Funk-Rap
tagStarted 1990Peak 1992-1996Last big hit 1998
Located in 1 route
West Coast rap built on funk: re-played or sampled P-Funk basslines, slow hypnotic grooves, whining portamento synth leads, talkbox hooks, deep sub-bass and cooing female backing vocals under laid-back rapped verses. Sunny and menacing at once, it trades boom-bap's sharp drums for a rolling, cruising low-rider feel.
History
Crystallized as gangsta funk (G-funk) when Dr. Dre's The Chronic recast Parliament-Funkadelic and Zapp into a West Coast sound in 1992, building on Digital Underground's earlier P-Funk borrowings. Roger Troutman's talkbox on 2Pac's 'California Love' typified its lineage, and the style dominated mid-'90s rap radio.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-funk
- https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/142494-we-want-the-funk-from-p-funk-to-g-funk-and-beyond-a-brief-history-news
- https://hiphopdatabase.fandom.com/wiki/G-funk