#REDIRECT [[ it:Gangsta rap#Mafioso rap]] ▼
'''Mafioso rap''' is a hip hop sub-genre which flourished in the mid-1990s. It is the pseudo-[[Mafia]] extension of [[East Coast hip hop|East Coast]] [[hardcore rap]].
[[Category: HipRedirects hopto genressections]] ▼[[Image: Raekwon only.jpg|thumb|175px|right|[[Raekwon]]’s ''[[Only Built 4 Cuban Linx]]'' is credited with popularizing Mafia and gangster movie motifs in Mafioso Rap]]
==Overview==
In contrast to West Coast and many other East Coast gangsta rappers, who tended to depict realistic urban life on the ghetto streets, Mafioso rappers' subject matter included self-indulgent and luxurious fantasies of rappers as Mobsters, or ''Mafiosi'', while making numerous references towards notorious crime organizations of the Italian underworld, including the [[Gambino crime family]] and [[Cosa Nostra]]. Fantasized and fictional narratives told by Mafioso rappers are often adapted versions of classic crime thrillers, most notably ''[[Bonnie and Clyde (film)|Bonnie and Clyde]]'', ''[[The Godfather]]'', ''[[Goodfellas]]'', ''[[Casino (film)|Casino]]'', ''[[King of New York]]'', and ''[[Scarface (1983 film)|Scarface]]''. Another trademark feature of Mafioso rap is the idolizing of high profile organized crime figures. These crime kingpins range from legendary gangsters of the 1920s and 1930s such as [[Al Capone]], [[Frank Costello]], and [[Lucky Luciano]], to the druglords of Latin America (including [[Pablo Escobar]]).
==History==
[[Image: az_doe_or_die.JPG|thumb|175px|right|Alongside [[Raekwon]]'s ''[[Only Built 4 Cuban Linx]]'', ''[[Doe Or Die]]'' is often considered as one of the [[prototype|prototypical]] albums of the Mafioso rap genre]]
[[Image:Jay-ZReasonableDoubt.jpg|thumb|175px|right|On the cover and artwork of his album ''[[Reasonable Doubt]]'', [[Jay-Z]] made several references to Italian mafiosi with his top hat, suit and cigar, as well as the lyrical content.]]
The Mafia has been a staple reference for hip-hop artists since the genre's earliest days. [[LL Cool J]], for instance, was among the first rappers to do so in his song "I'm Bad": ''"Not the last Mafioso, I'm an MC cop."''. Similiarily, [[Kool G Rap]] was one of the first rappers to make the Mafioso lifestyle a major theme in his lyrics. On his debut album, ''Road to the Riches'' (1989), Kool G Rap showcases graphic narratives about the life of a criminal:
:''Gettin' richer and richer, the police took my picture''
:''But I still supplied, some people I knew died''
:''Murders and homicides for bottles of suicide''
:''Money, jewelry, livin' like a star''
:''And I wasn't too far from a Jaguar car ''
:''In a small-time casino, the town's Al Pacino ''
:''For all of the girls, the pretty boy Valentino ''
:''I shot up stores and I kicked down doors ''
:''Collecting scars from little neighborhood wars ''
:''Many legs I broke, many necks I choked ''
:''And if provoked I let the pistol smoke ''
:''Eyes of hate and their hearts get colder ''
:''Some young male put in jail ''
:''His lawyer so good his bail is on sale ''
:''Lookin' at the hourglass, how long can this power last? ''
:''Longer than my song but he already fell ''
:''He likes to eat hearty, party ''
:''Be like John Gotti, and drive a Maserati''
Kool G Rap's epic tales, chronicling the crime underworld of [[drug trafficking]] and the luxurious pleasures of the high-end illegal business, inspire the related Mafioso rap phenomenon of the mid-1990s, which later achieved some mainstream success and great critical acclaim with albums such as [[Raekwon]]'s'' [[Only Built 4 Cuban Linx]]'', [[AZ (rapper)|AZ]]'s ''[[Doe Or Die]]'', and [[Jay-Z]]'s ''[[Reasonable Doubt]]''.Although not very common today, that lastest example of Mafioso Rap is Rick Ross', Push It. At the genre's zenith in the [[pop culture|mainstream]] [[music industry]], mafioso-inspired albums, including [[Nas]]'s ''[[It Was Written]]'' and [[Biggie]]'s ''[[Life After Death]]'', went on to become multi-platinum commercial successes.
==Influential Mafioso Rappers==
*[[Biggie Smalls]] - Also known as "Frank White" (an allusion to the film, ''[[King of New York]]'')
*[[Raekwon the Chef]]
*[[Jay-Z]] - ''[[Reasonable Doubt (Album)|Reasonable Doubt]]''
*[[Nas]] - ''Also known as Nas [[Pablo Escobar|Escobar]]''
*[[Mobb Deep]]
*[[Scarface (rapper)|Scarface]]
*[[AZ (rapper)|AZ]]
*[[Kool G Rap]]
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