Alaskan hip-hop

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Alaskan hip hop is a resurgent subgenre of Hip hop within the state of Alaska, primarily in the metropolitan areas of Anchorage and Fairbanks, and to a lesser extent Juneau. [1] [2] Despite its remote location, since the late 1970s, Alaska has had a steady growth in population, including its African American community, with some observers describing it as a melting pot of numerous cultures from across the continental United States. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Background

Alaska as a whole has seen a steady increase in population across its metropolitan areas since the late 1970s. Despite the predominantly white ethnic background; communities of African-Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics have seen a notable rise as they emigrate from the continental United States in search of stable employment. [8] [9]

First wave

In parallel with Alaska's cultural renaissance, crime began to grow in numerous pockets of Anchorage in the 1990s and 2000s. As was similarly the key influence in such genres as Gangsta rap and Hardcore hip hop, artists such as 'Out Tha Cut (ODC)', 'Baydilla' or 'Joker the Bailbondsman' with ties to known drug traffickers began to see a flourishing first wave scene of underground hip hop among Anchorage's black population in the late 1990s. [10] [11] [12] The growth in the scene was ever present as Anchorage's crime began to increase with the growth in population. [13] [14]

By the late 2000s; Anchorage's rap scene began to decline as federal attention began to shift towards numerous arrests in connection to crimes ranging from drug trafficking and murders. [15] [16] [17] [18]

Second wave

Despite the decline of Alaska's first wave of hip hop, a new wave soon emerged in the late 2010s with numerous artists exhibiting influences from across the United States as Alaska's population continued to grow with incentives for employment and residence. [19] The second wave of artists such as 'Tayy Tarantino', 'Alaska Redd', 'F03 Bear', 'F03 Fazo', 'Baby Cisco' and 'Fairview Huna' began to incorporate influences of trap, Mumble rap and Drill in a modern interpretation of the original sound. [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]

The resurgence in growth was not solely limited to Anchorage as Juneau has also seen a recent rise in its own rap scene. [26] Rappers of Tlingit descent have mixed phrases and elements of their ethnic music and language into their own expression of hip hop. [27] [28]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Alaska's Top 10 Greatest Rappers of All Time".
  2. ↑ "Indie Alaskan Artists To Check Out". 9 May 2022.
  3. ↑ "UNSIGNED ALASKA RAPPERS ARE HEATING UP THE ICY TUNDRA". 20 January 2019.
  4. ↑ "African Americans in Alaska: Black Lives Matter". 10 June 2020.
  5. ↑ "'Black in Alaska' profiles lives and successes of Black Alaskans". 16 February 2022.
  6. ↑ "The Most Diverse Place in America". CNN . 12 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "Alaska Hip Hop and R&B Music Awards".
  8. ↑ "'Black Lives in Alaska' highlights more than 150 years of African American history in the Last Frontier". 21 December 2022.
  9. ↑ "In a rising number of U.S. counties, Hispanic and black Americans are the majority". 20 November 2019.
  10. ↑ "Leader of Anchorage Drug Conspiracy and Rap Label pleads guilty to drug charges in cocaine importation conspiracy". 29 January 2015.
  11. ↑ "Joker the Bailbondsmen in Anchorage".
  12. ↑ "After prison, Sean Sullivan – once Alaska's most successful rapper – is working double time to start over".
  13. ↑ "Anchorage, AK Is Among the Most Dangerous US Metro Areas".
  14. ↑ "Is crime on the rise in Anchorage? A look at the numbers". September 2016.
  15. ↑ "Cocaine ring leader admits his rap group was a drug front".
  16. ↑ "How We Rolled Up North: The Rise, Fall, and Renaissance of the Alaska Rap Scene". 24 August 2015.
  17. ↑ "DeMar Moultrie of ODC Records Sentenced to Forty Months for Drug Conspiracy". 4 May 2013.
  18. ↑ "Anchorage Hip-Hop Impresario Sentenced to 87 Months". 25 September 2018.
  19. ↑ "'It's still wild out here': Anchorage hip-hop artist Tayy Tarantino chronicles hard truths".
  20. ↑ "A hip-hop O.G. in the 49th state, Alaska Redd is both a master of the mic and a mentor".
  21. ↑ "10 Rappers From Alaska You Should Definitely Know About".
  22. ↑ "I am an Alaskan Rapper : INDIE ALASKA". 2 August 2018.
  23. ↑ "TAYY TARANTINO: THE MMXVII VISUAL MIXTAPE".
  24. ↑ "Inside Alaska's Most Dangerous Hood". YouTube . 17 December 2022.
  25. ↑ "Live from the North: Getting Alaska hip-hop caught up with the Lower 48". 5 July 2021.
  26. ↑ "Wu-Tang Clan rapper is coming to Juneau". 7 November 2019.
  27. ↑ "Juneau teens rap about Tlingit culture in new bilingual music video". August 2018.
  28. ↑ "Young artist blends hip-hop and Tlingit heritage on big stage". 10 February 2019.
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