Mus 17 Final

The 5 Percenters

(Also known as Nation of Gods and Earths) Splinter group of the Nation of Islam, started by Clarence 13X A more informal version of the faith, based on oral practice Strong on number and letter symbolism, like Kabbalah and other mystic traditions Gnostic in orientation: godliness exists within man rather than without

Terror Squad "Lean Back"

2004 was the first year when all of Billboard's number 1 singles were by people of color Summer street record from 2004, the year that all the number one songs were hip hop or hip hop related Features Fat Joe, Remy Ma, DJ Khaled i.e. mixtape rappers rather than pop figures Song about not dancing Beat by Scott Storch again draws on Middle Eastern music

Vince Staples "Señorita"

A rapper from Long Beach who makes ambitious music sometimes about street themes, but from an everyman perspective, which pays more attention to the effects and the fallout than to glamorizing the action itself

Black Nationalism

A wide variety of formations based to varying degrees on racial definitions of community (strong emphasis on self-reliance, sometimes separatism, and in some more extreme versions, superiority) Influential early 20th century version= Marcus Garvey's UNIA American varieties of nationalism became heavily intertwined with the Pan-African inflection of many post-colonial liberation struggles in the mid 20th century Malcolm X= most influential American figure, though he moved beyond nationalist views late in his life In the U.S. political articulations by people like Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, the Black Panther Party or Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) came to define the concept, religious framings in groups like the Moorish Science Temple, Natin of Islam, Rastafarianism were also highly influential

Outkast "SpottieOttieDopalicious"

Album cut from "Aquemini" where they perfected the contrast between their personae Track features a delivery closer to spoken word than conventional rap over a reggae-inflected backing and tells conflicting versions of a night out and its percussions on real life

The Nation of Islam

An indigenous American religion, not formally associated with mainstream Islam Prophet figure= W.D. Fard First leader= Elijah Muhammad Most famous member= Malcolm x (left to pursue a more expansive politics) Current leader & strongest direct influence on hip hop: Louis Farrakhan

Missy Elliott "Get Ur Freak On"

Another Timbaland production built around an "ethnic" sample, this time from an Indian flavored New Age record "Orientalism" as a term is used by literary scholars to refer to Western use of an idealized/stylized image of Eastern culture.

Atlanta

Became a prime destination and a city with a sizeable African American middle class in the 90s Became a major music business center, esp. for R&B-centered labels & artists (like LaFace Records) Meant that local rappers could tap into a national market more easily than in most other Southern cities

Jay Z "Big Pimpin

Because of the video, song became the gold standard for hip hop's embrace of the culture of excessive consumption Jay Z is way past street metaphors here, but pulls in UGK as guests to maintain credibility/authenticity video Built around an uncredited sample from an Egyptian cabaret song "Khosara" by Abdel Halim Hafez & version by Hossam Ramzy Part of a wave of "orientalist" samples of Indian and Middle Eastern music in hip hop Copyright lawsuits in these cases remain complicated by the unevenness of international intellectual property law. "Big Pimpin'" is still the subject of litigation

Panjabi MC (feat. Jay Z) "Beware the Boyz"

Bhangra song with Jay Z verses on it Symbolic of both the popularity of the Bollywood sound within hip hop and of hip hop's international influence In a curious circularity the original Indian record is actually built around a Timbaland beat (itself based on the Knightrider theme)

Brand Nubian "Wake Up"

Brand Nubian= 5%ers Song outlines the religion's message and uses many of its particular linguistics turns General message is not dissimilar to X Clan, but expressed in religious terms Based on Roy Ayers "Everybody Loves the Sunshine"

Public Enemy

Came together in the suburbs of Long Island in the early 1980s via the Spectrum City club and at Adelphi University From the beginning a collective of different characters with both musical and non-musical functions Strongly political, drawing on various nationalist ideologies without being pinned down by any one

Mase "Feel So Good"

Definitive Bad Boy pop rap single Produced by P Diddy (or Sean Puffy Combs at the time), as the hook says "take songs from the 80s, make them sound crazy" basic concept was rapping over already hugely popular songs video Based on the party DJ practice of "blends" or mixing acapella over one song over instrumental of another (later mashups)

De La Soul "Me, Myself and I"

