West Coast / Funk Rap
familyStarted 1989Peak 1992-1998Last big hit still active
The sunlit, bass-forward wing of West Coast hip-hop: live and sampled P-Funk synths, rubbery Moog basslines, talkbox and whining portamento leads, slow 90-100 BPM cruising grooves and cooing female hooks. Spans G-Funk's melodic gangsta lacquer, Bay Area bounce, Chicano lowrider oldies and pure funk-rap warmth.
History
Grew from late-'80s L.A. and Bay Area scenes that flipped Parliament-Funkadelic, Zapp and Roger Troutman into rap. Above the Law and Dr. Dre crystallized G-Funk around 1992; DJ Quik, Warren G and the Bay's E-40 widened it. Chicano and lowrider strains braided in oldies nostalgia, keeping the funded, top-down-convertible sound alive for decades.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-funk
- https://www.factmag.com/2016/07/26/best-g-funk-tracks/
- https://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/g-funk-ma0000011824
- https://www.okayplayer.com/music/west-coast-rap-g-funk-songs.html