G-funk, short for gangsta funk, (or funk rap) is a sub-genre of

gangsta rap Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, is a subgenre of rap music that conveys the culture, values, and experiences of urban gangs and street hustlers, frequently discussing unpleasant realities of the world in general th ...

that emerged from the West Coast scene in the early 1990s. The genre is heavily influenced by the

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

-heavy 1970s funk sound of Parliament-Funkadelic (aka P-Funk), often incorporated through samples or re-recordings. It is represented by commercially successful albums such as Dr. Dre's '' The Chronic'' (1992),

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

's '' Doggystyle'' (1993), and 2Pac's '' All Eyez on Me'' (1996).

Characteristics

G-funk, which uses funk with an artificially altered

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

, incorporates multi-layered and melodic synthesizers, slow hypnotic grooves, a deep bass, heavy use of the snare drum, background female vocals, the extensive sampling of P-Funk tunes, and a high-pitched portamento saw wave synthesizer lead. G-funk is typically set at between 90 and 100 BPM. The lyrical content depended on the artist; it could consist of sex, drug use (especially marijuana), love for a city, and love for friends. There was also a slurred "lazy" or "smooth" way of

rapping Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

in order to clarify words and stay in rhythmic cadence. Many R&B and pop singles of the 1990s incorporated the G-funk sound to their music. The trademark West Coast G-funk style of hip-hop was a very defining element of the region's music. The genre helped distinguish West Coast hip-hop from the rivaling rap scene on the East Coast. In essence, the smooth, slow-tempo sound of G-funk accompanied the perceived "laid-back" stereotype of Californian culture whereas East Coast hip-hop typically featured more aggressive attitudes alongside a fast-paced tempo (e.g. hardcore hip-hop). Unlike other earlier rap acts that also utilized funk samples (such as EPMD and the Bomb Squad), G-funk often utilized fewer, unaltered samples per song. Music theorist Adam Krims has described G-funk as "a style of generally West Coast rap whose musical tracks tend to deploy live instrumentation, heavy on bass and keyboards, with minimal (sometimes no) sampling and often highly conventional harmonic progressions and harmonies". Dr. Dre, a pioneer of the G-funk genre, normally uses live musicians to replay the original music of sampled records. This enabled him to produce music that had his own sounds, rather than a direct copy of the sample.

History and origins

1988–1992: Beginnings

Although it is a predominantly West Coast sound, one of the earliest examples of hip-hop making strong use of synths over funky samples is "The R"; the track was released in mid-1988 by New York duo Eric B. & Rakim. The origins of the style, however, are mainly attributed to Dr. Dre. Dr. Dre produced tracks by N.W.A such as " Dope Man" (1987) and " Gangsta Gangsta" (1988), both of which sampled the squealing synth solo from Ohio Players' " Funky Worm" that would later go on to be sampled many times by other artists, including Michigan duo MC Breed & DFC on their mid-1991 hit " Ain't No Future in Yo' Frontin'". This solo, moreover, provided the blueprint for G-funk's distinctive synth tone in later years. Dre also produced the D.O.C.'s " It's Funky Enough" and " The Formula" in 1989, the former being an early minor hit for the genre, reaching No. 12 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Two years later, in 1991, N.W.A released another early example of the genre with their album '' Niggaz4Life''; the album reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and No. 2 on ''Billboard''s

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

. The same year, Ice Cube's diss track towards N.W.A, " No Vaseline", was made in the style. Dr. Dre, who produced '' No One Can Do It Better'' and ''Niggaz4Life'', is often seen as the originator/creator of the G-funk sound. However, these claims have been disputed with Cold 187um (a member of Above the Law) claiming that he came up with the name and sound.

1992–1997: Mainstream peak

The genre experienced a breakout year in 1992, with Dr. Dre dropping his album '' The Chronic''. The album was a massive success. It had three top 40 singles: " Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang", the Eazy-E diss " Dre Day", and " Let Me Ride." It also reached No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album was eventually certified Triple Platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

in 1993 for selling three-million copies; it has also been selected by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Though G-funk had previously existed, Dr. Dre's The Chronic is often seen as the beginning of the genre.

