Gangsta rap

Gangsta rap is a subgenre of hip hop music which involves a lyrical focus on the lifestyles of inner-city or "

Gangsta rap is a subgenre of hip hop music which involves a lyrical focus on the lifestyles of inner-city or "da hood" gang members and other criminals. Often the artists themselves are gang members, or at least claim to have been. Although crime and violence have always been part of hip hop's lyrical canon, before the rise of gangsta rap the subject was not often embraced or addressed so blatantly. Gangsta rap was pioneered by Ice-T,N.W.A., MC Eiht and other rappers who were influenced by Schoolly D's hardcore rap but still mixed in social commentary in their lyrics. Artists such as Ice Cube and 2Pac would go on to further popularize gangsta rap.

With the popularity of Dr Dre's The Chronic in 1992, gangsta rap became the most commercially lucrative subgenre of hip-hop. Since then some former gangsta rap artists have moved towards a more pop-friendly mainstream sound.