Wikipedia and mainstream timeline of Mumble-Rap evolution is wrong. Mumble rap was an evolution of a style of rap that Lil Wayne invented.

Aside from the naming, let's get into the nitty-gritty. I am one of the world's deepest fans of rap (literally world's top-tier of rap fans) I have followed the rap game for years in depth. I know it all from the Pac beef with both Biggie and Diddy to the modern day beef between MGK and Em as well as lowkey beef involving Minaj and Remy Ma. I know it all and if I don't it means it didn't really matter to the rap game overall. I knew Lil Wayne from before he was big to now, I was a real rap fan from ages when my parents would have freaked out if they knew what I listened to to now. I am not some wannabe and not AT ALL a poser saying 'look at me I love rap so much' I have actually studied, followed, appreciated and understood all forms of (or schools of depending how you see it) rap, grime and hip-hop (grime is the British rap-game).

Until Lil Wayne got into drugs and all that I don't deny he was a lyrical rapper. He was a fantastic poet-esque rapper who had real depth to his metaphors. This is why it's so important to understand that Wayne is literally the Daddy of mumble rap because he had both the actual skills and connections in the industry to make it as a lyrical rapper but CHOSE to explore the concept of rap that doesn't really focus on lyrics so much as purely on delivery and flow. He INVENTED the idea that lyrics don't matter and had many haters and lovers. At first it was unclear if the drugs had permanently damaged his brain or something intentional was going on but unfortunately it does seem like the former even though he 'tries to be lyrical' nowadays to a degree have you noticed how ALL HIS RECENT collabs are with mumble rappers? He hasn't released a song with Drake, Minaj or Em for years and he was really close with all three (Em the least and frankly I think they will never make-up because Em hates mumble rap and everything it stands for).

There is a reason why even Em will never say Wayne's name or subliminally diss him when hitting mumble-rappers. Wayne is beyond mumble rap, he is a god of it. This is extremely important to grasp; mumble rappers do it because they are too bad at lyrical rap, Wayne invented it by choice and also because he's only been semi-good at lyrical rap post-drugs. He's different to usual mumble rappers and capable of delivery actual metaphors and puns, nonetheless he founded the entire concept and his first, biggest example of doing so is the following:

Truly listen to this song:

Click the link with the timestamp attached and listen to Birdman rapping, he doesn't normally slur or mumble like this, Wayne encouraged him to try (it's quite obvious if you know who was above who in the hierarchy in Young Money) and then wait for Lil Wayne's verse after. This is literally the first innovation of rap where mumbling is not just ok, it's literally the way one flows and delivers and the nihilism and hedonism are in every other line.

Rhyming everything with everything? Using it three lines later? This is not normal for Birdman to do, Wayne encouraged him to try this flow and style and simply observe the Wayne verse, just literally listen and wait for it...

3:26 timestamp.

Sure, it's lyrical I get that. What you don't realise is that the line between mumble rap and lyrical rap is far blurrier than people think. I will admit it, this isn't really mumbling but notice something, as he evolves this 'style'...

A song with Drake, Kanye AND Eminem... A real deal rap and what does Wayne do? Slurs and mumbles and smiles while doing it.

Here is a 2010 song, observe not just his flow but his STYLE and THEME to the lyrics. Nihilism, Hedonism with singy-songy type slurring mumbling rap even going 'errrrr' to make the flow sicker at parts:

Wayne invented this entire idea and caused so much controversy. Soulja Boy? Dead, didn't take the singy-songy style to make his gun-loving style appeal to audiences. T-Pain, inspired by Wayne in all ways without the clout in the rap game to be capable of pulling off what Wayne did and also lacking lyrics.

I want you to listen to the world's official first mumble rapper but unofficially second, Gucci Mane.

First I'd like to thank RM for starting this debate. Even though I believe (and will show) that his argument is wrong on all counts I think it's important to analyze what is growing into a dominant subgenre in modern hip hop.

I will first deconstruct and negate the Pro's line of argumentation and then provide my own brief timeline/analysis of the formation of "mumble rap".

[Lil']

Pro's first argument relates to the monikers that some so-called mumble rappers have taken up. Examples include lil' yachty, lil' uzi, and lil' xan. He then proceeds to ponder how these prefixes could possibly be a coincidence before settling on their names as necessarily being tributes to lil Wayne as the originator of their preferred style.

