Industrial hip hop is a fusion genre of

industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...

and hip hop.

History

1980s

The origins of industrial hip hop are in the work of Mark Stewart, Bill Laswell, and Adrian Sherwood. In 1985, former The Pop Group singer Mark Stewart released ''

As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade ''As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade'' is the second album by British singer Mark Stewart, released in 1985 through Mute Records. Accolades Track listing Personnel ;Mark Stewart and the Maffia * Mark Stewart – voca ...

'', an application of the cut-up style of industrial music, with the house band of

Sugar Hill Records Sugar Hill Records is an American bluegrass and Americana record label. It was founded in Durham, North Carolina in 1978 by Barry Poss and David Freeman, the owner of County Records and Rebel Records. Poss acquired full control of Sugar Hil ...

( Doug Wimbish, Keith Leblanc, and Skip McDonald). In 1986, The Beatnigs were formed in San Francisco. As a collaboration between Michael Franti, Rono Tse and Kevin Carnes, The Beatnigs combined hardcore punk, industrial and hip hop influences, described as "a kind of avant-garde industrial jazz poets collective". The band's stage performance included the use of power tools such as a rotary saw on a metal bar to create industrial noise and pyrotechnics. In the late 1980s, Laswell's Material project began to take increasing influence from hip hop. Adrian Sherwood was a major figure in British dub, as well as working with

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

groups such as Cabaret Voltaire, Einstürzende Neubauten,

Ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

, KMFDM, and

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

. Tackhead, a collaboration between Sherwood and the Sugar Hill band, picked up where Mark Stewart left off. The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy and

Consolidated Consolidated may refer to: *Consolidated (band) **'' ¡Consolidated!'', a 1989 extended play *Consolidated Aircraft (later Convair), an aircraft manufacturer *Consolidated city-county *Consolidated Communications * Consolidated school district *Co ...

from San Francisco,

MC 900 Ft. Jesus Mark Thomas Griffin (born 1957), better known as MC 900 Ft. Jesus, is an American rapper based in Dallas, Texas. A classically-trained musician, Griffin is known for blending hip hop with socially conscious lyrics and jazz. Early life and ed ...

from Texas and Meat Beat Manifesto from the UK are also early representatives of the style. The industrial group 23 Skidoo, Miles Davis's album '' On the Corner'', and the Nine Inch Nails single " Down in It" are also important precedents for the style.

1990s

Industrial hip hop was carried forward by figures from a diverse number of scenes.

Young Black Teenagers Young Black Teenagers (YBT) was an American hip hop group from Long Island, New York that consisted of ATA, First Born, Tommy Never, Kamron, and DJ Skribble. Despite their name, none of the group's members were black. YBT had the support of ...

featured an industrial-influenced sound on their 1991 self-titled debut album, provided by

the Bomb Squad The Bomb Squad were an American hip hop production team known for its work with hip hop group Public Enemy. The Bomb Squad is noted for its dense, distinct, innovative production style, often utilizing dozens of samples on just one track. The ...

, Public Enemy's production team. Perhaps the most unlikely adopters were Justin Broadrick and Mick Harris, previously known for their invention of the

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. G ...

style of

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

, while in

Napalm Death Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in 1981 in Meriden, West Midlands. None of the band's original members has been in the group since 1986. But since ''Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch ...

. After participating in the

jazzcore Punk jazz is a genre of music that combines elements of jazz, especially improvisation, with the instrumentation and performance style of punk rock. The term was first used to describe James Chance and the Contortions' 1979 album '' Buy''. Pun ...

group

Pain Killer An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It i ...

with Bill Laswell, Harris's Scorn project delved into dark ambient and industrial hip hop. Subsequently, Broadrick began to work with Kevin Martin, previously of God (also a

group). The later work of Broadrick's

Godflesh Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham. The group formed in 1982 under the title Fall of Because but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals and programming) and G. C. Gree ...

,Chris Downton, Ivens interview, Cyclic Defrost

Access date: October 7, 2008. as well as his collaborations with Martin, Ice (band), Ice, Techno Animal, and Curse of the Golden Vampire, are prime examples of industrial hip hop. The last of these was also a collaboration with

Alec Empire Alec or Aleck is a Scottish form of the given name Alex. It may be a diminutive of the name Alexander or a given name in its own right. Notable people with the name include: People * Alec Aalto (1942–2018), Finnish diplomat *Alec Acton (1938� ...