From the album "3 Feet High and Rising," produced by Prince Paul, of Stetsasonic A sort of rap psychedelia, encompassing hippy imagery and very wide variety of sample sources (rock, folk, language instruction records, etc) Video=a satirical critique of hip hop business as usual

New Modes of Production (Virginia Beach)

In the wake of the various sampling lawsuits, producers who built their own beats became more in-demand, especially from industry insiders who wanted to move into hip hop The sounds of late 1990s/early 2000s hip hop and R&B were dominated by producers who worked in this mode: sometimes using samples but mostly making programmed beats Most influential: small group of friends and onetime bandmates from Virginia Beach Timbaland The Neptunes (Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo) Missy Elliott

Tricia Rose: Mutual Denials

In this article she sets up a set of dialectics centering on common contentious issues in hip hop culture: • Creative Disregard • Unadulterated Products • Profiting from Black Suffering • Invisible White Consumption • Sexism Isn't Really a Problem • Homophobia is OK

Jungle Brothers "Straight Out The Jungle"

Jungle Brothers explored Afrocentric ideas more explicitly than the other Native Tongues groups This song both articulates a sort of back to Africa message while at the same time playfully critiquing it Samples a track by Manu DiBango a sax player and singer from Cameroon. Also includes samples from records by Bill Withers, The Wild Magnolias, Grandmaster Flash and Mandrill

Goodie Mob "Cell Therapy"

Landmark Atlanta group, associated with Outkast as part of the Dungeon Family, Cee-Lo later became a star solo act They blended Organized Noize's production with complex rapping that was often politically charged In an odd inversion this song is notable for dealing in conspiracy theory narratives associated at the time with militia and white supremacist groups

Native Tongues

Loose collective of artists who embraced a more open-ended notion of what hip hop might be Drew on Afrocentric ideas without necessarily being explicitly nationalist or politically engaged in concrete terms Sensibility drew on jazz and the less militant wing of the Black Arts Movement

Trick Daddy "Shut Up"

Miami rapper who started in the orbit of 2 Live Crew's Luke Skywalker. Had a number of regional hits and a couple of national hits without ever becoming a huge star Song features Trina who was his foil on most of his big records Most notable is the production which explicitly uses marching band sounds and phrases Song, or at least the main riff has become a staple of Southern marching bands

Jay Z "Jigga What, Jigga Who?"

One of Jay Z's more technically complex raps, at least rhythmically. Significant because Jay Z cultivated the impression that he was an ultra virtuostic MC who dumbed down his style to become popular Beat is by Timbaland shifts between regular and double time: some elements of the song are in a slow tempo, others move twice as fast Jay Z's rhyming shifts between the two layers Song also features Jaz O (his mentor)

Clipse "Grindin'"

One of the Neptunes most distinctive and influential beats: heavily syncopated drums, with barely a chorus Pusha T and Malice rhyme in double-entendre heavy verses about the minutiae of the drug trade Both Clipse and the Neptunes are from Virginia Beach Clipse's manager was indicted on conspiracy charges relating to drug dealing

Young Jeezy "Go Crazy" remix w/ Jay Z

One of the first "retro" crack dealing songs, complete with notorious snowman logo Jay Z verse added credibility for both artists, but is interesting for how he speaks to the criminal/corporate divide (or lack thereof) Production by mixtape mainstay Don Cannon

Outkast "Elevators"

Outkast= duo from Atlanta, who cultivated contrasting personalities: Big Boi- streetwise rapper Andre 3000- eccentric flamboyant "poet" Their second album ATLiens expanded the southern rap of their first album into abstract and eccentric territory that connected with the more speculative ends of jazz and R&B First album worked with Organized Noise, but began to make their own beats on the second album

X Clan "Heed the Word of the Brother Man"

Politically-orientated nationalist group, including son of prominent radical leader Sonny Carson Song steps through the basics of their philosophy with strong Afrocentric imagery Based on party songs: "Flashlight" by Parliament, "More Bounce" by Zapp and "the Smurf"

Organized Noise

Production team from Atlanta who had a huge impact on hip hop in that city Rico Wade, Ray Murray and Sleepy Brown together crafted a sound that blurred hip hop beatmaking with more traditional soul-inspired hooks and live instrumentation Produced for Outkast, Goodie Mobb, TLC, En Vogue etc

Eminem "The Way I Am"

