Gangsta rap

Gangsta rap is a subgenre of hip hop music which involves a lyrical focus on the lifestyles of inner-city thugs, criminals and gangsters.

Related Topics:
Subgenre - Hip hop music - Inner-city

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Although crime and violence in the inner city have always been part of hip hop's lyrical canon, before the rise of gangsta rap in the late 1980s hip hop usually echoed the tone of the socially conscious soul music of the 1970s, and handled the topic positively. Gangsta rap, however, focuses upon and often embraces and glorifies the lifestyles of criminals of the street. The term "gangsta rap" is most often used to refer to music coming from the West Coast or the South hip hop scenes —it is often used to refer to East Coast hip hop artists as well, though many on the East prefer to use the "hardcore hip hop" descriptor instead (note that "hardcore hip hop" is not a direct synonym of gangsta rap, as many artists frequently described as being hardcore hip hop artists are not considered gangsta rap artists, e.g. Public Enemy).

Related Topics:
Crime - Hip hop - 1980s - Soul music - 1970s - West Coast - The South - East Coast hip hop - Hardcore hip hop - Public Enemy

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Gangsta rap is regularly attacked by the media as well as other hip hop artists for glorifying vices such as crime, violence, misogyny, homophobia and materialism. However, gangsta rap is by far the most commercially successful strand of hip hop and achieved considerable chart dominance during the later two-thirds of the 1990s, during which time many gangsta rap artists moved towards a more pop-friendly mainstream sound.

Related Topics:
Crime - Violence - Misogyny - Homophobia - Materialism - 1990s

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