Hardcore hip-hop: Difference between revisions

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Latest revision as of 11:23, 5 July 2025

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{{short description|Music genre}}

'''Hardcore hip hop''' (1986- today), sometimes referred to as '''reality rap''', is a form of [[hip hop music]] that has confrontational, often violent lyrics, and generally sparse, gritty urban beats. The [[musical genre|genre]] began in the [[1980s]] with [[Schoolly D]], [[Run-DMC]], the [[Beastie Boys]], and [[Public Enemy]]. Soon after, hardcore hip hop evolved into [[gangsta rap]] with the emergence of [[Ice T]] and [[N.W.A]]. Groups such as [[Onyx (band)|O N Y X]], with their debut album ''[[Bacdafucup]]'' and The [[Wu-Tang Clan]]'s debut ''[[Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)]]'' (see [[1993 in music]]), re-energized East Coast hardcore, and the style soon dominated music charts with stars like [[DMX (rapper)|DMX]], [[Big Pun]], and the [[Wu-Tang]] Members in their solo careers.

{{Distinguish|Rapcore|Horrorcore}}

Much of hardcore hip hop today is a fusion of [[gangsta rap]], [[alternative rap]], and [[conscious hip hop|conscious]] or [[political hip hop|political rap]].

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}

{{Infobox music genre

| name = Hardcore hip-hop

| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|[[East Coast hip-hop]]|[[boom bap]]}}

| cultural_origins = Early 1980s, mainly in [[New York City]] and [[Philadelphia]]

| derivatives = {{hlist|[[Gangsta rap]]|[[horrorcore]]|[[British hip hop#Road rap|road rap]]|[[Gangsta rap#Mafioso rap|mafioso rap]]|[[dirty rap]]|[[Drill music|drill]]|[[Trap music|trap]]|[[rage rap]]}}

| subgenrelist =

| fusiongenres =

| regional_scenes = [[West Coast hip-hop]], [[East Coast hip-hop]]

| other_topics =

}}

'''Hardcore hip-hop''' (also known as '''hardcore rap''') is a subgenre of [[Hip-hop|hip hop music]] that developed through the [[East Coast hip-hop|East Coast hip hop]] scene in the 1980s. Pioneered by such artists as [[Run-DMC]], [[Schoolly D]], [[Boogie Down Productions]] and [[Public Enemy]], it is generally characterized by [[anger]], [[aggression]] and [[confrontation]].

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

==ArtistsHistory==

Music experts have credited [[Run-DMC]] as the first hardcore hip hop group.<ref>Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p121003/biography|pure_url=yes}} allmusic ((( Run-D.M.C. > Biography )))]. AllMusic. Accessed January 14, 2008.</ref> Other early artists to adopt an aggressive style were [[Schoolly D]] in [[Philadelphia]] and [[Too Short|Too $hort]] in [[Oakland, California|Oakland]]. Before a formula for [[gangsta rap]] had developed, artists such as [[Boogie Down Productions]] and [[Ice-T]] wrote lyrics based on detailed observations of "street life", while the confrontational and aggressive lyrics and chaotic, rough production style of [[Public Enemy]]'s records set new standards for hardcore hip hop and [[hip hop production]].<ref name="allmusic">.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/hardcore-rap-ma0000011937/songs|title = Hardcore Rap|website = [[AllMusic]]}} AllMusic. Accessed May 12, 2025.</ref> Though initially a largely East Coast phenomenon, by the late 1980s, hardcore rap increasingly became largely synonymous with [[West Coast hip hop|West Coast]] [[gangsta rap]], with artists like [[N.W.A]] infusing "[[gangster|gangsta]]" themed stories of gritty gang life.

*[[Big Daddy Kane]]

*[[Big Pun]]

*[[Bone Thugs-N-Harmony]]

*[[Boogie Down Productions]]

*[[Boo-Yaa TRIBE]]

*[[Brotha Lynch Hung]]

*[[Canibus]]

*[[Cypress Hill]]

*[[Da Lench Mob]]

*[[D-Block (hip hop)|D-Block]]

*[[DMX (rapper) |DMX]]

*[[Esham]]

*[[EPMD]]

*[[The Game (rapper)|The Game]]

*[[Geto Boys]]

*[[The Gravediggaz]]

*[[Ice Cube]]

*[[Ice-T]]

*[[Jeru the Damaja]]

*[[KRS-One]]

*[[Lords of the Underground]]

*[[Mack 10]]

*[[MC Breed]]

*[[M.O.B.]]

