Hardcore hip hop

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(Redirected from Hardcore rap)

"Hardcore Hip Hop" is also the title of a single by DJ Shadow.

NaS's seminal debut, Illmatic, had a profound impact on East Coast hip hop during the mid-1990s.

Hardcore hip hop is a form of hip hop music characterized by confrontation and aggression in its subject matter, its sparse yet heavy beats, or any combination thereof. The term can refer to similar musical sensibilities that encompass several related genres, including gangsta rap, Mafioso rap, Horrorcore, rapcore, political hip hop, and alternative rap.

The origins of hardcore hip hop began in East Coast hip hop during the late 1980s, when artists such as Schoolly D, Boogie Down Productions, Slick Rick, the Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy began eschewing the popular themes of partying and braggadocio. Instead, their subject matter and content often reflected the ravages of urban poverty, alcohol and drug abuse, crime, and gang rivalries.

For much of the early 1990s, with the popularity of artists such as Ice Cube, Ice-T, Da Lench Mob, and Cypress Hill, hardcore hip hop was essentially synonymous with West Coast gangsta rap.

However, artists such as Onyx (Bacdafucup), The Wu-Tang Clan (Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)), NaS (Illmatic), Black Moon (Enta Da Stage), and Mobb Deep (The Infamous) soon re-invented and revitalized East Coast hardcore. This new brand of hardcore hip hop was characterized by its minimalistic beats, gritty drum sounds that were often sampled from vinyl, occasional urban jazz and horn samples, and haunting string and piano samples. During the late-1990s and onto the 2000s, a commercial variant of hardcore hip hop became integrated into pop culture, and enjoyed great mainstream success with multi-platinum artists such as Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, DMX, Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., and Big Punisher.

[edit] Artists

[edit] Sound samples

N.Y. State of Mind (sample) (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Short sample of "N.Y. State of Mind", by Nas. From his highly-regarded 1994 album Illmatic, N.Y. State Of Mind illustrates the guns, drugs and crime obsessions associated with gangsta rap, but with a track characteristic of the East Coast hardcore rap scene.
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Wu-Tang Clan's "Visionz" (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- From Wu-Tang Forever
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Dogs for Life (sample) (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Short sample of "Dogs for Life" from DMX's 1998 album Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood.
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