American hip hop
America was the starting place of
hip hop, a cultural movement that was developed in the
1970s in
New York City, among primarily
African American and
Hispanic audiences. For many years,
hip hop remained known only in a few neighborhoods in New York, but it began to spread to nearby urban areas like
Philadelphia and
New Jersey. By the end of the decade, hip hop was known in many of the
United States' most populous cities.
During the early to mid-
1980s, hip hop underwent regional diversification, while New York-based
East Coast hip hop attained the first national recognition for recorded hip hop. Cities like
Miami,
Los Angeles,
Washington D.C.,
Detroit,
Atlanta and
Chicago developed their own styles, incorporating local influences.
Beginning with
N.W.A.,
West Coast rap, based out of Los Angeles, became a mainstream success. For the first time, New York was not the only city on the hip hop map. The two were rivals in many ways, fueling the
East Coast-West Coast rivalry. In the late
1990s, many cities saw their own scenes find popular acclaim. These included Atlanta, St. Louis and New Orleans.
Baltimore
Main article: Music of Maryland
With a somewhat disappointing hip hop scene,
Baltimore's biggest claim to fame in rap is its status as the boyhood home of the legendary
2Pac, who attended the Baltimore School for the Arts. There is a scene in Baltimore that is often referred to as Baltimore House. While not traditional hip hop, it incorporates hip hop as well as
house and
drum and bass influences. It is also the birth place of
DMXBoston
Main article: Music of Massachusetts
Boston is the hometown of
Guru of the East Coast trailblazers,
Gang Starr. Other Boston hip hop acts include
Mr. Lif and
Akrobatik of
the Perceptionists,
Bell Biv Devoe,
Benzino, and
New Jack Swing legend
Bobby Brown.
New Jersey
Main article: Music of New Jersey
The
African-American neighborhoods of
Newark and
East Orange produced many rappers in the early-to-mid
1990s East Coast boom, the most famous of which were
Redman,
Naughty by Nature, and
The Fugees. Other Jersey artists include
Queen Latifah,
Chino XL,
Apache,
Artifacts,
Joe Budden, and
Lords of the Underground.
Sugarhill Gang, who achieved fame for their early rap hit "
Rapper's Delight" (1979), was based in
Englewood, New Jersey, as was their label,
Sugar Hill Records.
New York City
Main articles: East Coast hip hop, Music of New YorkNew York City (specifically the
Bronx) was the birthplace of hip hop, and all of its prime early movers, such as
DJ Kool Herc,
Grandmaster Flash and
Afrika Bambaataa grew up and began performing there. The city also produced all of the style's early stars, like
LL Cool J and
Kurtis Blow. Other influential artists from this era that have endured through the ages are
KRS-One,
Public Enemy,
Run-DMC and the
Beastie Boys. By the beginning of the 1990s, however, the West Coast had eclipsed New York in popular success. This began a rivalry which culminated in the deaths of New York MC
Notorious B.I.G. and West Coast rapper
2Pac. In 1993 the pioneering
Wu-Tang Clan emerged, and have continued to be influential to independent street hip hop. By the middle of the decade,
Puff Daddy reinvigorated East Coast rap to popular acclaim with a very pop-oriented approach to hip hop. The East Coast also bred several hard-edged stars during this time, like
Busta Rhymes,
DMX and
Nas, culminating in the breakthrough of
Jay-Z late in the decade. New York also produced a vital underground in the
Native Tongues Posse, led by
alternative hip hop crew
A Tribe Called Quest.
50 Cent & his
G-Unit clique is one of few successful rappers/groups of the 21st century.
Philadelphia
Philadelphia has produced a few of the most hard-edged rappers, including
Schoolly D and
Kurupt.
DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince were one of the first to put Philly on the map. It also famous for early
2000s mainstream acts such as
Beanie Sigel,
Eve,
Freeway,
State Property,
The Roots, and
Cassidy. The philly hip hop scene has a unique style and slang; The term "jawn" is used as a universal interjection.
