The Evolution Of Gangster Rap

Gangsta rap or Gangster rap is a style of hip hop characterized by themes and lyrics that generally emphasize the "gangsta" lifestyle. The genre evolved from hard rap into a distinct form, pioneered in the mid-1980s by rappers such as Schoolly D and Ice-T, and was popularized in the later part of the 1980s by groups like N.W.A. 

Independent Record Labels You Should Know

From independent icons like XL Recordings and Sub Pop to newer teams like 88 Rising and Mind of a Genius, here are some of the essential labels you should know. As always, we encourage you to do your own digging and share your own favorites with us, but as long as you discovered just one new label, artist, or piece of music that you love from this list, then we did our job.

From legendary indies to internet-based upstarts, these labels are all doing something special.

Can Rap Music Be Positive?

 

Many rap artists use their lyrics to comment on social and political issues, raising awareness about topics such as inequality, racism, poverty, and injustice. Many don't. 70 percent of Americans believed that rap had an overall negative impact on society.

Rap music, in-spite of the negativity and controversy that often surrounds it, can have a positive influence on listeners and expand their consciousness.It can reduce depression and anxiety, improve emotional expression, expand communication and interpersonal skills, and potentially lift one's self-esteem.

Who Is The King Of Rap?

How do one put a label or tag someone as the king of rap? How do you mix classic rap tracks with today's style of music?

Tupac would probably be the most influential rapper of all time, while Eminem holds the record as the highest selling artist.

Key Moments In Hip-Hop History

 

Hip hop is more than music; it’s a cultural movement that incorporates different elements of art. Before there was Lil Yachty, Young M.I.A., or YNW Melly, there was a world of hip hop artist who's name rain supreme even still today.

Back when music was real, artist had the opportunity to shine in their own distinctive way. Rap is one of the most distinctive features of hip-hop. Rappers use rhythm, lyrics, and vocal tone to express themselves. The best rappers are distinguished by their “flow” – the way the words run together without the performer getting tongue-tied.

Has Rock-N-Roll Always Been Apart Of Hip-Hop Culture?

Yes Hip Hop has always been apart of the Rock culture! Rock and Rap song were some of the best ever made still today! For an institution that is dedicated to immortalizing rock and roll’s greatest heroes, there are many inductees in there who are not quite typically thought of as rock artists.

You’ve got Grandmaster Flash, Run-DMC, Miles Davis, Madonna, and Tupac in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The confusion behind these inductees lies not with the quality of their work, but rather the categorization of it.

There are four other artists who have been nominated but have yet to be inducted—Afrika Bambaataa, LL Cool J, Eric B. and Rakim, N.W.A—and four more groups who have been considered for the ballot but who have not yet been nominated—Boogie Down Productions, De La Soul, the Sugarhill Gang, and the Treacherous Three.

Did Benny The Butcher Bring Real Rap Back

 

Every since rapper Nas did the album Hip Hop Is Dead that's when you saw hip hop/rap became more dumbed down than ever with more lack of commercial raps on the media or on radio stations, at the time real rap was unheard of unless if you was really a hip hop head that was looking for rap on mixtapes or searching on YouTube. In 2010 an empire of hip hop has begun and that's with Griselda Records with artists like Westside Gunn, Conway The Machine and Benny The Butcher.

When you hear songs like Legend, Forever Ft Lil Wayne and Big Sean, Roy Jones Ft Dark Lo,

and Crown For Kings Ft Black Thought.

Can Anyone Beat Jay-Z In a Verzuz Battle?

 

Jay-Z has recently commented on competing with other rap artists in a Verzuz battle. The platform has seen many rap artists pitting their best career hits against each other to see who comes out on top. Jay-Z, however, doesn’t believe there’s any rapper on Earth that can beat him in a Verzuz.

Why Is Scareface The Most Loved Movie In Hip-Hop Culture?

The movie Scareface has been a huge staple in the hip hop community. Even rapper Jay-Z has dedicated countless rap lyrics and interludes to the film. The release of Scarface coincided with the rise of hip hop music.

The hip-hop community has single-handedly made the movie a cult classic. Even though the story of Tony Montana, a poor Cuban immigrant who quickly ascends through the ranks to become a drug kingpin, is actually a remake of a 1932 film of the same name.

The Truth Behind Cash Money Vs No Limit Records Beef

Cash Money Records and No Limit Records were both two of the largest hip-hop powerhouses in New Orleans. What people don’t know is that the beef started before both camps really started blowing up.

