Gangsta rap

Gangsta rap isgenrehip hop, oftenlyrical subjects based onviolencemisogyny inherent ingangster lifestyle. This subject matter has causedgreat dealcontroversy,many observers criticizinggenre forperceived messagesespouses, including homophobia, misogyny, racismmaterialism. Gangsta rappers generally defend themselves by pointing out that theydescribingrealityinner-city ghetto life,Public Enemy's Chuck D even calling it"CNNblack America". Given thataudiencegangsta rap has become overwhelmingly white, some commentators have even criticized as analogousminstrel showsblackface performance,which African-Americans or whites madelook likeblack caricature, acted instereotypically unculturedignorant manner forentertainmentwhite audiences. Some ofmost lyrically hardcore performers, such as The Geto Boys,accusedbeing cartoonish.

Tablecontents

1 Hip hop in1980s 1.1 Hip hop moves westgangsta hip hop appears 1.2 G funkDeath Row Records 1.3 Bad Boy Records andEast Coast 2 Post-Coast rivalry 2.4 East Coast

Hip hop in1980s

Los Angeles' Ice Toften credited asfirst gangsta rapper duehis influential "Sixn' da Mornin'"other aggressive, gritty recordings (like Rhyme Pays, 1987), though Philadelphia's Schooly D (The AdventuresSchoolly D, 1987), Kool G Rap ("It'sDemo", "I'm Fly")New York's Slick Rick (The Great AdventuresSlick Rick, 1989)both also contenders. The genreusually credited as being an originally West Coast phenomenon, due toinfluenceIce-TN.W.A, though Schoolly DSlick RickEast Coast rappers. Other major influences includepioneering hardcore workpolitically-aware performers like Public Enemy (It TakesNationMillionsHold Us Back, 1988), Ice Cube (AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, 1990)Boogie Down Productions (Criminal Minded, 1987), andsimilarly "poetic gangsta" prosepoetryIce-T's namesake, Iceberg Slim, andproto-gangsta rapLL Cool J (Mama Said Knock You Out, 1990)Too $hort (Life Is... Too Short, 1998). Kool G Rap's epic tales helped inspirerelated Mafioso rap phenomenon, which later achieved some mainstream successgreat critical acclaim1995 (see 1995music)albums like Raekwon'sOnly Built 4 Cuban LinxAZ's Do or DieMobb Deep's The Infamous.

Hip hop moves westgangsta hip hop appears

Untilvery late 1980s, hip hop had been dominated byEast Coast (essentially New York City, though PhiladelphiaNew Jersey also had vital scenes),West Coast hip hopcuriosity dominated by dance-heavycritically reviled electro hop artists like Egyptian LoverWorld Class Wreckin' Cru. The latter crew included Dr. Dre before he joined N.W.A.

Aside from electro hop, early pioneer hardcore hip hop artists, including most notably Ice-T, gained underground fame inLos Angeles area duringearly 1980s. Ice-Toften consideredearliest gangsta rapper, though paradoxically, henot often associated withmodern form ofgenre; many listeners associate him primarilyhardcorerapcore music, especially aftercontroversy regarding "Cop Killer",song from his heavy metal-hip hop band Body Count's debut album, ''Body Count. Aside from N.W.A.Ice-T, early West Coast gangsta rappers include Too $hort (from Oakland, California)others from ComptonWatts, Los Angeles, as well as Oakland, San FranciscoSan Diego.

Bylate 1980s, gangsta rap begandominate hip hop. The first blockbuster hip hop album wasWest Coast gangsta rap album Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A.1989 (see 1989music). Straight Outta Compton also established West Coast hip hop asvital genre, andrivalhip hop's long-time capital, New York City. Straight Outta Compton sparkedfirst major controversy regarding hip hop lyrics when their song "Fuck Tha Police" earnedletter fromFBI strongly expressing law enforcement's resentment ofsong.

G funkDeath Row Records

Image:Dr.DreTheChronicalbumcover.jpg Dr. Dre's The Chronic

In 1992 (see 1992music) former N.W.A. member Dr. Dre released The Chronic, which further establisheddominanceWest Coast gangsta rapDeath Row Records,is alsobeginningG funk,slow, drawled formhip hop that dominatedchartssome time. Extensively sampling funk bands, especially ParliamentFunkadelic, G funk was multi-layered, yet simpleeasydance to,anti-authoritarian lyrics that helped endear ityoung listenersall racesclasses. One ofgenre's biggest crossover stars was Snoop Doggy Dogg (Doggystyle, 1993), whose party-oriented themes made songs like "GinJuice" party anthemstop hits nationwide. Originally East Coast rapper Tupac Shakur (Me AgainstWorld, 1995) has endured as perhapsgreatest West Coast performer oftime. Death Row Records was led by Suge Knight, whose manic, violent ways quickly becameconstant fodderindustry gossip. Hesupposedhave forced business

rivalsdrink their own urine, become obsessedMafia movies like Scarface, continued previous associationsstreet gangBloodsdangled Vanilla Ice (ToExtreme, 1990) offvery high hotel balcony, among other acts. Other Ruthless Records affiliates, like Snoop Doggy DoggTupac Shakur, had troubles withlaw,Snoop's eventual acquittalmurder occurring just as his superstardom was peaking. Other artists like Warren G (Regulate... G Funk Era, 1995)LadyRage (Necessary Roughness, 1997) eventually accused Knightearning millions whileremained unpaidsongwritingperforming on albums including The ChronicDoggystyle.

