Think about it. The social climate is right. Hip-hop is in need of something fresh. Gangsta rap era artists and their work are starting to get more attention. The time is ripe for this type of music to come back!

Considering the sweeping success of Straight Outta Compton, prominence of racism in law enforcement, and To Pimp a Butterfly and Compton being the two most talked about hip hop albums of the year so far, I think a second wave of gangsta rap is well on its way. At the same time, it definitely faces different obstacles now than it did in the late 80s and early 90s, due to social media, plus the growing strength of the LGBT and women's movements (which reject the macho culture that was cornerstone of gangsta rap in the past), so I think the this generation will probably be just as aggressively political as in the past, but less celebratory of things that will upset other social minorities, since those groups are much more influential within the African American community now than they were 25 years ago.

Considering the sweeping success of Straight Outta Compton, prominence of racism in law enforcement, and To Pimp a Butterfly and Compton being the two most talked about hip hop albums of the year so far, I think a second wave of gangsta rap is well on its way. At the same time, it definitely faces different obstacles now than it did in the late 80s and early 90s, due to social media, plus the growing strength of the LGBT and women's movements (which reject the macho culture that was cornerstone of gangsta rap in the past), so I think the this generation will probably be just as aggressively political as in the past, but less celebratory of things that will upset other social minorities, since those groups are much more influential within the African American community now than they were 25 years ago.


Yikes. The masculinity and toughness of the original musical movement was what made it so awesome in the first place.  :-\\

I used to be okay with the LGBT community until about 2012. That's when I realized that they're selfish, controlling, arrogant, and hateful. And they have the nerve to say conservatives are like this. What a bunch of hypocrites! I have no sympathy for these people whatsoever.

I'm alright with women's rights movement, but not feminism. Women's rights activists care about the equality of women, and showing them respect. Feminism, on the other hand, just advocates full superiority over men, believing that every man is patronizing and evil, which is not true.

I want that unapologetic, politically incorrect, angry rap music back. I never got to experience it back when it was actually around. If gangsta rap does come back, I hope it emulates the original '90s movement. I don't want it to be like the 2012-2015 era hip-hop with no melody or harmony, extremely loud beats that hurt my eardrums, high-pitched strident vocals, and pointless "party" lyrics with no meaning. I want it to be actual music, with meaningful, story-telling lyrics and strong, angry voices.

Honestly, songs such as "Thrift Shop", "Harlem Shake", "Turn Down for What", and "Hit the Quan" have turned rap into a complete joke. I'm actually ashamed to admit that I like rap music these days. Many people think I like these songs, but really I like the old-school '80s and '90s stuff. There are some good rap songs, but not enough to make a difference in the music scene.

I don't know.  Gangsta rap was a product of its era.  The era when New York had upwards of 2500 homicides per year as opposed to less than 500 today.  The era when in most inner cities it was far easier for kids to get crack cocaine than fruits and vegetables.  It reflected the angst of those who lived in such a hard, dangerous culture.  That wasn't a good era and I really hope it does not come back.

I used to be okay with the LGBT community until about 2012. That's when I realized that they're selfish, controlling, arrogant, and hateful. And they have the nerve to say conservatives are like this. What a bunch of hypocrites! I have no sympathy for these people whatsoever.

Wow, way to generalize the LGBT community in general.  I'm a lesbian myself, so does that mean I'm also selfish, controlling, arrogant, and hateful?  :o

While I also agree that the LGBT movement occasionally crosses the line when it comes to accepting other people's opinions, you have to recognize, too, that a lot of people within it have struggled with a level of oppression that most people could hardly even imagine, depending on the environment they were raised in.  Saying they're all like this is pretty insulting, imo, when really it only applies to certain extremists who happen to be most vocal within the LGBT community, even if they don't reflect LGBT individuals in general.  In the context of the rest of your post, you make it seem as though you want the LGBT community to be oppressed, which necessarily includes even those who don't agree with the preachier faction of it.  I'd feel the same if you used those words to label any other minority group.

I'm alright with women's rights movement, but not feminism. Women's rights activists care about the equality of women, and showing them respect. Feminism, on the other hand, just advocates full superiority over men, believing that every man is patronizing and evil, which is not true.

Again, that description applies really to the extremists who identify as feminists, although I do agree with you otherwise.