This argument might be convincing if lil Wayne was the one to start the trend of using a "lil" at the beginning of his stage name. Unfortunately for Pro this couldn't be farther from the truth. Cursory research reveals the commonality of this moniker starting in the 80's. The first known rapper to employ the name was Lil Troy (known for his song "Wanna Be a Baller"). 

{https://youtu.be/InGtiEXQyF0} 

{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lil%27_Troy}

Other well known rappers to employ the name include Lil Kim, Lil Jon, Lil Dirk, Lil B, Lil Boosie, and Lil Reese. These rappers came up from all over the country, heralding from Atlanta to Chicago. None of these artists are so-called mumble rappers and a few predate Carter's entry into hip hop entirely. The name has been employed so popularly it even inspired the parody rapper Lil dicky to don the name in 2013 before the rise of the SoundCloud generation.

Pro fails to account for the popularity of the lil moniker before the entrance of lil Wayne to the hip hop stage. It's not lil Wayne, it just happens to be an immensely popular prefix like "Young"(Yung) or MC. 

[Flow/Delivery over Lyrics]

Pro's next argument contends that Lil Wayne was the progenitor of a hip hop style which prefers the style of delivery and aesthetic flow to specific lyrical content. This (he claims) is what mumble rap uniquely is and therefore Lil Wayne invented it. He claims that Lil Wayne invented a style of rap which prioritizes talking about money and drugs to more substantive subject matter.

Again, these stylistics pre-date Wayne and are not either unique to so-called mumble rap or what defines it. Going back to Lil troy, his most famous single "Wanna Be a Baller" definitely pre-dates Wayne's entry into hip hop and employs only lyrics of fame and drug consumption. According to Pro's line of argument I suppose it was actually Lil Troy who invented mumble rap.

Although I don't find it necessary see Snoop Dogg, P Diddy, Dr. Dre, Xzibit, etc. etc. as rappers who predate Wayne that dealt with the aforementioned subject matter.

As to the argument prioritizing style to substance, this has never been what strictly defines mumble rap. Since the inception of hip hop there have been artists who prioritized one over the other. even restrictions myself to the "Lil" moniker, on Pro's argumentation it would seem that Lil Jon must be one of the creative forefathers of mumble rap.

Pro also makes reference to some songs predating the rise of mumbe rap where Wayne employs a style of delivery that is difficult to decipher (he might be said to be "mumbling"). I won't dwell on this point too much. I'll simply reference that specific trait in artists pre-dating Wayne: Das EFX's "They Want EFX" and  FU-Schnicken's "True Fuschnick" all more resemble modern mumble rap techniques than the Wayne examples Pro provided and were released in the mid-1990's. The latter also employs the use of onomatopea "sound effects" at the end of various lines, predating another "mumble rap" trait found in Migos, 21Savage, and Desiigner.

[Deconstruction Conclusion]

To summarize my deconstruction of the Pro argument, Lil Wayne was not the originator of any of the individual elements Pro believes consistitute so-called mumble rap. Whether that be the "lil" moniker, the prioritization of style over substance (or delivery over lyrics), money and fame as lyrical inspiration, or even (perhaps the most well known mumble rap trait) onomatopean outbursts.

[What is Mumble Rap]

To define mumble rap we must define what is unique to it. As a subgenre it exists in a specific time with specific attributes which we must be careful to define lest we cross into generalization and definitions ambiguity.

I forward a simple definition of mumble rap (beginning in the 2010's) which employs lo-fi production, trap influences, emphasis on personal aesthetics, and an evolving lyrical style which either employs onomatopean outbursts or highly emotional and vulnerable language. Two classes can be descended from within the genre depending on which of the last two lyrical traits are most present with Lil Uzi, XXXTentacion, and Lil Xan employing the latter and 21Savage and Migos embodying the former.

As a genre "mumble rap" has roots in varying hip hop genres. No single artist originated it but a multitude of trends and styles meshed at a specific to give rise to the genre. The ascension of trap and Gucci Mane's prolific output along with the DIY nature of Chief Keef's production and aesthetic were major influences but the late 2000's alternative rock scene also played a part in the development of some lyrical content. These trends coalesced (initially) around the SoundCloud community in the 2010's with artists like Ski Mask the Slump God, XXXTentacion, Lil Uzi Vert, Rich the Kid, and Lil Yachty.