, from Berlin, who also participated in the style in a number of his albums. Meat Beat Manifesto

The German label Mille Plateaux developed the sound throughout their series of ''Electric Ladyland'' compilations. Ice (band), Ice and Techno Animal also collaborated at times with El-P and other representatives of the

Def Jux Definitive Jux was a record label based in New York City. It was co-founded in 1999 by El-P and Amaechi Uzoigwe. History Definitive Jux was initially known as Def Jux. However, popular hip hop label Def Jam Recordings sued Def Jux over the name ...

label.

DJ Spooky Paul Dennis Miller (born September 6, 1970), known professionally as DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is an American electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics "illbient" or "trip hop". He is a turntabli ...

's illbient style is closely related to these developments in industrial hip hop
Mutamassik
takes influence from both, as well as from breakcore. Industrial rock band

Acumen Nation Acumen Nation is an American industrial rock band from Chicago, Illinois. History Early career Formed in 1988 as Acumen by Jason Novak and Ethan Novak, the band released several cassette demos before self-releasing the CD demo '' Transmissions f ...

adopts hip hop influences, as does the band's side project DJ? Acucrack. A few other industrial bands that combine hip hop elements in their music are

Rabbit Junk Rabbit Junk is an American industrial metal band made up of former the Shizit frontman JP Anderson and his wife Jennifer "Sum Grrl" Bernert. The band formed in Seattle in 2004 and are currently active in southern California.The Mad Capsule Markets, and

The Shizit The Shizit was a digital hardcore act from Seattle, Washington, United States, USA, initially formed by J.P. Anderson and Brian Shrader in early 1999. The music was an intense mix of Gabber music, gabber, breakbeat, drum and bass, hardcore techno, ...

, who are

industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine In ...

and digital hardcore bands.

Atari Teenage Riot Atari Teenage Riot (ATR) is a German band formed in Berlin in 1992. Highly political, they fuse left-wing, anarchist and anti-fascist views with punk vocals and a techno sound called digital hardcore, which is a term band member Alec Empire use ...

have also been known to incorporate hip hop elements in some of their songs, with

Carl Crack Carl Crack (born Karl Böhm, 5 May 1971 – 6 September 2001) was a Swazi-born German techno artist best known for his membership in the digital hardcore band Atari Teenage Riot from 1992 to 2000. Biography Around 1992, Crack displayed little ...

developing a distinctive MC style. In the electro-industrial/

genre there is Steril, notable for combining hip hop beats, dj scratches, and rap verses with industrial elements. The Kompressor, often uses vocal distortion in the style of many

Aggrotech Electro-industrial is a music genre that emerged from industrial music in the early 1980s. While EBM (electronic body music) has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial tends to have a grittier, complex and layered sound wi ...

artists. The industrial

super group ''Super Group'' is an album by the Japanese rock music, rock trio Shonen Knife. It was released in Japan on 7 November 2008, in the USA on 20 May 2009, and in the UK and Europe in 2010. The original Japanese CD issue was released as a mini-LP ca ...

The Damage Manual The Damage Manual was an industrial music, industrial supergroup (bands), supergroup formed in 2000. It featured Martin Atkins on drums and loops, Chris Connelly (musician), Chris Connelly on vocals, Geordie Walker on guitar and Jah Wobble on ba ...

is known to regularly incorporate hip hop with their music, in beats and MCing. Corporate Avenger the rap metal/

band, often does industrial hip hop in their music.

Stromkern Andrew Gregory Sega ( ; born May 20, 1975), also known as Necros, is an American musician best known for tracking modules in the 1990s demoscene as well as for composing music for several well-known video games. He was a member of the synthpop d ...

combine hip hop beats with EBM-style synths and vocals.