Washington, D.C.
Main article: Music of Washington D.C.
Washington, D.C. is best known for its distinct dance music called
go go, which arose as a fusion of
funk with rapping.
Chuck Brown is the best-known performer of go go.
Chicago
The first Chicago hip hop record was the "Groovy Ghost Show" by Casper, released in 1980 and a distinctively Chicago sound began by 1982, with Caution and Plee Fresh. Chicago also saw the development of house music (a form of electronic dance music) in the early 1980s and this soon mixed with hip hop and began featuring rappers; this is called hip house, and gained some national popularity in the late 1980s and early '90s. The Chicago underground scene produced several major acts, beginning with
Paris.
Despite having the second-largest
African-American population in the nation (after
Detroit, in percent), only now with
Kanye West,
Common, and
Boo and Gotti, is the Windy City beginning to receive mainstream attention.
Two Chicago rappers,
Twista and
Rebel XD, were
Guinness Book record holders in the category "Fastest Rap MC" (though of the pair, only Twista has released a CD).
Cleveland
Main article: Music of Ohio
One of the most influential hip hop groups on Michigan, Ohio and Midwest hip hop in general have been the
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
Detroit
Main article: Music of Michigan
Detroit's earliest forays into recorded hip hop were in the field of
ghettotech, a fusion of
techno music and
Miami bass. Later, nationally-renowned performers such as
Insane Clown Posse,
Kid Rock,
Eminem,
D12,
Obie Trice,
Slum Village and
Royce Da 5'9" made Detroit an industry center.
Pittsburgh
Main article: Music of Pennsylvania
St. Louis
Main article: Music of Missouri
Nelly & the
St. Lunatics,
Chingy and
J-Kwon are of few well-known rappers.
Atlanta
Main article: Music of Georgia
In the late 1990s, a wave of
Atlanta-based performers like
Goodie Mob and
Outkast gained some national renown. By the early
2000s, Outkast had become critical darlings and the
Southern rap-inspired
Dirty South style was a major component of popular hip hop. Atlanta is currently the most productive hip hop city with the biggest names being
Killer Mike,
Ludacris,
Lil Jon,
Young Jeezy, and
T.I.Houston
Main article: Music of Texas
Houston first came on to the national scene in the early 1990s with the violent and disturbing stories told by the
Geto Boys.
In the mid
2000s Houston exploded into the forefront of Southern hip hop, with commercially successful acts like
Mike Jones,
Slim Thug,
Lil Flip, and
Paul Wall.
UGK now calls Houston home and has been an enormously influential influence on southern hip hop since the 1990s. One of Houston's up-and-comers is
Chamillionaire.
Memphis
Main article: Music of Tennessee
Memphis is credited as the original source of the
crunk sound that spread across the South in the
2000s, with
1990s groups like
Three 6 Mafia and
8 Ball &
MJG.
Young Buck is so far the only known rapper from another major city of Tennessee:
Nashville.
Miami
Main article: Music of Florida
Miami is best-known for a bass-heavy form of hip hop called
Miami bass. It had a brief brush with national fame in the late 1980s, aided by a censorship controversy surrounding the crew
2 Live Crew.
Trick Daddy and
Trina are other well-known rappers, as well as latino rapper
Pitbull.
Jin was also from Miami, but moved to New York City. 2006 has seen the reemergence of Miami's Hip Hop scene with the break out success of
Rick Ross, new CD's from
Luke,
Trick Daddy &
Pitbull and also newcomers
Dirtbag,
DeLa &
Garcia.
New Orleans
Main article: Music of Louisiana
Before Atlanta's takeover around 2001, the most popular scene in the South was
New Orleans, led by
Master P's
No Limit Records and the
Cash Money Millionaires.
Cash Money's 1999 hit
Bling Bling created a national catchphrase. Well-known rappers are
Lil' Wayne &
Master P, & his son
Lil' Romeo.
