G-funk

For the record label, see G-Funk Entertainment

G-funk (Gangsta-funk or Ghetto-funk) is a type of hip hop music that emerged from West Coast gangsta rap in the early 1990s. G-funk (largely derived from slowing the tempo down of funk music) incorporates multi-layered and melodic synthesizers, slow hypnotic grooves, a deep bass, background female vocals, the extensive sampling of p-funk tunes, and a high portamento sine wave keyboard lead—a feature that became the genre’s notable trademark. Additionally, unlike other rap acts at the time (such as EPMD or The Bomb Squad) that sampled heavily, G-funk often utilized only one or two samples per song ^[1].

This genre was characterized by a generally hedonistic subject matter including violence, sex, and drug use, and a slurred “lazy drawl” that sacrificed lyrical complexity for clarity and rhythmic cadence. G-funk became the premier subgenre of mainstream hip hop for a span of nearly four years (from the release of Dr. Dre's landmark debut, The Chronic, in 1992, to the collapse of the Los Angeles-based label, Death Row Records, in 1996).

Origins

There has been some debate over who should be considered the "father of G-funk." Dr. Dre and his half-brother Warren G are generally believed to have developed the sound; the first hints of the whiny syn-leads and Parliament Funkadelic-style bass grooves in Dre's work appeared on N.W.A.'s single "Alwayz Into Something" from their 1991 album Efil4zaggin. Dr. Dre's first true G-funk single, however, was 1992's "Deep Cover", the title song from the movie soundtrack of the same name, which also introduced the world to Snoop Dogg.

However, some have alleged that Dr. Dre stole the concept of G-funk from Above The Law's Cold 187um (AKA Big Hutch) while N.W.A. and Above The Law were both signed to Ruthless Records in the early-1990s. Above The Law have claimed that their album Black Mafia Life(1992), although it was released after The Chronic, had been in the works while Dre was still on Ruthless, and that he heard tracks from the album and imitated the style on The Chronic. It is notable that several songs on Black Mafia Life contain the same samples as songs on The Chronic ("Pimp Clinic", for example, is based upon the same samples as Dr. Dre's hit single "Let Me Ride"; therefore, the two songs are distinctly similar). Above The Law continue to argue that they are the architects of the G-funk style.

Others have drawn comparisons between G-funk and San Francisco-based Mobb Music, which has never gained widespread mainstream success but incorporates elements similar to G-funk, with more tempo variations, less portamento, synthesizers, Moog bass lines, and more live instruments.

Influence

After the release of The Chronic, many producers from the West Coast and even some from the East Coast began producing in the G-funk style or imitating it. Most notably, producers Warren G and DJ Quik produced their most well-known material in the G-funk vein, Dre's fellow Death Row "inmate" Daz produced Tha Dogg Pound's debut Dogg Food in the same style. In the "Making of Ready to Die" issue of XXL magazine, ex-Bad Boy producer Easy Mo Bee stated that he was trying to bring a G-funk-inspired sound to The Notorious B.I.G.'s debut album.

Lasting influences that have carried on even after the heyday of the style include heavy use of funk-style synthesizers, and hooks sung and modified electronically through the use of a vocoder or Talk box in a style pioneered by funk group Zapp and Roger.

Criticism and backlash

Prior to the success of The Chronic, prominent groups of the golden age of hip hop such as Public Enemy and Native Tongues Posse, embraced more socially aware issues such as drug abuse, poverty, racism, and African American empowerment. Whereas rappers utilizing the G-funk sound essentially rapped about the gangsta subject matter that Dre's former group, N.W.A, had helped bring to the mainstream in the late 1980s. This led to some criticism from hip hop purists, who accused these rappers of "dumbing down" rap. In 1994, Chicago rapper Common released the song "I Used to Love H.E.R." on his album Resurrection; the track essentially summed up the sentiments of hip-hop purists, and received notable attention in the underground. It was this disillusionment with mainstream hip hop that led certain hip hop critics to enthusiastically embrace East Coast albums such as Black Moon's Enta Da Stage, The Wu-Tang Clan's Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (see 1993 in music), and Nas's and The Notorious B.I.G.'s respective debuts: Illmatic and Ready to Die (see 1994 in music). These successive releases were hailed as the beginning of an East Coast hip hop renaissance, that later included albums such as Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, The Infamous, Doe Or Die, and Reasonable Doubt. Ready to Die, in particular, established Bad Boy Records as a significant competitor against the West Coast hip hop scene led by Death Row Records.

Despite such criticism and mounting pressure from censorship groups (most notably C. Delores Tucker) opposed to gangsta rap, The Chronic and Doggystyle, were both critically-acclaimed as well as commercially successful. The singles "Nuthin' But a "G" Thang" (The Chronic) and "Gin and Juice" (Doggystyle) became the most famous examples of G-funk in this era. The G-funk sound could also be heard in rapper Tupac Shakur's most popular releases, including Me Against the World - "Heavy in the Game" and most notably the song "Cant C Me" (produced by Dr. Dre) featured on All Eyez on Me, the latter of which was released on the Death Row label.

Future of the G-funk era

In 1996, following Dr. Dre's departure from Death Row Records, Tupac Shakur's murder, and Suge Knight's imprisonment for racketeering, the G-funk era effectively came to an end. Dr. Dre attempted to update and expand on the sound with his 1996 release Dr. Dre Presents...The Aftermath as well as 1997's Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album, the latter of which he partially produced. While both albums went platinum, they were unsuccessful by Dre's standards, and had little impact on the hip-hop scene.

However, the G-funk sound has had a lasting impact on hip hop, and its influence can be heard in albums such as Dre's successful 1999 comeback 2001, which features a significantly different production style from The Chronic but has its roots in the G-funk sound he helped pioneer.

Kokane has been leading the G-funk sound since its inception and released 3 albums in 2006 named "Kokane presents the Hood Mob", "Back 2 tha Clap, and "Pain killer'z" respectively. DJ Quik and Warren G's last albums were released in 2005, and were both solid indie albums. Sugafree released an album called "Just Add Water" in 2006. DJ Quik and AMG are planning on making an album together which will be released in 2007.

Dr. Dre is planning to release his next Album Detox in September of 2007.

See also

• List of G-funk musicians
• List of G-funk producers

References

1. ^ Brown, Ethan (22). "Straight Outta Hollis", Queens Reigns Supreme: Fat Cat, 50 Cent, and the Rise of the Hip Hop Hustler. Anchor. ISBN 1-4000-9523-9. “[Unlike] popular hip-hop producers like the Bomb Squad, Dre instead utilized a single sample to drive a song.” 

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