Anybody that been a follower of deep dirty south music knows about the history or the turf rivalry that been going on between Cash Money and No Limit Records.

What Is Your Favorite Rap Group?

 

Every now and then, a hip-hop music group breaks through the barriers to the big screen. Run-DMC's place as the most influential rap group and undeniably one of the greatest hip-hop acts of all-time.

Fans Favorite created this thread for hip-hop lovers and viewers of the Wrap Up Magazine to engage on. "We want to know which rap group is your most favorite?"

Jermaine Dupri Talks The Rap Game

The So So Def founder talks his new Lifetime show "The Rap Game" and goes into detail about the contradiction Hip Hop fans notoriously face everyday. Five emerging young hip hop artists, ages 12 to 16 years old, are given the opportunity to rhyme and flow with highly sought after producer +Jermaine Dupri.

Jermaine Dupri talked exclusively to HipHopDX about the pros and cons of kid rappers on his new Lifetime show "The Rap Game." Jermaine Dupri currently has his hands full creating the next big rap star on his reality show The Rap Game. But, he also has his sights set on catapulting the career of another young artist.

Latto Talks Working with Mariah Carey

 

Being one the hottest female rappers in the game doesn’t shield you from a healthy bout of nerves.

Just ask Latto, who at the age of 24 can already count herself among the new wave of hip-hop queens while also enjoying crossover success in reality TV.

The Atlanta native had to center herself while collaborating with hip-hop pioneer Rakim to remake his 1992 classic, “Don’t Sweat the Technique.”

Why New York Has Always Been Ground Breaking For Hip -hop Artist

 

Although 50, and Jay-Z may wear the crown as kings of New York, there surrounded by a number of thriving rappers like Nas who could make the claim and not be far off.

The Big Apple can also count on Biggie, Rakim, Public Enemy, The Beastie Boys, KRS-One, Mos Def, Slick Rick, Nikki Minaj, Run-D.M.C., Mase, and Wu Tang among its influential children, and that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to rappers from New York.

Kazzy Raxx Debuts The "Raskal" Mixtape @KazzyRaxx

Monopolyhouse / Major Way Entertainment artist Kazzy Raxx just dropped his new mixtape "Raskal", a 14 track project full of some of the best rap music to come out so far this year.

What Happened To Lil Flip?

Texas had a big impact on the music scene in the mid 2000's and Lil Flip was a big part of the movement. Lil’ Flip these days is perhaps most well known for his feud with fellow rapper T.I.

Flip started rapping for Suckafree Records out of Houston, Texas, when he was 18, in 1999. He released his first album, The Leprechaun, the next year. Eventually selling more than 200,000 copies, it featured the hit single “I Can Do Dat.”

The single, “The Way We Ball,” helped propel Lil’ Flip into the national spotlight. The rapper was also able to work with Yung Wun, Ludacris, and Three 6 Mafia that year. This gave him the clout necessary to create U Gotta Feel Me, a double-disc album released in 2004, distributed by Sony Urban Music.

Lil Flip went on to start his own record label, which he named Clover G Records, after Cloverland, Lil’ Flip’s home neighborhood in Houston.

While T.I. was incarcerated for parole violations, Lil’ Flip used the opportunity to object to T.I. calling himself “King of the South.” The heavily publicized feud led to T.I. going to Cloverland, to expose Lil’ Flip as a fraud. When T.I. arrived in the neighborhood with his crew, Lil’ Flip approached him with his respective crew.

Behind The Beef - Foxy Brown Vs Lil' Kim

 

Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown are two all-time female MC’s who paved the way for so many female artists and many of those artists have cited them as influences and we can still see it today. Two people who started out cordial in the beginning but after a while things just weren’t the same and that’s that.

Bill Restricting Use of Rap Lyrics in Court Officially Signed

 

On Friday (September 30), California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into action that will restrict the use of rap lyrics as evidence in court. AB 2799—The Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act, was unanimously approved by the California State Senate in August 2022.

Nas or Eminem

 

Celebrity Match Up is back with another topic for all you hip hop lovers. This time, we would like to know who would you place as your top artist out of Nas or Eminem. Most fans of there music would say they would love to see the two together on a track someday while others may argue.

Before we get into the discussion, lets do a little background check on the two.

Jay-Z Returns To Spotify Music

Rap icon Jay-Z brought his music discography back to the world’s largest streaming platform Spotify, leaving Tidal subscribers scratching their heads. The service he bought for $56 million in 2014 has struggled to gain any real market share against major players like Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music.