Rap rock Rap rock is a fusion genre that fuses vocal and instrumental elements of hip hop with various forms of rock. Rap rock's most popular subgenres include rap metal and rapcore, which include heavy metal and hardcore punk-oriented influences, resp ...

groups Senser and Clawfinger are often grouped as industrial hip hop, due to their use of electronica with aggressive rap metal. Other acts of note would be Nettwerk Records'

, and P.O.W.E.R, as well as the Swamp Terrorists, SMP aka Sounds of Mass Production, Non-Aggression Pact, and Noisebox. Croatian-American rapper Marz emerged from Chicago's industrial metal scene, working as an engineer on Ministry's ''

Filth Pig Filth or The Filth may refer to: Common uses * Dirt, unclean matter * Police officer, a pejorative in British slang Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Filth'' (film), a 2013 film based on the novel * ''Filth'', an alternative title for ''S ...

'' (1996) and playing guitar on ''

Dark Side of the Spoon ''Dark Side of the Spoon'' is the seventh studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released on June 8, 1999 by Warner Bros. Records. " Bad Blood" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2000. Background ' ...

'' (1999). He later pursued his own project, which featured Ministry acolytes

Rey Washam Rey Washam (born Reynolds Washam, March 14, 1961, in Austin, Texas) is a Grammy nominated drummer who has been performing for more than 35 years. He has collaborated with many bands, the most notable of which include: Scratch Acid, Rapeman, ...

and

Louis Svitek Louis Svitek is an American musician and former guitarist for a number of bands including Zoetrope, M.O.D., Ministry, Pigface, Mind Funk, The Hollow steps, Project .44, and The Joy Thieves. His work can also be found in many movie soundtracks s ...

. While Broadrick chose to devote his attentions primarily to post-metal, Martin continued to apply industrial hip hop to

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

and grime with The Bug. Jace Clayton, a Brooklyn native who expatriated to Barcelona and records under the names

DJ /rupture Jace Clayton, better known as DJ /rupture, is a New York-based American DJ, writer and interdisciplinary artist. In addition to his music, Clayton has established a blog identity with musical and non-musical posts on his website, "mudd up!". His ...

and Nettle, is also devoted to the style, as well as to breakcore. Filastine, a former member of

¡Tchkung! ¡Tchkung! was an American band from Seattle, Washington, United States, who blended guerrilla theater, "tribal" drumming, and punk ethics. Their live performances included multiple drummers, violin, didgeridoo, and electric bass, all played ...

who records for Clayton'
Soot
label, also practices a politicized variety of industrial hip hop. The French labe
Cavage
eventually devoted itself to the style, along with the Toulouse-based grou
les Trolls

Present day

Antipop Consortium Antipop Consortium is an American alternative hip hop group. The group formed in 1997, when Beans, High Priest, M. Sayyid, and producer Earl Blaize met at a poetry slam in New York City. They are notable for their stream-of-consciousness lyric ...

, Death Grips, Moodie Black,

clipping. Clipping (stylized as clipping.) is an American experimental hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. The group consists of rapper Daveed Diggs and producers William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes. History Diggs and Hutson met in grade school, ...

Moor Mother Camae Ayewa, better known by her stage name Moor Mother, is an American poet, musician, and activist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is one half of the collective Black Quantum Futurism, along with Rasheedah Phillips, and co-leads the grou ...

and

Dälek Dälek () (stylized in all lowercase) is an American experimental hip hop group formed in Newark, New Jersey in 1998. The group's current lineup consists of MC dälek (vocals and producer) and Mike Manteca (aka Mike Mare) (electronics and prod ...

are successful examples of contemporary industrial hip hop, as are

Blades Of Hades Blades formerly known as ''Blades of Hades'', are an Australian hip hop group from Newcastle.

, Ho99o9, NAH, and

Saul Williams Saul Stacey Williams (born February 29, 1972) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, musician, poet, writer, and actor. He is known for his blend of poetry and alternative hip hop, and for his lead roles in the 1998 independent film ''Slam'' ...

."Nine Inch Nails Release Album Online", ''Revolver'', March 3, 2008. Access date: October 7, 2008. Kanye West's '' Yeezus'' album has been described as blending industrial music with hip hop.

Related genres

Industrial hip hop is connected to (and sometimes confused with) the more experimental variants of trip hop. It also anticipates many of the developments of dubstep. Illbient is also adjacent to, and possibly a subgenre of, industrial hip hop. Contemporary industrial hip hop is also closely connected to digital hardcore and breakcore.

References

Sources

*Reynolds, Simon (1999). ''Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture''. Routledge. {{Hip hop Hip hop genres Hip hop Electronic music genres