Crunk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Crunk | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins: | Hip-Hop/Rap, Southern Rap, Miami Bass |
| Cultural origins: | Late 1990s and Early 2000s |
| Typical instruments: | Electric Bass, Drums or Drum Machine |
| Mainstream popularity: | Mid 2000s |
Crunk is a specific type of hip hop music, based particularly on the eastern side of Atlanta, Georgia, and its birthplace of Memphis, Tennessee. Crunk is classified as a subdivision of Dirty South, Southern rap, and Memphis rap and is an outgrowth of Miami-based Miami bass and New Orleans bounce music. It is sometimes incorrectly spelled "Krunk." The Carolinas are also home to crunk rappers.
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[edit] Overview
The crunk genre originated in the early 1990s but did not become mainstream until the early 2000s. The first notable crunk single is commonly believed to be "Tear Da Club Up '97" by Three 6 Mafia which appeared in 1997 and reached #29 on the US Rap charts. [citation needed] In the year 2003, the crunk genre had surprise hit singles with "Never Scared" (Bone Crusher, featuring Killer Mike and T.I.), "Salt Shaker" (Ying Yang Twins, featuring Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz), "Damn!" (YoungBloodZ featuring Lil Jon, and produced by Lil Jon), and most notably "Get Low" (Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz, featuring the Ying Yang Twins), which reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. By 2004, crunk was in such high demand that superstar R&B singer Usher enlisted Lil Jon to produce his single "Yeah!" which went on to be the biggest hit of 2004, according to Billboard magazine. Lil Jon produced another #1 hit in 2004 with "Goodies" by R&B singer Ciara, featuring Petey Pablo. By 2005, however, it was widely perceived that crunk was on the wane, with its appeal primarily confined to its birthplace of Memphis and in places in Atlanta.
Unlike the East Coast style of hip hop, crunk has a high-energy and club-oriented feel. While other hip hop styles might involve a more conversational vocal delivery, crunk usually involves hoarse chants and repetitive, simple refrains. Lyrics are based on a rhythmic bounce, which is very effective in a club environment. In fact, several crunk songs have been banned in venues due to how wild the crowds can get [citation needed].
Looped drum machine rhythms are usually in the forefront of the mix, with the Roland TR-808 being especially popular. A typical crunk song uses 4 bars of music generated by electronic drums and synthesizers that repeat throughout the song, but sometimes includes a break towards the end of the song. Many of the drum machines and rhythms they produce were previously well known in specialty genres of dance music. Crunk also employs non-melodic sound effects such as whistles and synth blips.
Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz often claim to be the "Kings of Crunk" with Rasheeda as the "Queen of Crunk," while Lil' Scrappy is referred to as the "Prince of Crunk" and Ciara is often referred to as the "Princess of Crunk"<ref>Ciara, Princess of Crunk</ref> or the "First Lady of Crunk & B"<ref>VH1: Ciara: Biography</ref>. While these artists have embodied the term in the hip hop industry, the term was more widely exposed when Lil Jon named his albums Kings of Crunk and Crunk Juice. Serious, the founder of the Crunk Incorporated record label, is known as the "Lord of Crunk". Serious discovered both Lil' Scrappy and Crime Mob.
In the hip hop world, crunk rappers have been criticized for lacking lyrical content, creativity, and using essentially the same beats and styles. Rapper MC Lars satirized the genre in his song "Generic Crunk Rap," in which he commented on its decided unoriginality and consumeristic undertones. While agreeing that the subject of the lyrics are all more or less identical, others say that the music is specifically designed for the rowdy clubs in which this style thrives, and that it serves its purpose well for that scene, in which sophisticated music is not necessary.
In early 2005, rapper Kanye West coined the term "white crunk" to describe the gritty drum sounds of the Scottish alternative rock group Franz Ferdinand<ref>Kanye West Helps Out Franz!</ref>. West and the band met at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards, where they sat down together to share praise and advice. West feels that the white crunk vibe has affected his new work and is best exemplified on his 2005 single "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" from the album Late Registration.
The rock band Family Force 5 uses the term "crunk rock" to describe its music, which crossfades common elements of Southern rap and hip hop, pop, rock, metal and nu metal, punk and electronic music.
[edit] First known use of the word
The first popular figures to use the word were Atlanta rappers Outkast, who in their 1993 song and accompanying video "Player's Ball" said, "I gots in crunk if it ain't real ain't right". Outkast also mentions "crunk" in the song "Hootie Hoo" (which was released in 1994 on the same album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik). The lyrics state "Follow the funk from the skunk/and the dank that is crunk in the Dungeon."
[edit] Misconception of word origin
Contrary to popular misconception, there is no evidence at all to suggest that crunk derives from krank (ill) in Yiddish or German. Similarly, there is no evidence to suggest that Jewish shopkeepers introduced the word to black communities in the southern United States.
[edit] Conan O'Brien
In 1993, Conan O'Brien used the term "krunk" (an apparently invented nonsense word) as a multipurpose expletive on his television program Late Night with Conan O'Brien. (In this sense, the word was very similar to "smeg" in the Red Dwarf universe.) The term was used throughout the first two seasons of the show as a replacement for the infamous "seven dirty words", with the explanation that it was the most profane expletive of all time. The running joke was that the word was so new, television censors wouldn't know about it, thus allowing a curse word to go out over the airwaves. The show exhibited video clips of various people using the word, including one of Ice T (notorious in his rap persona for his use of expletive-laced language) sitting in the show's guest chair saying, "Wow, that's krunked up, man." Viewers at home were also encouraged to use "krunk" in conversation, so as to bring the word into common use. According to Late Night writer Robert Smigel, the word was invented by fellow writer Dino Stamatopoulos.
The exact relationship between "crunk" and "krunk" is unclear. However, when American Idol judge Randy Jackson appeared on O'Brien's show on 30 April 2004 (nine years after O'Brien's endorsements of krunk), he used the word "krunked", but O'Brien seemed to have no recollection of the word.
[edit] Other meaning
Crunk is also thought to be derived from a combination or a portmanteau of the words "crazy" and "drunk", or a combination of "chronic" and "drunk", referring to the state of being both drunk from alcohol and high on marijuana, at the same time.
Lil Jon defines crunk as a "state of heightened excitement".
Natasha defines crunk as getting crazy drunk and having a dance and sing-a-long.
[edit] Music sample
- Get Low (sample) (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Short sample of Get Low by Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz ft. Ying Yang Twins - . "Get Low" was a breakout crunk hit in 2003, and illustrates both the club-oriented sound and lyrical simplicity characteristic of the style.
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.
[edit] Notable crunk artists
[edit] References
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[edit] See also
hip hopcs:Crunk da:Crunk de:Crunk es:Crunk fr:Crunk it:Crunk pl:Crunk simple:Crunk