Pushback to criticism of the first record which was made in the voice of Slim Shady This is from the Marshall Mathers album (i.e. under his real name) but explicitly plays games with the relationship between his various images and personae

Queen Latifah/Monie Love "Ladies First"

Queen Latifah was a later addition to the Native Tongues collective The video runs through a series of images of historically important African American women before moving into the more staged part The contemporary situation in South Africa is a significant backdrop element in the video. Protest against apartheid was a significant focus of activism in the US in the 1980s

Decline of Radio and Changes in the Charts

Rap radio has been in decline since the early 2000s Some due to rise of things like EDM (and its associated radio format "Rhythmic") A shift in how the charts are computed which has de-emphasized radio, which in the case of hip hop had always been tightly associated with local scenes. The most drastic changes occurred in 2013 when Billboard Magazine changed the chart formula to emphasize paid downloads. In that year there were no number one songs by black artists.

Ludacris "Southern Hospitality"

Southern rap as self-parody "Ludacris"- almost performance art alter ego of Chris Bridges Song trades in all kinds of super cliched signifies of the South (Rapping is deceptively skillful despite the exaggerations) Beat by the Neptunes working more in club mode (rave-style synth lines)

Eminem "Stan"

Story of an obsessive fan, told in first person via letters to Slim Shady (Eminem's alter ego) Actually quite a subtle examination of the fan dynamic, including implications of homoeroticism and projection While Eminem began as a battle rapper, he is one of the few to have made the leap to crossover success.

David Banner "Cadillacs on 22s"

• A critique of the cars/bling focus of much Southern rap from within • The song and video wind back from the present to an idealized agrarian past in a way that protests the materialism of the present • Beat features an acoustic guitar in a way that seems to reference the country blues that had put Mississippi on the musical map early in the 20th century

Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth "They Reminisce Over You"

• A tribute to their friend Troy, a dancer with Heavy D who had just died • Tells a kind of everyman family narrative with lots of personal detail, though the story does not seem to connect explicitly to the subject • Beat is built on James Brown drums and a sax lick from a hippy folk/jazz record by Tom Scott

Future "March Madness"

• After his early pop crossover and a nasty public divorce, Future doubled down on a new persona through a series of mixtapes • A lot of autotune, though there is less in the way of pop hook potential here •Instead the melodic patterns and frequent unintelligibility of the lyrics create imply both intoxication and an emotional rawness

Mobb Deep "Shook Ones Pt. 2"

• Also from Queensbridge, duo of Prodigy (the rapper) and Havoc (the producer) • Work similar territory to the Wu Tang Clan (and sometimes Nas) but stripped down to the basics • Song is notable for the poetic nature of its cold-blooded threats

Marching Bands

• Aside from New Orleans specific traditions, marching bands that perform at sporting events have a strong place in Southern musical forms • HBCU marching bands in particular have developed a distinctive mode of performance that has evolved in parallel with hip hop • The influence goes in both directions: bands frequently perform versions of hip hop songs; and sounds, phrasing and rhythmic styles associated with these bands have wound up in hip hop (e.g. the snare drum patterns and trombone-like lines in much trap production probably have their roots in marching bands)

Migos "T Shirt"

• Atlanta trio who recently became hugely successful after being around for some time • Deceptively simple sounding songs with very basic hooks (generally just the title repeated) • Emphasis is on the way that the three of them interact through ad libs around the main theme of the song

BG "Bling Bling"

• BG was one of the original Cash Money artists, functioned more in the role of the gangsta rapper than did Juvenile or the others. i.e. the lyrics are darker, less celebratory and more violent • This song is an exception to that, and is effectively a Cash Money posse cut celebrating living large, and making regional slang a national thing in the process

Street culture, mythologizing the drug trade

• By the mid-late 2000s crime= historic lows in most major American cities • Crack was no longer prevalent, but crack-dealing raps were everywhere • Part of a general adaptation of the story of crack into a genre narrative. • Magazines and DVDs chronicled gang culture historically •More recently: ties between some hip hop artists and gang culture (e.g. drill music in Chicago, some Atlanta rap, some southern California music) • Law enforcement reliance on social media and internet presence to police gang activity increased number of cases of hip hop artists being arrested, in some cases on the basis of song lyrics • The highest profile case is probably Bobby Shmurda. • Other recent high profile examples are Tay-K (The Race), Drakeo the Ruler and 03 Greedo

