I will happily explain the appeal, but given this sub’s general apathy toward… yaknow these genres, dunno if it’ll help!

Specifically these artists, the beats and melodies they rap over are pretty unique. They’re blasting, melodic, and FUN. It’s this bombastic progression of notes and melodies, and the contrast of them rapping and sounding like they straight up do not care makes it fantastic. Specifically, hip hop is such a mainstay in music now you can draw direct parallels with rock - and the soundcloud era is very similar to the punk era. These were all kids making music, rejecting the norms of their genres, making music they thought was fun.

Specifically the 3 you named, I’ll highlight their appeal:

Travis Scott: Makes psychedelic rap. VERY few artists sounded like him when Rodeo dropped, and his features were unreal. The combination of his auto tune, adlibs, and harmonies really creates a unique sound. It may take a bit to warm up, but it’s harmonic to the core. Astroworld put him on top of the planet, and the beat switch on sicko mode is pretty widely praised as one of the best ever. They essentially made 3 songs on that track and made it flow as 1. Songs to listen to: Sickomode, goosebumps, 90210, pornography, OUT WEST

Lil Uzi: one my personal favorites. This is pure melodic hip hop, it’s fucking incredible. He uses his voice as another instrument on the tracks! The lyrics are frequently meaningless, but how he combines the sound of his voice with the synths creates a trance-like state in songs. XO TOUR LIFE is widely praised as one of the best songs of the 2010s, a soundcloud throwaway track about breaking up with a girlfriend. It’s anthemic for Gen Z. Songs to listen to: XO TOUR LIFE, Sanguine Paradise, Erase Your Social, 20 Min, That Way, Money Longer

Playboi Carti: beats that sound like nothing else, vamp culture, raging, and going hard. Having fun, and mosh pits. His ad libs are also probably the best in hip hop. Honestly, Carti fans love every song of his. Put Die Lit on and see if you like it. If not, try Whole Lotta Red. Turn the brain on low power mode and see if you might bop a little.

This music is FUN. It also is mostly meaningless, which is felt pretty hard through the younger generations nowadays as we are continually pressed and collapsed by everything around us. So we’ll listen to mumble and soundcloud rappers, rage, have fun, and then T-pose and backflip in mosh pits. Not every track has to have a message, co-opt a movement, or be this classical masterpiece (though hip hop has arguably more of that than rock). Sometimes music can just be fun.

EDIT (10:23PM EST): Thanks for the comments everyone, it's been an absolute pleasure talking with you but I'm off to bed! To anyone that listened to a track or two and liked it, that makes my heart full. If you ever want recs, feel free to send me a PM.