Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, is a subgenre of hip hop music that emerged in the mid- to late 1980s as a distinct but highly controversial rap subgenre, whose lyrics assert the culture and values typical of American street gangs and street hustlers. Many gangsta rappers flaunt associations with real street gangs, like the Crips and the Bloods. Gangsta rap's earliest pioneers were Philadelphia rapper Schoolly D and Los Angeles rapper Ice-T, and the genre was taken to new heights in 1988 by rap group N.W.A. By 1992, via record producer Dr. Dre, rapper Snoop Dogg and their pioneering G-funk sound, gangsta rap had taken the rap genre's lead and become mainstream, popular music.
Artis Leon Ivey Jr., known professionally as Coolio, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and actor. Coolio achieved mainstream success in the mid-to-late 1990s with his albums It Takes a Thief (1994), Gangsta's Paradise (1995), and My Soul (1997). He is best known for his 1995 Grammy Award-winning hit single "Gangsta's Paradise", as well as other singles "Fantastic Voyage" (1994), "1, 2, 3, 4 " (1996) and "C U When U Get There" (1997).
Anthony H. Forté, better known by his stage name Rappin' 4-Tay, is an American rapper from San Francisco, California.
Delmar Drew Arnaud, of the stage name Daz Dillinger, formerly Dat Nigga Daz, and commonly Daz, is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer who, in the 1990s at Death Row Records, aided the catapult of West Coast rap and gangsta rap into the mainstream. He is one half of the rap duo tha Dogg Pound, along with Kurupt.
Murder Was the Case is a 1994 short film and soundtrack album starring and performed by Snoop Doggy Dogg. The 18 minute film was directed by Dr. Dre and Fab Five Freddy and chronicles the fictional death of Snoop Dogg and his resurrection after making a deal with the Devil. The film's title comes from Snoop's song of the same name from his debut album, Doggystyle, which had been released a year earlier.
Fear of a Black Hat is a 1993 American mockumentary film on the evolution and state of American hip hop music. The film's title is derived from the 1990 Public Enemy album Fear of a Black Planet. First screened at Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 1993, and later released on June 3, 1994, Fear of a Black Hat was written, produced and directed by, and co-stars Rusty Cundieff.
CB4 is a 1993 American comedy film directed by Tamra Davis and starring Chris Rock. The film follows a fictional rap group named "CB4", named after the prison block in which the group was allegedly formed. The movie primarily parodies the rap group N.W.A among other gangsta rap aspects, as well as taking inspiration from This Is Spinal Tap. It contains short segments featuring celebrities and musicians such as Halle Berry, Eazy-E, Butthole Surfers, Ice-T, Ice Cube, Flavor Flav, and Shaquille O'Neal.
Webster Gradney, Jr. who performs under the mononym Webbie, is the an American rapper, songwriter and actor from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He's been signed to the independent Trill Entertainment label since 2003. In 2005 he came into the hip hop scene with "Gimme That" featuring Bun B. His songs "Bad Bitch" and "Swerve" were featured on Gangsta Musik, his 2003 group album with Lil Boosie, and in the 2005 movie Hustle & Flow. Webbie's second album, Savage Life 2, was released in early 2008 with the hit single "Independent" featuring Lil Boosie and Lil Phat.
Live Squad was an American hip hop group and production team from Hollis, Queens, New York consisting of brothers Stretch and Majesty and DJ K-Low, best known for their early collaborations with Tupac Shakur.
Randy Walker, of the stage name Stretch, was an American rapper and record producer, working in Live Squad. In the early 1990s, he joined 2Pac's rap group Thug Life. The November 30, 1994, shooting of Shakur led to their split. On November 30, 1995, Stretch was fatally shot.
Music from the Motion Picture Poetic Justice is the soundtrack to John Singleton's 1993 film Poetic Justice. It was released on June 29, 1993 through Epic Soundtrax, and consisted of a blend of hip hop and R&B music. The album peaked at number 23 on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on August 25, 1993.
"Bitches Ain't Shit" is an American rap song by record producer and rapper Dr. Dre for his debut solo album, The Chronic. It was released in December 1992 as Death Row Records' first album. The song was never issued as a single, but was a huge underground hit. In late 1993, discussing a set of public protests over this song, rap journalist Dream Hampton incidentally called it, artistically, the best song on the year's best rap album. Billboard notes, however, "the misogyny is ugly and thick, even for a rap record." It evokes a set of four male running mates who rap sagas and lessons altogether teaching that "bitches," being women, are ripe for sexual indulgence, and sometimes offer easy money, but, being traitorous, are just "hos and tricks." Soon notorious, this song helped establish the persona of its guest rapper Snoop Dogg.
"The Bitch in Yoo" is a single and diss song released by rapper Common in 1996. The song first appeared on the Relativity Records compilation Relativity Urban Assault and later on Roc Raida's Crossfaderz. It was also performed live alongside De La Soul on their album Live at Tramps, NYC, 1996. The b-side of "The Bitch in Yoo" is "The Real Weight", a solo track by No I.D.
Gangsta Conversation is the fifth studio album by American rap group South Central Cartel.
Tear Yo Club Down is a 1999 album by Memphis underground rapper Gangsta Pat that was recorded in response to comments made by Three 6 Mafia in The Source magazine referring to him as "a fake ass rapper with no skills." Though many considered Pat's retaliation a desperate attempt for publicity, the album is still considered one of his best works. This album is also considered the door opener for many other disses to Three 6 by unknown rappers or other former members, the most known being Atlanta rapper, T-Rock and his tracks, "My Little Arm" & "Fuck 3 6".
Vaushaun Brooks, professionally known as Maestro is an American Grammy Award-winning hip hop record producer and songwriter. Maestro's trademark is a synthesized female voice saying "Maestro" at the beginning of his productions. Maestro's sound is primarily sample-free, relying heavily on synthesizers or live instruments. Brooks graduated with honors from Morehouse College in 2002.
"Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It" is the first single from Ice Cube's studio album, Raw Footage. It was released with a music video on his MySpace page on January 3, 2008. The song contains a "chopped and screwed" line from Cube's previous single Child Support. Several members of Westside Connection make cameo appearances in the video. In the song Ice Cube comments on the exploitation of gangsta rap as a scapegoat for society's problems.
Aktapuss is the second LP released by emcee Akinyele. It was released on November 23, 1999, on Volcano/Jive Records. The album served as the soundtrack of the film of the same name and was modest success, peaking at #64 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and #33 on the Top Heatseekers. It also spawned a fairly successful single, "Take a Lick", which made it to #87 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and #9 on the Hot Rap Singles.
Ghetto Dope is the debut album by the 5th Ward Boyz, released on May 18, 1993 through Rap-a-Lot Records. The album featured production from Mike Dean, N.O. Joe, James Smith and John Bido.