I think gangsta rap could definitely exist with meaningful stories without being completely insulting to other minorities.  The frustrations of the African American community are ultimately about their unfair and biased treatment by the police, with the anger displacement on other minorities being more of a secondary reaction to "stand strong" against the oppressor.  Deep, honest stories are really the core of good rap music, not taking one form of discrimination and changing it into another.  Even the movie Straight Outta Compton was primarily about the familial aspect of N.W.A., not taking shots at sexual and gender minorities whatsoever (the more controversial real-life content was omitted from the film).


I don't know.  Gangsta rap was a product of its era.  The era when New York had upwards of 2500 homicides per year as opposed to less than 500 today.  The era when in most inner cities it was far easier for kids to get crack cocaine than fruits and vegetables.  It reflected the angst of those who lived in such a hard, dangerous culture.  That wasn't a good era and I really hope it does not come back.


The crack epidemic certainly fueled the gang violence that haunted black neighborhoods in the 80s and 90s, but unlike now, the early 90s did not have access to the Internet, much less social media.  Racial tension is still alive and well in urban America, and now that Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and the like exist, it's easier for these frustrated voices to get public exposure than ever before.

I don't know.  Gangsta rap was a product of its era.  The era when New York had upwards of 2500 homicides per year as opposed to less than 500 today.  The era when in most inner cities it was far easier for kids to get crack cocaine than fruits and vegetables.  It reflected the angst of those who lived in such a hard, dangerous culture.  That wasn't a good era and I really hope it does not come back.


Yeah.  The ghetto is not a dangerous place any more and the scourges of heroin and crack have been eradicated.

We'll have to go back to the earlier forms of gangster rap for a revival of gun violence and misogyny.

-0MkIPGKdAk

Yeah.  The ghetto is not a dangerous place any more and the scourges of heroin and crack have been eradicated.

We'll have to go back to the earlier forms of gangster rap for a revival of gun violence and misogyny.

It's not eradicated and its still dangerous but it's much, much better than it was in the early 1990s during the gangsta rap era.  Statistics speak for themselves.

It's not eradicated and its still dangerous but it's much, much better than it was in the early 1990s during the gangsta rap era.  Statistics speak for themselves.


The news media and the gun-hating politicians would have you think it is worse than ever.

Hip hop ruined my life!! I can't read the word "lollipop" without hearing Lil Wayne!!
No, that's a joke. :P In general I was never fond of the genre. I think I was introduced to it in the early 00s. I couldn't do a thing with  50Cent. And after that came the club hip hop.
It was all materialistic and if it was about struggles in the hood, it were struggles I didn't know. It scared me though, all violence and such.
Following the Billboard last few years, I'd say there is so much crap. Only last year it seems that within hip hop some quality is returning and the Compton thingvmight mean something big. I hope to hear a hip hop song one day which I like.

Wow, way to generalize the LGBT community in general.  I'm a lesbian myself, so does that mean I'm also selfish, controlling, arrogant, and hateful?  :o


Actually I think you're really cool. You're very different from most LGBT people I've met in my short life. I've only met one lesbian and one gay man that I like (in real life btw). She is a feminine one, and he is a "straight-acting" one. I didn't even know they were homosexual until they told me! The point is, the "out, loud, and proud" ones have less pleasant personalities from my own personal experience. The ones who don't tell you they're gay, until you become friends with them, are the keepers because they don't force you to accept their sexuality on the spot, they ease you into it.



I don't know.  Gangsta rap was a product of its era.  The era when New York had upwards of 2500 homicides per year as opposed to less than 500 today.  The era when in most inner cities it was far easier for kids to get crack cocaine than fruits and vegetables.  It reflected the angst of those who lived in such a hard, dangerous culture.  That wasn't a good era and I really hope it does not come back.


Murder Rate are rising in numerous U.S. cities. Although still tame compared to the over 2,000 that died in NYC back in 1990, people losing their lives is nothing to joke around about.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/01/us/murder-rates-rising-sharply-in-many-us-cities.html?_r=0



It's not eradicated and its still dangerous but it's much, much better than it was in the early 1990s during the gangsta rap era.  Statistics speak for themselves.


Don't you mean mid '90s?



The news media and the gun-hating politicians would have you think it is worse than ever.


Unfortunately they would. That's why people have to stay educated and not get brainwashed by the media!