Rich Gang "Lifestyle"

• Collaboration between Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan, overseen by Birdman (of Cash Money records fame) • Both lead rappers developed their styles partially in response to Future -Rich Homie Quan emphasizing the more emotive end of things, with voice breaking -Young Thug built on the melodic (and less intelligible) aspects, but took it much further: his verses are often impossible to understand but contain a wild variety of detailed melodic variation

Shift from New York to West Coast (rise of gangsta aesthetic)

• Created the circumstances for the development of an underground scene opposed to a mainstream that was becoming more commercially oriented • More general shift away from explicitly "conscious" or political messages in the music • The production style dominant in early 90s NY hip hop was typified by the ultra stripped-down beats of DJ Premier and Pete Rock • Both drew frequently on jazz records as sample sources. Their production technique was based in Djing but both used samplers to make beats, often using only very short fragments of only one song to build a beat. • Their beats placed a lot of emphasis on space and paid detailed attention to the specific sounds of individual drum hits.

DJ Quik "Jus' Lyke Compton"

• DJ Quik is also from Compton. He's still active as producer and rapper. • Production is notable for a more • Song describes leaving Compton, and then seeing the same problems repeated everywhere else

E 40 "Tell me when to go"

• Document of a larger culture than a one-off craze • An example of the Bay Area's "hyphy" style, and is pretty much an attempt to encapsulate that sensibility for a national audience • E 40 has had a very long career and is notable for both the novelty of his slang and the odd rhythmic sensibility of his rhyming

Drake "Marvin's Room"

• Drake= emblematic hip hop figure of the last 5 years: he's a mainstream performer who has brought a deeper pop aesthetic to the business of making rap records, especially by expanding the kinds of expressive modes acceptable within hip hop • Originally an actor, he rose to prominence on mixtapes as a Lil Wayne protégé, rapping and singing • Song is from the "Take Care" album, and takes the form of a kind of drunk-dialing rant to an ex • Notable for direct emotional performance, but also how unpleasant the protagonist really is • Production is hazy, club-influenced, building on the sound of The Weeknd (also from Toronto)

Earl Sweatshirt "Grief"

• Earl (Thebe Kgositsile) came to public prominence as member of Odd Future, while still in high school. Their raps were messy, mercurial and frequently highly offensive. • His mother Cheryl Harris is a prominent legal scholar and father Keorapetse Kgositsile is a South African poet and activist. • His solo work has become much more introspective, in this instance to the point almost of claustrophobia. • Production is lo-fi and uses sounds associated with degraded digital audio.

Drake "One Dance"

• Example of how Drake has explicitly moved to embrace a more international orientation in his music • Song draws on multiple styles: Afrobeats from Nigeria and English club styles (Funky House, 2 Step) • Built around Crazy Cousinz w/ Kyla "Do You Mind" and features afrobeats star Wizkid. Drake had earlier remixed and rapped over one of Wizkid's Nigerian hits (Ojuelegba)

Kanye West "Monster" w/ Rick Ross, Jay Z, Nicki Minaj

• From Kanye's "My Beautiful Dark Fantasy" album, largely conceived and released through the internet • Notably especially for Nicki Minaj's verse which features her trademark sudden shifts in accent and diction

8 Ball and MJG "Comin' Out Hard"

• From Memphis but broke through on Houston label Suave House • Street story-telling style with an emphasis on pimp narratives, but frequently more political in an understated way • Sound is steeped in older soul records, especially ones with gospel overtones. Smoother than most other rap at the time

2 Live Crew "Me So Horny"

• From the album "As Nasty As They Wanna Be" released independently on Luke Records in 1989 • 2 Live Crew were basically a party band/club act that featured Luke's smutty rhymes over up tempo, bass-heavy electro beats (the blueprint of "Miami Bass"

A$AP Rocky "Peso"

• Harlem rapper who has built his sound and style largely on Southern models, especially Houston and Memphis. • Built his reputation through internet connections and hooks into the fashion and art worlds • Fashion is hugely important here, not just luxury brand things, but street style as a kind of fashion avant garde • Made much of his impact via the internet, mixtapes, fashion magazines etc • Some of the music deals with being a child of the crack era

Notorious B.I.G. "Juicy"

• His first single and a kind of autobiography • Much of the narrative is filtered through the lens of rap fandom • Beat built around "Juicy Fruit" by Mtume by Pete Rock, uncredited