Bad Boy Records andEast Coast

Image:NasIllmatic.jpg Nas' Illmatic

Meanwhile, East Coast rappers like Busta Rhymes (The Coming, 1996), The Wu-Tang Clan (EnterWu-Tang (36 Chambers), 1993), Nas (Illmatic, 1994) andNotorious B.I.G (ReadyDie, 1994) pioneeredgrittier soundgangsta rap. Led by Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records empirespokesperson Notorious B.I.G., New York City took back chart dominance fromWest Coast as hip hop continuedexplode intomainstream, withadditional dollars intensifyingstakes betweenrivals (see rap feuds). Soon enough,situation had exploded; ShakurBiggie were dead, victimsstill-unsolved drive-by shootings; Ruthless Records sank quickly as multiple lawsuits,incarcerationlabelhead Suge Knight anddepartureSnoop, Dr. Dremost oflabel's other acts sankcompany financially. Dr. Dre, atMTV Music Video Awards, claimed that "gangsta rap was dead", which proved untrue. Bad Boy Records survived, though not untarnished as Puff Daddy's commercial empire continuelose critics withmainstream sound aimed at middle-class America,challenges from Atlanta and, especially, Master P's No Limit stablepopular rappers.

Post-Coast rivalry

AfterdeathsBiggieTupac, hip hop remainedmajor commercial force, though there was no clear victory from either coast. Most ofindustry's major labels wereturmoil, or bankrupt,new locations sprang up.

Image:Aqueminicvr.jpg OutKast's Aquemini

Goodie Mob (Soul Food, 1995)OutKast (Aquemini, 1998) established Atlanta aship hop center early on, drawing onpioneering Christian hip hop group Arrested Development (3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days inLife Of, 1992),earliest successful southern group. Later, Ludacris (WordMouf, 2001) would becomehuge southern rap star.

Master P's No Limit label, based outNew Orleans, also became quite popular, though critical success was scarce, withexceptionssome later additions like Mystikal (Let's Get Ready, 2000)Juvenile (400 Degreez, 1998). No Limit had begun its risefameMaster P's The Ghetto Is TryingKill Me (1994, 1994music),subsequent hits by Rappin- 4-Tay (Don't FightFeeling, 1994), SilkkShocker (Charge It 2 Da Game, 1998)C-Murder (Life or Death, 1998).

Afterturn ofmillennium, superstar Nelly (Country Grammar, 2000) andrest ofSt. Lunatics ("Gimme What You Got", 1996) put St. Louis onhip hop map, while Eminem (The Marshall Mathers LP, 2000) arose from Detroitbecomebiggest star inhistoryhip hop.

Jermaine Dupri, an Atlanta-born record producertalent scout, had had great but-shortlived success after discovering youthful pop stars Kris Kross (Totally Krossed Out, 1992) performing atmall, but his formula proved enormously successful inlate 1990searly 2000s, as pre-teen pop acts like Lil Bow Wow (BewareDog, 2000) toppedcharts, alongolder performers like Da Brat (Funkdafied, 1994), Mariah Carey (Daydream, 1995)Usher (My Way, 1997).

East Coast

Baltimore-born DMXoften creditedreviving New York's hip hop sceneIt's DarkHell Is Hot, his 1997 (see 1997music) debut, which enteredcharts at #1, though he had drawn upon previous releases from Busta Rhymes (The Coming, 1996)Nas (Illmatic, 1994); Nas' Illmatic deserves special mention forcopious critical accolades bestowed upon it,many observers calling himsaviorEast Coast hip hop. In contrastNasother critically acclaimed West Coast performers, such as hardcore hip hop group The Wu-Tang Clan (EnterWu-Tang (36 Chambers), 1993), many ofEast Coast chart mainstays atend ofdecade were derided by critics; these included Puff Daddy (No Way Out, 1997)manyhis collaborators, such as Mase (Harlem World, 1997). Nas was unablemaintain his reputation, releasingserieslackluster, poorly-received albums after Illmatic that earned him derision even harsher than that givenPuff Daddyother pop-rappers. The wildly popular DMX helped launchcrew calledRuff Ryders, who would eventually include future thug rap star Ja Rule (Venni Vetti Vecci, 1999), Eve (Scorpion, 2001)The Lox (We AreStreets, 2000). In spiteDMX's hypepopularity, Jay-Z (The Dynasty Roc La Familia, 2000) became much more famousremained one ofbiggest hip hop stars asmillennium ended. Withinfew years,new generationrising stars including 50 Cent (Get Rich Or Die Tryin', 2003)Cam'ron (Come Home With Me, 2002) helped re-establish East Coast supremacy, though not without significant threats fromwest, southmidwest. East Coast hip hop also sawrisegangsta rap's two biggest female stars, Eve (from Philadelphia)New York's Lil' Kim (Hard Core, 1996), whose sexuallyviolently explicit lyrics (drawn from more militant female West Coast gangsta rappers like Yo-Yo (Black Pearl, 1992)) earned themiresome feministss, while others praised them.