Key findings:

• Rap and Hip-Hop fans have the most explicit language overall, earning a cuss-factor score of 8.77/10, and recording the highest percentage of offensive words in both posts and comments.
• Metal group Death Grips have the ‘rudest’ online fanbase, scoring 9.74/10. Notably, all artists in the metal category have a cuss-factor score above 7.00/10.
• K-Pop has the most PG community, averaging a cuss-factor score of 3.34/10. Even the genre’s most profane fanbase, BLACKPINK, scored just 4.2/10.

By Genre – which fans have the worst language?

Genre	Post count	Comment count	Total count of offensive words	% of comments with offensive words	% of posts with offensive words	Cuss-factor score /10
Rap / Hip-hop	98,758	1,374,591	93,399	4.72%	2.25%	8.77
Metal	10,565	221,188	11,973	4.33%	1.62%	8.39
Alt / Grunge	34,998	567,544	21,205	2.88%	1.32%	6.95
Rock	40,023	899,030	31,086	2.84%	1.21%	6.72
R&B	10,493	113,000	3,328	2.42%	0.53%	6.38
Indie	28,824	388,548	11,492	2.10%	1.20%	6.23
Electronic	3,736	40,523	1,062	2.21%	0.61%	6.23
Country	2,535	26,723	783	2.27%	0.87%	5.73
Pop	34,455	516,183	13,342	1.99%	0.65%	5.60
K-pop	14,756	220,635	2,380	1.10%	0.25%	3.34

You can find the complete dataset, including a ranking of 100 artists here.

Rap and Hip-Hop fans can’t stop swearing online, with close to 100k cases of profanity in 2026

Rap and Hip-Hop fans have the highest cuss-score factor, at 8.77/10, as fans flock to forums with profanity-laden posts. Zooming in on individual artists, Lil Wayne’s fanbase ranks second in the study, with a cuss-factor of 9.64/10. Fans average 1.82 ‘offensive’ words per post, the highest of all artists analysed.

21 Savage’s audience closely follows, earning a cuss-factor score of 9.63/10, boosted by the highest share of comments with bad language at 7.83%. Meanwhile, Playboy Carti fans rank third overall with a score of 9.62/10, while recording the highest total volume of profanity in 2026, racking up 27,657 swear words across posts and comments. 

Metal fans rank second, with a cuss-factor score of 8.39/10, with 4.33% of comments containing offensive language –  almost four times that of K-Pop fans. It may come as little surprise, given that previous research has linked metal music to emotional release and stress relief. The findings suggest fans bring that same intense energy to online forums, where discussions are often just as passionate as the music itself. 

System of a Down’s fans take the crown as metal’s biggest swearers, earning a cuss-factor score of 9.38/10. Tool (8.76/10) and SlipKnot (8.66/10) round out metal’s most badmouthed fanbases – though every artist in the genre scored above 7/10, proving metal fans rarely hold back online.

Alternative/Grunge places third, with a cuss-factor score of 6.95/10. The genre’s online communities may be slightly more PG-friendly than Rap or Metal, but there’s still no shortage of colourful language. 

Leading all 100 artists, Death Grips boasts a cuss-factor score of 9.74/10. Scoring high in all metrics, 6.53% of comments and 4.24% of posts are studded with offensive language. Depeche Mode, on the other hand, has a cuss-factor score of just 3.7/10, showcasing the variety of how fans communicate and express themselves online, even within the same genre. 

 The most PG fanbases

Communications among K-pop fans are significantly more ‘polite’ as they score just 3.34/10, with posts containing bad language representing just 0.25% of the over 14,700 analysed. Even BLACKPINK, who score highest within the category, have 0.1 offensive words per post – representing just 5.5% of Lil Wayne’s share.

Pop music follows, earning a score of 5.60/10 on average – though like alt, a much wider spread is present throughout the category. At the top sits Chappell Roan with a cuss-factor score of 8.13/10 and 1.15 ‘offensive’ words per post, whereas Harry Styles scores just 3.48/10, and only 0.18 bad words per post. 

Country music fans also keep things relatively clean-cut, scoring  5.73/10 on the cuss-factor scale.,