The following year had numerous successful songs and albums, Ice Cube's songs " It Was a Good Day" and " Check Yo Self"; both made it to the top 20 (peaking at No. 15 and No. 20 respectively) and were both certified at least gold. "It Was a Good Day" is commonly placed high on best of lists for the genre, being considered "one of the best G-Funk tracks ever made". Snoop Dogg released his first album '' Doggystyle'', which debuted at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album contained the hits " Gin and Juice" and " What's My Name?"; both songs reached No. 8 on the Hot 100. The album was certified Quadruple Platinum, and both singles were certified gold. Eazy-E released the G-funk-influenced album '' It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa'', which reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200, and contained the No. 42 hit " Real Muthaphuckkin G's", which was made as a response to Dre's song "Dre Day" from the previous year. The genre's popularity grew even bigger in 1994. This was early because of Warren G's song " Regulate", which was featured on the ''Above the Rim'' soundtrack. The single reached the top 10 peaking at No. 2. His album '' Regulate... G Funk Era'' which also contained the song, and another top 10 hit "This D.J.", reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Popular rapper MC Hammer went for a more gangsta image and G-funk sound on his album '' The Funky Headhunter'', which contained the No. 26 single " Pumps and a Bump". The G-funk group Thug Life, featuring 2Pac, released their first and only album, '' Thug Life: Volume 1''; it peaked at No. 42 on the Billboard 200. The album had minor hit single with "Cradle to the Grave". The song charted on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and on the Hot Rap Songs charts; it placed No. 91 on the former and No. 25 on the latter. West coast rapper Coolio released his debut album '' It Takes a Thief'' in 1994. The album peaked at No. 8; it contains the Top-10 hit " Fantastic Voyage". In 1995, 2Pac released the album '' Me Against the World''; although it is not entirely G-funk, the album has been described as having "half the record esoundto the boom and bap of New York" while having "the rest himmerin a G-funk haze". The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and was certified Double Platinum. Later in the year, he released the G-funk classic "

California Love "California Love" is a song by American rapper 2Pac featuring fellow American rapper Dr. Dre. The song was released December 3, 1995, as 2Pac's comeback single after his release from prison in 1995 and was his first single as the newest artist ...

" which as a double A-side with " How Do U Want It", hit No. 1 on the Hot 100. In October 1995,

Tha Dogg Pound Tha Dogg Pound is an American hip-hop duo composed of West Coast rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger. They were among the first acts to sign to Death Row Records in 1992. Kurupt and Daz went on to release solo albums starting in 1998; they left th ...

released their debut album '' Dogg Food'' and it debuted at No. 1 on the billboard, continuing G-funk's dominance in the mainstream with the top 50 singles "

New York, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

" and " Let's Play House". In 1996, the super-group Westside Connection released '' Bow Down''. It had two hit singles, " Bow Down" and " Gangstas Make the World Go Round", which peaked at No. 21 and No. 40, respectively. The album itself peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, and was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 1997. 2Pac released his album '' All Eyez on Me'', which has been described as "lush G-funk" and as having a "commercial G-funk sheen". The album hit No. 1. In 1997, Warren G released his second album, '' Take a Look Over Your Shoulder'', which peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard 200; it had two Top-40 singles, a cover of "

I Shot the Sheriff "I Shot the Sheriff" is a song written by Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley and released in 1973 with his band Bob Marley and the Wailers, the Wailers. Background The song was first released in 1973 on Bob Marley and the Wailers, the Wailers ...

" and " Smokin' Me Out". Although the majority of G-funk music has come out of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, the overall sound has been utilized by additional US rappers and hip-hop groups that were based in other states across the U.S. during the time of the style's popularity in the 1990s. Some of the most notable of these artists include Outkast (

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), G-Slimm (

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (formerly known as B.O.N.E. Enterpri$e and also referred to as simply Bone Thugs or Bone) is an American hip hop group formed in 1991 in Cleveland, Ohio. Consisting of rappers Bizzy Bone, Wish Bone, Layzie Bone, Krayzie ...

(

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

), Tela (

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), Top Authority (

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), E.S.G. (

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) and DMG (

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). In the 1990s,

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, had a small, but noteworthy, G-funk scene at the peak of the genre's popularity. Artists from the city include the Geto Boys, Blac Monks, E.S.G., 5th Ward Boyz, Street Military, Big Mello, Scarface, Ganksta N-I-P, Bushwick Bill, Big 50, 5th Ward Juvenilez and South Circle.

1997–present: Influences on modern hip-hop

In the late 1990s and 2000s, G-funk music significantly declined in mainstream popularity. Dr. Dre's 1999 album '' 2001'', produced by Mel-Man, was noted as "reinvent nghis sound, moving away from G-funk to something more gothic and string-heavy." In 2001, Warren G released his fourth studio album, '' The Return of the Regulator''. The album includes " Here Comes Another Hit" , (which featured Nate Dogg and Mista Grimm) and Lookin' at You (featuring LaToiya Williams). The album can be considered a return to the roots of G-funk West Coast gangsta music, but it sold less than the rapper's two previous albums. Midwestern rapper Tech N9ne made use of the G-funk style on his early releases, most notably his second studio album, '' The Worst'' (2000). His 2001 follow-up album, '' Anghellic'', incorporated the subgenre's characteristics to a much lesser extent. Most recently, starting in the 2010s, many contemporary West Coast rappers have released albums which contain strong G-funk influences. Examples include Kendrick Lamar with '' Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' as well as '' To Pimp a Butterfly'', YG with '' Still Brazy'', Schoolboy Q with '' Blank Face LP'', Nipsey Hussle with '' Victory Lap'', Buddy with '' Harlan & Alondra'' and Tech N9ne with '' The Gates Mixed Plate''.

References