Primary centers in the South

• Houston (Suave House and Rap-a-Lot records) • New Orleans (No Limit and Cash Money records) • Atlanta • Memphis

Paul Wall "Sittin Sidewayz"

• Houston rapper, the sound is strongly influenced by the DJ Screw sound • Typical cars/girls rap, more about vibe than lyrical complexity • Beat is slow and woozy, as is the video

Houston

• Houston was probably the first Southern city on the map within the genre, due to the Geto Boys and Rap-a-Lot records • Less of a specific center of traditional Southern styles than New Orleans, but close to New Orleans and to Mexico (the influence of cumbia and narco ballads is hidden but not completely insignificant)

Sage the Gemini "Gas Pedal"

• Hyphy's moment passed but it remained locally significant and has been a strong influence on a more recent Bay Area resurgance of which this is an example. • Again, the music is heavily dance-oriented • Beat is extremely minimal • The song was a huge hit, with popularity through Vines and youtube posts of people dancing to it

Dance Music

• In most cities: there were small regional club styles that were somewhat associated with hip hop that lived largely under the radar, at least until Youtube • With the assist of internet sharing some of these scenes produced novelty songs that became hits (Soulja Boy "Crank Dat", Unk "Walk it Out", New Boyz "You're a Jerk" etc) • Since around 2007: mainstream hip hop increasingly drew on a range of club music styles as a production influence (this increased further with the rise of the EDM phenomenon)

Censorship

• In the 1980s concerns of lyrical content in heavy metal and rap songs in particular led to the formation of the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) • The PMRC convened congressional hearings and pushed for a ratings system for popular music like that administered by the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) for films Rap and Law Enforcement • At the same time as the Congressional hearings about offensive lyrical content there were protests led by law enforcement groups against record labels for releasing songs like NWA's "F the Police" and Ice-T and Bodycount's "Cop Killer

Lauryn Hill "Doo Wop/That Thing"

• Lauryn Hill was the breakout star of the Fugees a conscious pop/rap group that was hugely successful in the 90s. • She was equally talented as singer and MC and performs both roles on this track: rapping the verses and singing the choruses • This track was the hit single from her solo album Song plays out a set of inter-related oppositions: 1960s vs 1990s; rapping vs singing; men vs women etc • Takes relatively familiar narratives of gender conflict, but takes on both parts herself

Lil Kim "Queen Bitch"

• Lil Kim, a member of the Notorious BIG-associated Junior Mafia, cultivated an explicitly sexualized image that was new for hip hop, in part based on performers like Madonna • Lyrics for this song were written by Biggie, begging the question of whose fantasy it is, and how it's performed

The Wu Tang Clan

• Loose coalition of rappers from Staten Island and Brooklyn • Much more influential than sales figures might suggest • Their image was novel and complex as was their business structure: each member had their own deal on different labels in the beginning • Like Public Enemy they developed strong contrasting characters within the group • First person street story-telling, but expanded that to encompass complex metaphors drawn from martial arts films, gangster films and 5%er cosmology

Henry Louis Gates Testimony

• Main expert witness was literary scholar Henry Louis Gates • Gates argued that when read in context of the history of deliberate exaggeration and bawdiness in African American traditions like toasts and the dozens the work of 2 Live Crew was not obscene • The original conviction was overturned

Master P "Make em Say Unnhhh"

• Master P ran No Limit records, one of the first regional independents to achieve national reach • He was also probably the first rap star/producer to take on the business mogul role, quickly expanding his interests to sports teams, real estate, films etc • This song was his most successful single, but it's hardly the point • Nonsense party chant • Features other rappers on his label: Mystikal, Sylkk the Shokker. Note the variety of rhythmic cadence between the verses

Important structural factors in hip hop over the last 10 years

• Mixtapes • Shifting relationships to street culture • The internet • Local scenes and dance styles • The decline of radio • Increasingly co-ordinated connections with high fashion and other cultural forms

Nas "N.Y. State of Mind"

• Nas was from the Queensbridge projects, son of noted jazz trumpeter Olu Dara • This song (produced by DJ Premier) is from his first album Illmatic • Illmatic established Nas as probably the pre-eminent lyricist in hip hop and was also a more general showcase of state-of-the-art of NY hip hop (productions by Pete Rock, Large Professor, Q Tip) • His style, like Rakim's before him is dense and highly complex rhythmically, but is directed more toward observation of the world around him.

