An Introduction to West Coast Hip Hop & Gangster Rap Genre

The Genre I plan to use for my main task magazine pages

Hip-hop is a celebration of diversity. If you find that no two MCs sound alike, it's because their musical stylings are informed by different environments and attitudes. Here's a brief rundown of hip-hop sub-genres and the key artists in each niche.

Alternative Hip-Hop

Alt-rappers typically colour outside the lines. These artists are less concerned with pop hooks and dance moves. Their main goal is to push the envelope and explore unique concepts.

Key Artists: The Roots, Lupe Fiasco, Del the Funkee Homosapien

Battle rap is a style of hip-hop music that blends braggadocio with the quest for lyrical superiority. Seasoned battle rappers focus on boastful lines and self-glorifying rhymes about one's proficiency or level of success, accompanied by verbal insults hurled at the other party (directly or subliminally).

Key Artists: Kool Moe Dee, Jay-Z, Canibus, LL Cool J

Gangsta Rap

Gangsta rap revolves around aggressive lyrics and trunk-heavy beats. Despite its huge acceptance in the early 90s, gangsta rap has come under fire lately for misogyny and violent themes.

Key Artists: Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube

Hyphy

Hyphy is a relatively new musical import from the west coast. It incorporates an uptempo, high energy style. Hyphy is also characterized by witty lyrics and rugged beats. Critics were quick to dismiss it as a fad at first, mainly because it's an offshoot of crunk. Regardless, the Bay Area has enjoyed a measurable amount of success with their brainchild.

Key Artists Keak da Sneak, E-40, Mistah F.A.B.

Snap

The slick polyrhythms of snap is naturally accompanied by finger snaps (hence the name) and occasional whistling to create a distinct melody. Though this style of hip-hop grew out of Atlanta, it quickly spread to other cities in the U.S. Unfortunately, snap fizzled out almost as soon as it became popular.

Key Artists Dem Franchise Boyz, Yin Yang Twins, D4L

West Coast Hip-Hop

There's a generational misconception in hip-hop that lyricism is only synonymous with the east coast. The Left coast may be the home of gangsta rap, but it's also home to G-funk, lowrider music, freestyles and yes, lyrical hip-hop.

Key Artists: N.W.A., Too Short, Ras Kass, The Game, Freestyle Fellowship

The genres i plan to focus my magazine on are West Coast Hip-Hop and Gangster Rap, when researching examples of real magazine i will be searching for artist that feature in magazine that relate to these two genres.

front cover school magazine

school contents page

Potential Photos for School magazine pages (Preliminary Task)

This is a mood board i created using the photos that i gathered from the photo shoot for my school magazine, they are the potential photos that i will be including in my magazine, on the front cover and contents page.