To Conclude, Lil Wayne did not begin the mumble rap movement anymore than Lil Troy or Lil Jon did. Mumble rap (more aptly called SoundCloud rap) is a genre defined by more than just mumbling or lack of lyrical depth. Hip hop has always contained artists off that caliber. What sets it apart are the specific and unique influences it channels (Mane, Keef, alt rock, DAS EFX) and the community those influences had a major impact and productive output (Soundcloud).

While I admit I didn't prove it enough that the Lil's are paying homage to Lil Wayne, Con is completely deceiving you in what he is pointing out. Yes, coincidentally "Lil" is not unique to Lil Wayne as there were other short-and-proud rappers out there such as Lil Kim. The point is not just the naming-style. The look of Mumble Rappers itself takes after a look that Lil Wayne invented along with his buddy Birdman when they had the Young Money label and were inventing nihilistic, hedonistic rap. The encrusted teeth, the autotune, the slurring of words, the repeition of lyrics (literally rhyming words with themselves over and over shamelessly) and focus in drugs, women, guns and women and nothing else (the key to mumble rap is the focus on nothing but those topics, not the focus on the topics itself, as that's shared with other strands of rap) it all was invented by Wayne & Co.

I am going to show you an image of Lil Wayne form when he began this look, the first time he truly came up with the look that almost all rappers mimic today was most pronounced adn seen-by-many in the 2012 hit YOLO. In 2012 only 2 other mumble rappes had hit the scene and they were both fans of Lil Wayne (Gucci Mane and T-Pain) Maybe ou can argue Rich Homie Quan was around back then but Home Quan literally came years after Lil Wayne in the industry and copied his themes and rap-repetition-style although Quan ever copied his look.

So here's Lil Wayne in the track YOLO:

It should be noted that Lil Wayne doesn't like most of his imitators at all. While he's allied himself with XXXTENTACION, 21 savage and a couple other mumble-rappers, the ones who named themselves Lil he has several times dissed as his imitators and dick-suckers etc. They still like him but they learned he doesn't like how much they want to be him early on in the industry and THAT is why they altered their looks over time.

Here is a diss wayne gave pump and another mumble rapper who copies wayne's voice and the shaky-style too much SmokePurpp:

Wayne was born to mumble-rap. He rapped sing-songy first before autotune was even a thing in the industry (it first hit pop, rappers never used it for at least four years after Pop began to dabble in it and Wayne naturally shook his voice in the way autotune does for others and it fascinated other rappers and Will.I.Am and T-Pain are famous for being inspired by his voice in how they delivered their raps.

Wayne didn't just invent the voice-shaking with sing-songy vibes to the delivery. Wayne knows how to mumble and slur words properly. He does it do you can always half-understand and this perfection of mumbling is something NO OTHER ARTIST EVER has done. They literally can't do it, they mumble too hard or too not-at-all to pull off the mumble rap thing.

Con, no offense, has accepted this debate thinking I am some amateur who is just making this out of hatred to Wayne but he slipped up hard. I know Wayne deeply and Wayne invented shallow-rap. I don't hate it, I do dislike it but that's not why I made this debate. I am paying homage tot he father of mumble-rap because that's literally what he is. 

All mumble rappers have copied wayne in looks, sound and a multitude of things and Wayne HATED IT! This is the key point as to why he never got credit, he hates those imitating him, he's even officially dissed Pump and Yachty (Yachty via tweets or something, not an actual diss-track).

Anyways, let's give you some real-deal Wayne mumble raps. Yes, these are all recent but he's absolutely slaughtering mumble rap because it's HIS STYLE, the others are only trying, he's achieving.

IN THIS TRACK HE KILLS A TRACK A LYRICAL RAPPERS USED:

End of discussion

I hope Con doesn't cheat or get sly here posting new points in the last Round, I can't reply to and therefore can't defend against new attacks.

I made this 5 round to ensure the fairest in-depth back and forth fight between two sides possible based on the site's offered templates.