Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, is a subgenre of hip-hop that conveys the culture and values typical of urban gangs and street hustlers. Emerging in the late 1980s, gangsta rap's pioneers include Schoolly D of Philadelphia and Ice-T of Los Angeles, later expanding in California with artists such as N.W.A and Tupac Shakur. In 1992, via record producer and rapper Dr. Dre, rapper Snoop Dogg, and their G-funk sound, gangster rap broadened to mainstream popularity.
Christopher Edward Martin, known professionally as DJ Premier, is an American DJ and record producer. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop duo Gang Starr—alongside the rapper Guru—and presently forms half of the hip hop duo PRhyme, together with Royce da 5'9".
Chopped and screwed is a music genre and technique of remixing music that involves slowing down the tempo and deejaying. It was developed in the Houston hip hop scene in the early 1990s by DJ Screw. The screwed technique involves slowing the tempo of a song down to 60 and 70 quarter-note beats per minute and applying techniques such as skipping beats, record scratching, stop-time and affecting portions of the original composition to create a "chopped-up" version of the song.
Frazier Othel Thompson III, better known by his stage name Trae tha Truth, is an American rapper from Houston, Texas. Embarking on a musical career in 1998, he soon established himself as a prominent member of the Texas hip hop scene with his solo debut, Losing Composure (2003). Same Thing Different Day (2004) and Restless (2006) followed up, the latter of which was his debut on Rap-a-Lot Records.
This is the discography for rapper Twista.
American rapper Lil Wayne has released 285 singles including 19 promotional singles. Lil Wayne attained his first singles chart entry in 1999 as a featured artist on Hot Boys member Juvenile's single "Back That Azz Up", which peaked at number 19 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and became a top ten hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts. Wayne later released his debut solo studio album Tha Block Is Hot in November 1999. Its title track and lead single, which features B.G. and Juvenile, reached number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100. Lights Out followed in December 2000 and produced the singles "Get Off the Corner", "Everything" and "Shine". "Way of Life", the lead single from Wayne's third studio album 500 Degreez, peaked at number 71 on the Hot 100 and became a top 20 hit on the Hot Rap Songs chart. In 2004, Wayne was featured on the single "Soldier" by American girl group Destiny's Child, which became his first top ten hit on the Hot 100 and enjoyed commercial success internationally.
The discography of American rapper Young Thug consists of three studio albums, two compilation albums, twelve self-released mixtapes, seven commercial mixtapes, three extended plays, and sixty-nine singles.
EarthGang is an American hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia, composed of Olu and WowGr8. They are co-founders of the musical collective Spillage Village, with JID, Hollywood JB, JordxnBryant, 6lack, Mereba, and Benji.
Marquis Amonte King, better known by the stage name Shy Glizzy, is an American rapper from Southeast, Washington, D.C. He is best known for his guest feature alongside Brent Faiyaz on GoldLink's 2016 single "Crew", which peaked at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap/Sung Performance.
American rapper Offset has released two studio albums, one collaborative album, two compilation albums, two extended plays and twenty-five singles. In 2017, he released Without Warning, in collaboration with fellow Atlanta-based rapper 21 Savage and American record producer Metro Boomin. The album entered at number four on the US Billboard 200. The album spawned the single "Ric Flair Drip", which has been certified six-times platinum by the RIAA.
"Ric Flair Drip" is a song by American rapper Offset and American record producer Metro Boomin. It was included on their collaborative studio album with 21 Savage, Without Warning (2017). Upon the album's release, it charted at number 71 on the Billboard Hot 100. After its release as the lead single, and a subsequent music video starring Ric Flair himself, it rose to number 13, becoming both Metro Boomin and Offset's highest-charting song as lead artists at the time, until the release of Savage and Metro's "Runnin", which would peak at number 9. It is prominently featured in the WWE 2K19 soundtrack, particularly in the "Ric Flair Collector's Edition" version of the game. The song has amassed over 1.2 billion streams on Spotify, making it the 271st most played song ever on the streaming service. It is also the second most streamed song of all time on Spotify's influential RapCaviar playlist. The song has been credited for popularizing the term "drip", a slang expression denoting one's fashionability and excess swagger.
Bad Vibes Forever is the fourth and final studio album by American rapper and singer XXXTentacion. It was released through Bad Vibes Forever and Empire Distribution on December 6, 2019. The production was handled by XXXTentacion himself, alongside DJ Carnage, John Cunningham, JonFX, Ronny J, XXYYXX, and among others. The album features a wide range of guest appearances from artists including PnB Rock, Trippie Redd, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Killstation, Noah Cyrus, Tom G, Tory Lanez, Mavado, Craig Xen, Kemba, Joey Badass, Sauce Walka, Carnage, Ky-Mani Marley, Stefflon Don, Vybz Kartel, Jimmy Levy, Joyner Lucas, Ikabod Veins, and Blink-182. The album serves as a follow-up to his first posthumous album and third studio album, Skins (2018), which released exactly a year earlier.
Khadimou Rassoul Cheikh Fall, known professionally as Sheck Wes, is an American rapper and singer. He is best known for his 2017 song "Mo Bamba", which became popular in 2018.
Caleb Zackery "Don" Toliver is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter from Houston, Texas. He first gained recognition for his guest appearance on fellow Houston rapper Travis Scott's third album Astroworld (2018), with Toliver having released his debut solo mixtape, Donny Womack a day prior. In the following week, he signed with Scott's Cactus Jack Records in a joint venture with Atlantic Records. In 2024, he also has created his own label called Hardstone Records. He then became known for his 2019 single "No Idea" and 2020 single "After Party," both of which entered the Billboard Hot 100 and received triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
YSL Records is an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia. It was founded in 2016 by the Atlanta-based rapper Young Thug. The company is a label imprint of 300 Entertainment. Its artists include Gunna, Lil Keed and more. Several contemporary artists, including Future, Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Lil Baby, Lil Gotit, NAV, Travis Scott, and Slimelife Shawty have expressed allegiance to YSL, but are not contractually signed.
Kobe Vidal Crawford Jr., known professionally as NoCap, is an American rapper and singer. He is signed to Atlantic Records and Never Broke Again. Since 2017, he has released 6 albums, one EP and five mixtapes. His highest-charting project, Mr. Crawford, was released in April 2022, peaking at number 8 on the Billboard 200. He is noted for his use of wordplay.
Tysen Jay Bolding, known professionally as Money Man, is an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. His Kobe Bryant-inspired 2020 single, "24" peaked at number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 and preceded his eighteenth mixtape, Epidemic (2020). His mixtape, Red Eye (2023) marked his highest charting entry on the Billboard 200.
Rashad Jamiyl Spain, known professionally as Saucy Santana, is an American rapper. He began his career as a makeup artist for the hip hop duo City Girls, and soon after embarked on a recording career in February 2019 with his debut single "Walk Em Like A Dog". Meanwhile, he became a recurring guest on the reality television franchise Love & Hip Hop: Miami. In 2021, Santana gained further prominence when his singles "Walk" and "Here We Go" spawned viral challenges on TikTok. That same year, he released the song "Material Girl," and later released the song's remix "Material Gworrllllllll!".
| birth_date = September 21, 1988 | birth_place = British Columbia, Canada
This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 2023.