Actually I think you're really cool. You're very different from most LGBT people I've met in my short life. I've only met one lesbian and one gay man that I like (in real life btw). She is a feminine one, and he is a "straight-acting" one. I didn't even know they were homosexual until they told me! The point is, the "out, loud, and proud" ones have less pleasant personalities from my own personal experience. The ones who don't tell you they're gay, until you become friends with them, are the keepers because they don't force you to accept their sexuality on the spot, they ease you into it.

In a big way, I think the "out and proud" personality that you speak of is a reaction to others rejecting LGBT people's identities and forcing their own idea of who they should be from a young age, though it's definitely preachy and collectivist, the way it is now. Of course, there are also a lot of butch lesbians and effeminate men who are just all-around friendly and easy going and don't conform to the rebellious and diva stereotypes, respectively, but again, it's unfortunately the loudest ones who are usually seen as representing the LGBT community as a whole. I can vouch for myself when I say I really don't feel like I fit in with the LGBT community at large because of its pidgeonholed culture, including what it means to be queer in the first place.

Think about it. The social climate is right. Hip-hop is in need of something fresh. Gangsta rap era artists and their work are starting to get more attention. The time is ripe for this type of music to come back!


I want 80's fun rap to come back.

I want 80's fun rap to come back.


Master Gee, Wonder Mike, Big Bank Hank and Imp the Dimp (the ladies' pimp) were masters of fun rap.  8)

I want 80's fun rap to come back.


That happened in the core aughts.

Master Gee, Wonder Mike, Big Bank Hank and Imp the Dimp (the ladies' pimp) were masters of fun rap.  8)



most of the rap I hear of now is just godawful.  :P

That happened in the core aughts.

Comparing Laffy Taffy, Walk It Out, This Is Why I'm Hot, and the like to It's Tricky, Brass Monkey, and Wild Thing is a complete insult to the latter songs.

Comparing Laffy Taffy, Walk It Out, This Is Why I'm Hot, and the like to It's Tricky, Brass Monkey, and Wild Thing is a complete insult to the latter songs.


Laffy Taffy is one of the most useless songs I heard. Little lyrics, very minimalistic sample. How did it end up so high?

Do you mean gangsta rap of the early 1990's? ???

Do you mean gangsta rap of the early 1990's? ???


Gangsta rap is a mid '90s thing. Not early.

Comparing Laffy Taffy, Walk It Out, This Is Why I'm Hot, and the like to It's Tricky, Brass Monkey, and Wild Thing is a complete insult to the latter songs.


Yeah but songs such as "Get It Shawty", "Get Up", "Me & U", "You", "Live Your Life", and "Corona & Lime" represent the "fun" rap style in the aughts.

But anyway, that's not the point. I don't want anymore "fun" music. I want something deep that tells stories. Music is art, and I want artistic value back in popular music.

Gangsta rap is a mid '90s thing. Not early.


???........Gangsta rap spans the late 1980s-2000s, it was most popular in the early-mid '90s.

Trust me it was very popular in the early '90s I remember it.

Straight Outta Compton, a gangsta rap song from 1988, managed to hit #38 on the Billboard Hot 100 a few weeks ago. I think this might be the first hint of the next big trend in hip-hop! Definitely a step up from the Missy Elliot songs "Work It" and "Lose Control" that also reached the Top 40 again at the beginning of the year that stemmed from Missy's performance on Katy Perry's horrible Super Bowl 2015 Halftime Show.

With the untimely passing of Dex Osama this morning, they'll probably publish a CD of his best raps plus some previously-unreleased stuff of his.

That might give a much-needed boost to the gangster rap genre.

With the release of Straight Outta Compton (the movie) and that everyone's into the Straight Outta Somewhere bullcrap, I would say that gangsta rap could come back.

With the release of Straight Outta Compton (the movie) and that everyone's into the Straight Outta Somewhere bullcrap, I would say that gangsta rap could come back.


Let's hope so.  Used to be a time when you could hear rappers keeping it real about b@#tch-slapping hoes, and getting into gang fights.  Now all you hear them rapping about is "shawty" and getting laid.

Let's hope so.  Used to be a time when you could hear rappers keeping it real about b@#tch-slapping hoes, and getting into gang fights.  Now all you hear them rapping about is "shawty" and getting laid.


Yeah, I guess that could be the same thing if they talk about slapping hoes and getting into crime and sheesh.

