Seapunk is an internet aesthetic and electronic music microgenre that originated on Tumblr and Twitter in 2011. Its aesthetic is defined by an aquatic theme fused with imagery from 1990s cyberculture, including early 3D computer graphics, tropical scenery, and nautical motifs. The visual identity often features a bright color palette centered on shades of turquoise, cyan, and aquamarine, applied to digital art, fashion, and music videos.

The term began as an inside joke and internet meme before it was adopted by a collective of artists and musicians. While it had a brief period of mainstream visibility in 2012, Seapunk was primarily a short-lived online phenomenon whose visual language became more concrete and influential than its musical style, directly informing subsequent internet aesthetics like Vaporwave .

The term "seapunk" was coined on June 1, 2011, by Brooklyn-based DJ Julian Foxworth, known as Lil Internet, who posted a tweet about a "Seapunk leather jacket with barnacles where the studs used to be." The hashtag quickly spread across Tumblr and Twitter, evolving from an in-joke into a tag for a developing aesthetic. Electronic musician Pictureplane described it as an "internet-based phenomenon birthed out of the Tumblr and Twitter universes as a means to describe a lifestyle aesthetic that is all things oceanic and of the sea."

A community of musicians and artists formed around the concept. Producer Ultrademon is credited as one of the style's originators and founded the record label Coral Records Internazionale, which released the compilation Seapunk Volume 1 . The subculture gained wider attention in 2012 through its adoption by mainstream artists. Rapper Azealia Banks incorporated Seapunk visuals into her Fantasea mixtape and the music video for her song "Atlantis." The aesthetic reached a peak of mainstream exposure when Rihanna performed her song "Diamonds" on Saturday Night Live using a backdrop of 1990s-style digital graphics, such as floating pyramids and chrome-colored waves. This event caused significant backlash from within the Seapunk community, who accused the performance of co-opting their aesthetic without credit. Following this mainstream appropriation, many of the original adherents, including Lil Internet, disavowed the scene, and its popularity as a distinct movement began to fade.

Though its time as an active subculture was brief, Seapunk's aesthetic had a notable impact on subsequent internet culture. Its visual themes and nostalgic focus on 1990s digital art were heavily absorbed into the Vaporwave aesthetic, which rose to prominence as Seapunk faded. Seapunk also inspired other niche internet-based aesthetics with similar naming conventions, such as Slimepunk and Icepunk .

The visual component of Seapunk is often considered more definitive than its music. It is heavily based on the digital art of the 1990s, particularly early 3D net art and the graphics found in video games from that era, such as Sega's Ecco the Dolphin . Imagery commonly includes neon and pastel-colored depictions of oceans, swimming pools, and tropical landscapes populated by CGI dolphins, pyramids, and palm trees. These elements are frequently presented in animated GIF format, featuring rotating geometric shapes and reflective surfaces against aquatic backdrops. Other recurring motifs include yin-yang symbols and smiley faces, referencing 1990s popular culture. The overall visual style has been described as a utopian, glossy filter applied to early cyberpunk culture, with visual precedents cited in films like Waterworld .

Seapunk fashion combines nautical themes with 1990s rave and surf aesthetics. The most defining feature of the style is hair dyed in bright, oceanic shades such as turquoise, lilac, sea blue, and aquamarine. Clothing often incorporates these same colors. Garments include transparent plastic jackets, tie-dyed shirts, and tartan overshirts. Accessories are central to the look and include plastic, circle-lens sunglasses, shell jewelry, and baseball caps. The fashion draws on symbols from 1990s pop culture, with smiley faces and yin-yangs appearing on clothing and accessories. The style was adopted by several mainstream artists, and its influence was noted in the collections of high-fashion designers like Versace and Givenchy.

As a music microgenre, Seapunk is an electronic style rooted in nostalgia for 1990s sounds. Its influences include 1990s house, pop, R&B, and Southern hip-hop, particularly the subgenre of trap rap. The sound often incorporates a "twinkly, narcotic energy" reminiscent of new-age music and the slowed-down techniques of chopped and screwed hip-hop. The resulting tracks have an aquatic or shimmery vibe, sometimes featuring sounds of narwhal mating calls or other oceanic samples over rave and breakbeat rhythms. Key artists associated with the genre include Ultrademon, Zombelle, Unicorn Kid, Slava, and Grimes. While not exclusively a Seapunk artist, Azealia Banks is frequently cited for her musical and visual contributions to the subculture.