New Orleans

• New Orleans is in many ways unlike any other American city • French influence • Port city • Proximity of Caribbean • Only American city where slaves were allowed to maintain their musical culture (albeit in a limited way) • Maintained and valued its distinctive musical traditions (parades, second lines, early jazz) • Parades: social organization, musical performance, performance of community • Syncretic folk forms that maintain some African and Caribbean traditions within America guise (e.g. Mardi Gras Indians etc) • These have influenced each generation of New Orleans music: jazz, R&B, rap

Old Dirty Bastard "Shimmy Shimmy Ya"

• ODB was the trickster/comedian figure in the Wu Tang clan • Drew explicitly on comedians like Rudy Ray Moore and Richard Pryor (sampled here) • erratic rhythmically • Lyrically more a party rapper, especially against the more cerebral styles of the rest of the Clan

Dr Dre (featuring Snoop Dogg) "Deep Cover"

• One of Snoop's first appearances on record • From the soundtrack of the film of the same name, directed by Bill Duke • The film was unique amongst the crop of films dealing with the drug trade at the time by focusing less on the streets and more on official corruption and complicity

Tupac "Keep Ya Head Up"

• One of Tupac's "feminist" anthems • Built around the Five Stairsteps "Ooh-ooh Child" • Essentially a song of solidarity with single mothers but shifts to the child's perspective in the last verse • Uplifting and community-based in contrast to his later almost paranoid work

Notorious B.I.G. "Ten Crack Commandments"

• One of the hallmarks of his style was the ability to shift voice across and within tracks. A good early example is Warning • This track does something similar • Street lore as life lessons • About the minutiae of hustling rather than the general image

DJ Screw

• One of the most distinctive figure in Houston rap was DJ Screw, a prolific mix and radio DJ • He pioneered a style of slowing down records and then cutting them up (i.e. "chopped and screwed") • He remixed nationally famous tracks for the local market and made beats for local rappers

Mary J Blige/Method Man "You're All I Need"

• One of the most successful early attempts at integrating hip hop and R&B. • Remake of the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell classic • Production is heavily indebted to hip hop methods: the beat is emphasized and musical details of the original are simplified for greater impact • Method Man raps his verses, Mary J sings

Mixtapes

• Originally promotional tools for DJs • Became a useful career-building tool for many artists, providing black market revenue, street credibility and exposure • Also a primary venue for experimentation and dispute: a much faster moving medium than official albums, served the role that live performance might serve in other genres • Strictly speaking many (most?) are still illegal in some sense, but the industry has tended to turn a blind eye, even using mixtapes explicitly as promotional devices • The shift to online distribution has broadened the scope and ambition

Souls of Mischief "93 Till Infinity"

• Part of the Hieroglyphics crew led by Del • Song is notable especially for the technical intricacy of the rapping • Overall sensibility draws on jazz but not as explicitly as something like Freestyle Fellowship • Significant for independence from mainstream industry models

Cash Money Records

• Probably the most successful of the regional indie labels • Formed by the Williams brothers, slightly dubious characters with links to criminal enterprises • Expanded via a huge distribution deal with Universal that left them largely in charge--this was pretty much unprecedented

Rick Ross "B.M.F"

• Rick Ross, former corrections officer took his stagename from "Freeway" Ricky Ross, the L.A. crack kingpin of the 80s • BMF supposedly stands for "blowing money fast" but is a reference to Atlanta's Black Mafia Family crime syndicate • Cinematic gloss of both the video and the production --> fantasy and little to do with "real life"

GZA "Liquid Swords"

• Shows martial arts influence on Wu Tang • Begins with a lengthy dialog sample from "Shogun Assassin" • Production again draws on Southern soul records (Al Green and Willie Mitchell) • Lyrics play out a street story through the martial arts warrior metaphors

Chief Keef "I Don't Like"

• Standard bearer of Chicago "drill" music: a kind of midwest adaptation of southern trap production styles • The music and a number of the artists were closely associated with Chicago's violent street gangs • Many of the questions raised around early gangsta rap, and more importantly the corporate and critical embrace of it, re-emerged around Chief Keef in particular