Let's hope so.  Used to be a time when you could hear rappers keeping it real about b@#tch-slapping hoes, and getting into gang fights.  Now all you hear them rapping about is "shawty" and getting laid.


I was never crazy bout that rap, rap used to be about partying and having fun. Between 1980-1985 was a good time.

I was never crazy bout that rap, rap used to be about partying and having fun. Between 1980-1985 was a good time.


They still keep that tradition. Even to this day. You might think about how they don't do that anymore, because of gangsta rap and other rap sub-genres, even though they say tons of crap about partying. I can get that. Especially since 80s rap was FAR different from 90s and 2000s rap.

No, unless it's Tupac grade quality. None of that Fiddy cent party nonsense that constituted much of the genre. If you want good rap, stick with late-'80s and '00s alternative as it's the only rap that's diverse in topic. Kick push, Can't tell me nothing, Jesus walks, 4321, the old prince still lives at home and superstar are greatly recommended.



Hip hop ruined my life!! I can't read the word "lollipop" without hearing Lil Wayne!!
No, that's a joke. :P In general I was never fond of the genre. I think I was introduced to it in the early 00s. I couldn't do a thing with  50Cent. And after that came the club hip hop.
It was all materialistic and if it was about struggles in the hood, it were struggles I didn't know. It scared me though, all violence and such.
Following the Billboard last few years, I'd say there is so much crap. Only last year it seems that within hip hop some quality is returning and the Compton thingvmight mean something big. I hope to hear a hip hop song one day which I like.

You didn't hear much rap at all did you?

No, unless it's Tupac grade quality. None of that Fiddy cent party nonsense that constituted much of the genre.


That's what I meant. I want the 2Pac/Coolio mid '90s style sound to come back, not the 50 Cent early aughts style.

That's what I meant. I want the 2Pac/Coolio mid '90s style sound to come back, not the 50 Cent early aughts style.


That and Kanye/Lupe mid-hundreds style alternative. That will commence a new golden age of rap if both those genres can top the charts at the same time and not just one eacg decade, gangsta rap in the '90s and alternative rap in the hundreds.

That's what I meant. I want the 2Pac/Coolio mid '90s style sound to come back, not the 50 Cent early aughts style.


I want the styles of Grandmaster Flash and Kurtis Blow to come back.

I want the styles of Grandmaster Flash and Kurtis Blow to come back.


And The Sugarhill Gang.  8)

I want the styles of Grandmaster Flash and Kurtis Blow to come back.


Those were more underground and they paved the way for the lyrical styles of gangsta rap anyway with his song "The Message".

If it does return, then hopefully I'll be well out of earshot of it... 8-P

And The Sugarhill Gang.  8)


and Tina B.

Those were more underground and they paved the way for the lyrical styles of gangsta rap anyway with his song "The Message".


One of the best rap songs of the early 80's.

Lol we're completely different. I hate music with stories and deep lyrics because I see music as an escape and deep music is just too real. I have to deal with my own problems, so why should I listen to this sad or aggressive music? If I'm having a bad day or it's just boring I blast some EDM or early 2010s heavy synth party music to help me escape and be happy. Idk, that's just me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ce1xiGfvQg

Games People Play By Sweet G (1983)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ce1xiGfvQg

Games People Play By Sweet G (1983)


I liked the The Spinners' version of Games People Play better.

plrsE-1dVxg

That's what I meant. I want the 2Pac/Coolio mid '90s style sound to come back, not the 50 Cent early aughts style.
Funny, Coolio was just at "90's Fest" with other 90's Music Artists this weekend. I heard that on the news last night.

But anyway I think Gangsta Rap can come back in the late 10's if there is big time Social Unrest. If not than the answer is no. Late in decades the music usually gets poppier than it sounded in the middle part of that respective decade.

I liked the The Spinners' version of Games People Play better.

plrsE-1dVxg


We're discussing old school rap not classic R&B.

Late in decades the music usually gets poppier than it sounded in the middle part of that respective decade.


That's a usually. I do agree it happens with some decades such as the 1990's. It's true that songs such as "Peaches" and "Truly Madly Deeply" are very different even though they're only a year apart. You could also say the same with "California Love" and "Can I Get A...", or "You're Makin' Me High" and "...Baby One More Time".

However, I wouldn't say the same is going to happen with the 2010's. The early and (so far) middle years are very pop music-oriented, so I expect there to be a backlash against the blatantly commercial music of today. The aughts were also too poppy.