Producers began employing audio editing software and digital effects in the early 1990s to develop new genres of alternative hip hop, such as jazz rap, in which De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest inserted jazz and R&B samples into their rhythms. The Fugees used elements of reggae and soul to create their own unique sound, while Salt-N-Pepa produced a lively new hip-hop pop style. Later in the 1990s, rappers such as Common, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli pioneered a new form of socially conscious hip hop by rapping about political and social themes over jazz and funk musicians’ breakbeat sounds.
Hardcore, Gangsta and G-Funk
New York’s hardcore rap and Los Angeles’ gangsta rap and G-Funk were the most popular styles in the 1990s. When the Wu-Tang Clan of New York sang about gangster life over swinging hip hop beats with samples from martial-arts movies, they established one of the earliest hardcore genres. Nas, a teenage rapper, released his first album, Illmatic, in 1994. Illmatic became one of hip hop’s finest albums because of its relaxed mid-tempo beats, jazzy samples, and Nas’ poetic lyricism. Puff Daddy, The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, and 50 Cent are among the most well-known hardcore rappers.
The gangsta rap of Los Angeles evolved from the rap music of performers such as Ice-T and NWA. In songs like the 1990s You Played Yourself, Ice-T began by sampling funk beats and rapping on the hazards of drugs, criminality, and dropping out of school. NWA members were from Compton, one of LA’s poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods, and they rapped against police brutality and injustice in their community. Their aggressive raps contained a lot of graphic language, which helped their albums reach the top of the charts because of the media attention they received. Ice Cube, a former member of the NWA, produced the famous gangsta album Death Certificate in 1991, while Tupac Shakur, often known as 2Pac, released his own iconic album All Eyez on Me before his death in 1996.
G-Funk was first heard in 1991, when Dr. Dre, another former NWA member, released his album The Chronic. G-Funk producers frequently copied George Clinton’s P-Funk groups Parliament and Funkadelic’s funk rhythms and slowed them down to create comfortable beats with groovy bass lines, electronic effects, and feminine backup vocals. G-Funk rappers talked about gangsta rap issues as well, but they concentrated more on partying, drugs, and sex than on violence, crime, and firearms. DJ Quik’s Quik Is The Name and Snoop Dog’s Doggystyle are two classic G-Funk albums. Many individuals were offended by hardcore, gangsta, and G-Funk artists’ use of gangster imagery, as well as their explicit vocabulary and the way they rapped about women. However, many others, particularly adolescent guys, adored these looks and helped them become popular.
