Crunk (or krunk) is a specific type of rap music, mostly being produced in the southern United States, especially in Atlanta. While most crunk-style music could be called "Dirty South" or southern rap, the reverse is not necessarily true. Eightball & MJG for example have a more "Southern funk" sound.
- This article is about rap music and its related state of the mind. For information on the swear word, see Krunk (profanity).
The sound itself is a mix of repetitive chants and drum machine rhythms, the Roland TR-808 being especially popular. Many of the drum machines (and the rhythms they produce) were previously more well known in specialty genres of dance music. The delivery of the lyrics, as with other Southern rap, is based on a rhythmic "bounce" which is very effective in clubs. In fact, several crunk songs have been banned in venues due to how wild the crowds can get.
Popular crunk-style acts include Bone Crusher, Ciara, Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz, Three 6 Mafia, and White Dawg. Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz often claim to be the "Kings of Crunk." Ciara has been referred to as the "Princess of Crunk."
In the rap world, "crunk" rappers have been criticized for lacking any lyrical content and all sounding basically the same. Others, while agreeing that the subject of the lyrics are all the same, say that crunk artists overall use a larger variety of poetic meters, as well as having a greater mastery of assonance. In any case, crunk has established itself as a major sub-division of hip-hop and should enjoy greater success due to the increased number of crunk albums being released.
Songs that contain "crunk" in their titles:
- "Crunk Muzik" - Jim Jones
- "Crunk Juice" - Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz
- "Get Crunk" - Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz featuring Bo Hagon
- "Get Crunk" - Lil' Flip
- "Get Crunk Tonight" - Joe Thomas
- "Get Some Crunk in Yo System" - Trillville
- "Let's Get it Crunk" - Playa Fly
- "So Crunk" - C-9 and Tommy Wright III
- "We Get it Crunk" - Cool Breeze
Another successful single that aided "crunk" in becoming a mainstream word is "Family Affair" by Mary J. Blige, which contains the following refrain:
Let's get it crunk, we gon' have fun up on it In this dance for me
Crunk as a state of the mind
Crunk can also be used as a term meaning both high on marijuana and drunk on alcohol at the same time or for being both crazy and drunk. This has also led to the term being used as a general synonym to 'getting wild' or excited. It is, for example, used this way at Indianapolis Colts home games at the RCA Dome. Achieving this status is known as "getting crunk," commonly not using the usual -ed suffix. Liquids that aid in this process can be referred to as "crunk juice" (popularized by Lil' Jon).