The future of
New Orleans rap is in jeopardy due to the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina, which has directly affected many local rap personalities.
Oklahoma
Litefoot, the most prominent
Native American rapper, is based in
Tulsa, and operates the record label Red Vinyl.
Denver
Main article: Music of Colorado
Hawaii
Main article: Music of Hawaii
Los Angeles
Main articles: Music of CaliforniaIn the early 1980s, recorded hip hop from Los Angeles began. There were two styles. One was
hardcore hip hop vocalists, like
Ice-T,
King Tee and
Toddy Tee, while the others performed a kind of electronic
dance music called
electro hop; these included the
Arabian Prince,
Egyptian Lover and
World Class Wreckin' Cru.
Though there was no major acclaim until the very end of the '80s, West Coast artists did grown in stature during the middle of the decade. These hits included Ice-T's "6'n da Mornin'" (1986), one of the first
gangsta rap songs, and Toddy Lee's "Batter". Ice-T's
Rhyme Pays (1987) brought critical acclaim for the West Coast. With the success of
N.W.A. and the Posse soon after, West Coast hip hop moved quickly towards the mainstream. N.W.A.'s
Straight Outta Compton completely the transition to the forefront of American popular hip hop, but it was 1992's
The Chronic by
Dr. Dre that established the style's permanence.
Death Row Records was the prominent west coast record label. Founded by
Suge Knight the label included Dr. Dre,
Snoop Dogg and
2Pac. Another notable west coast group from the time was Latin group
Cypress Hill who like Ice-T, also dabbled in the alternative rock scene and gangsta rap.
The Chronic was the beginning of what was known as
G-funk, and came to include such stars as
Snoop Doggy Dogg and
Warren G. Its release came at a pivotal period, simultaneous with the release of
Nirvana's
Nevermind, and American music went through a watershed moment. There was a backlash against the late 1980s heavy metal bands, which were seen as cheap and formulaic. Nirvana and Dr. Dre shared an anti-establishment attitude which resonated with the country's youth.
Since
Eazy-E &
Tupac died,
West Coast rap died down a bit with the exceptions of elderstatesmen Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg as well as
Xzibit. Recently the West Coast has made a comeback with
The Game and his debut
The Documentary.
Long Beach
Long Beach is a neighbor city next to LA's hip hop scene where gangsta rap and
G-funkdominated. It is the home of stars such as
Snoop Dogg,
Warren G,
Nate Dogg,
Tha Dogg Pound and
Tha Eastsidaz.
The Bay Area
The
Bay Area is the center of arguably the most artistic and intellectual hip hop scene in the country. The
Bay Area's reputation is largely based on alternative acts such as
Souls of Mischief,
Blackalicious,
Zion I, and
Del Tha Funkee Homosapien. The Bay Area is also the adopted hometown of the late
2Pac, who is regularly listed as one of, if not the, greatest rapper of all time. It is also the hometown of other rappers such as
Too $hort,
MC Hammer, and
Mac Dre. In current times, the Bay Area is home to the "
Hyphy" Movement, featuring uptempo club songs from artists like
E-40,
Keak da Sneak, Federation, and The Team.
Yukmouth is also a great Bay Area Rapper.
Phoenix
Main article: Music of Arizona
Seattle
Main article: Music of Washington
Seattle's rap scene is similar to Oakland's more intellectual style. It briefly gained national prominence in 1991 with
Sir Mix-A-Lot's novelty hit "Baby Got Back".
The
Guinness Book record holder for Fastest Rap MC is the Seattle-based No Clue (Ricky Brown), breaking the record previously held by Chicago rapper Rebel XD. Brown rapped 723 syllables in 51.27 seconds on his track "No Clue" at B&G Studios, Seattle, on
January 15,
2005.
*
Filipino hip hop*
Korean hip hop*
Native American hip hop''
