Hardcore hip hop (also hardcore rap) is a genre of
hip hop music that developed through the
East Coast hip hop
East Coast hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in New York City during the 1970s. Hip hop is recognized to have originated and evolved first in the Bronx, New York City.
In contrast to other styles, East Coast hip ...
scene in the 1980s. Pioneered by such artists as
Run-DMC,
Schoolly D,
Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions (BDP) was an American hip hop group originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, five months after the release of BDP's debut album, '' Criminal Minde ...
and
Public Enemy
"Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...
, it is generally characterized by
anger,
aggression and
confrontation.
History
Music experts have credited
Run-DMC as the first hardcore hip hop group. Other early artists to adopt an aggressive style were
Schoolly D in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
and
Too $hort in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
. Before a formula for
gangsta rap had developed, artists such as
Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions (BDP) was an American hip hop group originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, five months after the release of BDP's debut album, '' Criminal Minde ...
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
"Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...
's records set new standards for hardcore hip hop and
hip hop production.
Hardcore Rap
Hardcore hip hop (also hardcore rap) is a genre of hip hop music that developed through the 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 char ...
Allmusic. Accessed May 22, 2008. Though initially a largely East Coast phenomenon, by the late 1980s, hardcore rap increasingly became largely synonymous with
West Coast gangsta rap, with artists like
N.W.A infusing "
gangsta" themed stories of gritty gang life.
In the early 1990s, hardcore hip hop again became associated with the East Coast as
Wu-Tang Clan emerged with
minimalistic beats and piano-driven
sampling, which became widely popular among other hardcore hip hop artists of the time.
In the early, late 90s and early 2000s, other New York based artists like
Onyx
Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The ...
,
DMX and
M.O.P. 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.
Characteristics
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 "
gangsta" lyrical themes, despite the considerable overlap between the two genres, especially within hardcore rappers of the 1990s.
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
popular press
Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets.
Broadcast media transmit information ...
, hardcore rappers have "laid claim to a wide variety of ground".
[Potter, Russell A. (1995). ''Spectacular Vernaculars: Hip-hop and the Politics of Postmodernism''. p. 130. SUNY Press. .]
See also
*
The Dozens
The Dozens is a game played between two contestants in which the participants insult each other until one of them gives up. Common in African-American communities, the Dozens is almost exclusively played in front of an audience, who encourage the ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardcore Hip Hop
Hip hop genres
History of hip hop
1980s in hip hop music