Bounce

• Sub-style of hip hop specific to New Orleans that started in the early 1990s • It is a party/dance music based on synthetic drum breaks (with other percussion), mostly drawn from a single source (Drag Rap by the Showboys) • Features call and response vocal chants and novel dance moves • Notable bounce performers include DJ Jubilee, Katy Red and Big Freedia Examples: DJ Jubilee Back That Thang Up, Do the Jubilee Katey Red Where Da Melph At Big Freedia Explode

Juvenile "Ha"

• The early star on Cash Money records • Stylistically short on technical lyrical skills but long on regional slang and inflection • This song and its video are a relatively clear-eyed view of New Orleans project life at the time (1998) • Beat by Mannie Fresh is all original and synthetic, but draws some on parade styles as does the rapping

Geto Boys "Mind Playing Tricks on Me"

• The first Houston act to break through to national consciousness and probably the first Southern act aside from 2 Live Crew • They initially made their name pushing the limit in terms of shocking and transgressive lyrical content • This song is more reflective, and one of the first gangsta tracks to deal with the personal and human cost of the criminal activity that was celebrated elsewhere

2 Live Crew Obscenity Trial

• The legal basis of obscenity is "community standards" • In the first case of the suit against the band, the judge appointed himself as guardian of community standards and ruled against them • On appeal, the band's management convened expert witnesses to parse the cultural context and how it intersected with the legal notion of obscenity

Mystikal "Danger"

• The most successful No Limit rapper • James Brown/drill sergeant vocal delivery • More complex flow in terms of rhythm and dynamics than most other rappers we've heard so far • Beat is an early one by the Neptunes

Wu Tang Clan "Can it be it was all so simple then"

• Third single from Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers) • First verse is by Raekwon, second by Ghostface Killah with both on the chorus • Production by the RZA demonstrates his basic strategy: layering old soul samples over beefed up and frequently off-kilter drum tracks. • The sound is both nostalgic and somewhat menacing. • Timing is deliberately not quite even

DJ Screw (feat. Fat Pat) "Swang Down"

• This sound, associated with gettng high on codeine cough syrup, became the defining feature of much Houston rap, and has had a revived national influence again over the last 5 years • DJ Screw died of a codeine overdose

Kendrick Lamar "Fear"

• Track from the album DAMN • The song articulates the title emotion through snapshots of how things felt at different ages: childhood, late adolescence and then as an adult • Beat by Alchemist is very minimal, working a soul loop (24 Carat Black) in a hypnotic fashion

UGK "Diamonds & Wood"

• UGK were a duo from Port Arthur Texas. Pimp C was largely responsible for the beats and Bun B was the primary rapper • Were always a regional act, but were one of the few Southern acts to have a large underground following, largely due to the complexity and virtuosity of Bun B's rapping • This song is a kind of descendent of "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" in that it is a slightly mournful and ambivalent first person gangsta statement. Pimp C has the first and third verses, Bun B the second

Pharcyde "Runnin'"

•L.A. based group who became successful in the early 1990s with a more bohemian inflected West Coast sound • Song is from their second record in 1995 and is notable for production by legendary Detroit beatmaker J Dilla • It is primarily based on a recording by Stan Getz of a bossa nova song by Luis Bonfa • Dilla sampled fragments from throughout the song and then reassembled to make an entirely new structure • Deliberate looseness and uneveness --> signature of his method and has become hugely influential especially in recent years

Wacka Flocka Flame "Hard in da Paint"

•Someone who's hardly a rapper by traditional standards • Attitude is everything and personality on the track makes up for the absence of technically accomplished rapping • Beat was breakthrough for Lex Luger, the dominant producer in Southern hip hop at the time. Style is incredibly bombastic, but also cheap and synthetic sounding at the same time. Combines orchestral samples with almost marching band sounding drum patterns

West Coast Underground

•Strong undergrounds developed in both Los Angeles and San Francisco •Emphasis in both places was on lyrical complexity, especially in freestyle delivery, and frequently on a jazz-based musical sensibility

Freestyle Fellowship "Inner City Boundaries"

•Virtuoso rappers based in Los Angeles, associated with legendary freestyle scene around the open mic night at the Good Life Cafe •Draw explicitly on jazz traditions and techniques (esp. improvisation), but also from other forms of poetry and spoken word outside of hip hop • This is their most commercially successful track and was produced by Daddy O from Stetsasonic