*[[Mobb Deep]]

*[[Notorious B.I.G.]]

*[[Nas]]

*[[Niggaz With Attitude]]

*[[Onyx ]]

*[[Paris (rapper)|Paris]]

*[[Public Enemy]]

*[[Scarface (rapper)|Scarface]]

*[[Slick Rick]]

*[[Styles P]]

*[[Redman]]

*[[Tech N9ne]]

*[[Three 6 Mafia]]

*[[WC (rapper)|WC]]

*[[Wu-Tang Clan]]

In the early 1990s, hardcore hip hop again became associated with the East Coast as [[Wu-Tang Clan]] emerged with [[Minimalism|minimalistic]] [[Beat (music)|beats]] and piano-driven [[Sampling (music)|sampling]], which became widely popular among other hardcore hip hop artists of the time.<ref name="allmusic" /> In the early, late 90s and early 2000s, other New York based artists like [[Onyx (hip hop group)|Onyx]], [[DMX]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/artist/dmx/|title=DMX - Undisputed Reigning King of Hardcore Rap|date=February 18, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/hardcore-rap-ma0000011937/songs|title = Hardcore Rap|website = [[AllMusic]]}}</ref> and [[M.O.P.]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.redbull.com/ca-en/10-things-you-should-know-about-mop | title=10 things you didn't know about the hip-hop heavy hitters M.O.P. | website=[[Red Bull]] }}</ref> incorporated yelling in their lyrics. In the 2010s, [[punk rap]] combined elements of hardcore hip hop and [[hardcore punk]], with artists like [[Denzel Curry]] at the forefront.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.miaminewtimes.com/music/interview-with-miami-rapper-denzel-curry-11432362|title = Denzel Curry Comes Home to Miami for His Zeltron Word Wide Rap Battle}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20191015-how-todays-rappers-are-resurrecting-the-spirit-of-punk|title=How today's rappers are resurrecting the spirit of punk}}</ref>

==Sound samples==

{{Listen|filename=DogsforLife.ogg|title=Dogs for Life (sample)|description=Short sample of "Dogs for Life" from [[DMX (rapper)|DMX's]] 1998 album ''Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood''.|format=[[Ogg]]}}

==Characteristics==

{{Listen|filename=Nas-NYStateOfMind.ogg|title=N.Y. State of Mind (sample)|description=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.|format=[[Ogg]]}}

[[Gangsta rap]] has often been associated with the hardcore hip hop style, and gangsta rap is generally considered a subgenre or offshoot of hardcore hip hop. However, not all hardcore hip hop revolves around "[[Gangster|gangsta]]" lyrical themes, despite the considerable overlap between the two genres, especially within hardcore rappers of the 1990s.<ref name="allmusic"/> Hardcore hip hop is characterised by [[aggression]] and [[confrontation]] and generally describes violence or [[anger]]. [[Russell Potter]] wrote that while hardcore rap has been associated with a "monolithic 'gangsta' outlook" by the [[Mass media|popular press]], hardcore rappers have "laid claim to a wide variety of ground".<ref>Potter, Russell A. (1995). ''Spectacular Vernaculars: Hip-hop and the Politics of Postmodernism''. p. 130. SUNY Press. {{ISBN|0-7914-2626-2}}.</ref> Hardcore hip hop can also be associated with progressive politics, with artists such as Public Enemy, [[KRS-ONE]], [[Immortal Technique]] and [[Dead Prez]], incorporating revolutionary lyrical content in a hardcore style.

==See also==

* [[GangstaThe rapDozens]]

==References==

{{reflist}}

{{hiphop}}

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[[Category:Hip -hop genres]]

[[Category:History of hip-hop]]

[[Category:1980s in hip-hop]]

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