Music 1003- Gansta Rap

Gangsta Rap:

-Genre of hip-hop that glorifies the “gangsta” lifestyle

-(drugs, guns, materialism, misogyny, gang violence, and even death), in a fatalistic tone

-usually told from the first-person perspective, with personal, localized references to place names

and people (in this way, it is meant to be exclusive).

-Serious rivalries existed between West Coast (Long Beach, Compton, CA) and East Coast (New Jersey,

New York) artists and record labels, especially in the mid-to-late 1990s

-which led to the deaths of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls (the Notorious B.I.G.) in 1996 and

1997, respectively. [Note: the biopic Straight Outta Compton (2015) tells the story of rise and fall of the

-features Snoop Doggy Dogg’s laid-back, Southern Califorian style of rapping, with lyrics

expressing various themes associated with gangsta rap

-establishing street credibility and personal identity (largely through bragging) is essential here.

-To increase mainstream exposure (through radio and album sales) a “clean” version was released along

with the uncensored version; this became very common in hip-hop.

Eminem (Marshall Mathers, b. 1972):

-Rapper, producer, actor; considered the best-selling pop artist since 2000

-early popularity through his alter-ego, Slim Shady; unusual success as a white rapper, in a genre

traditionally dominated by African- American artists.

-He is recognized for his especially diverse and innovative approach to lyrics, which often draw on his