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West Coast hip hop

West Coast hip hop
Stylistic origins	Dancehall (Toasting) East Coast hip hop Funk Jazz Rhythm and blues Soul music
Cultural origins	Mid-1970s, United States
Typical instruments	Prominent Bass Drum machine Piano Rapping Sampler Synthesizer
Derivative forms	Midwest hip hop Southern hip hop
Subgenres
Alternative hip hop Chicano rap Electro-hop Gangsta rap G-funk Hyphy Latin hip hop Underground hip hop (complete list)
Fusion genres
Jazz rap
Regional scenes
Hyphy
Other topics
East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry Golden age hip hop Hip hop List of West Coast hip hop artists List of West Coast hip hop record labels

West Coast hip hop is an American hip hop music subgenre that encompasses any artists or music which originates in the westernmost region of the United States. Although the culture of hip hop was given its name in New York City, it is believed by some that the culture itself was a mutual creation by numerous individuals from both the East and West coasts, respectively.

The gangsta rap subgenre of West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the early 90s. Gangsta rap easily became the most controversial form of music in its early days, with many organizations attempting to have the artists in the genre's music banned from the public. By the end of the 90s decade, hip hop's focus began to shift back towards the East Coast and also to a fastly emerging Southern hip hop scene.

The West Coast is also known to have a very fertile underground hip hop scene, with Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area being particular hot spots. Many of the West Coast's underground acts focused more on lyrical technique than their more mainstream peers.

Characteristics

Musical and lyrical elements

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Visual and other elements

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History

Early years

Main articles: Old school hip hop and Roots of hip hop

Some believe that the five elements of hip hop culture, which include B-Boying, beatboxing, DJing, graffiti art, and MCing, existed on the East and West Coasts of the United States simultaneously during the mid-seventies. This theory runs in opposition to the more universally accepted belief that the fundamental elements of hip hop were all born and cultivated exclusively on the East Coast, New York City in particular, in the most early stages of the culture. Although it is agreed that hip hop was given its name in New York, some say a culture that closely mirrored the East Coast hip hop culture had emerged in the West existing from Los Angeles to Oakland during the same period. The culture itself is believed to have been a mutual creation which probably evolved from interaction between people who identified with elements from their respective coasts.

How did this happen? Was it an example of The Critical Mass Theory? The theory which states that when a certain critical number achieves an awareness, it may be communicated from mind to mind? Possibly an easier explanation is one summer vacation, somebody’s cousin from South Central takes Poppin’ to The Bronx and brings back B-Boying to L.A.

— Gregory "G.Bone" Everett

During the early years, most West Coast rap artists essentially imitated the party rap scene of their East Coast counterparts. At the time, the style was already considered to be old by those residing on the East Coast.

Gangsta rap era

Main article: Gangsta rap

Gangsta rap evolved from the hardcore hip hop subgenre of the '80s. The lyrics of most gangsta rap artists were usually profane and dealt with themes concerning urban crime. While some artists work could be considered an accurate reflection of reality, others were thought to be merely exaggerated comic book fantasies. Various conservative organizations tried to get numerous gangsta rap albums banned. The pioneering gangsta rap group N.W.A and their record label Ruthless Records infamously received a letter from an assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) excoriating their landmark 1988 album Straight Outta Compton for its lyrical themes and content in 1989. Gangsta rap became the most commercially successful form of hip hop in the late '80s and early '90s.

Tension between coasts

Main article: East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry

Decline

The West's hip hop scene began to lose its footing in the mainstream around 1996. Dr. Dre left Death Row Records, Tupac Shakur, the labels most successful artist at the time, was murdered, and the companies CEO Suge Knight was jailed over business practices. By the end of the 1990s, hip hop's focus had shifted back to the East as well as the emerging Southern hip hop movement.

Current status

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Alternative and underground scene

Main articles: Alternative hip hop and Underground hip hop

At that time all we had was N.W.A, and everybody thought everything coming out of L.A. is gangsta rap... We don't got to do that, you know? Let them do that, and let us do something else.

— P.E.A.C.E.

In the early 90s, many of the Los Angeles hip hop scene's most talented and progressive-minded MCs would attend the Good Life Cafe to hone their skills and develop their craft. Artists such as Abstract Rude, Ahmad, Freestyle Fellowship, Jurassic 5, the Pharcyde, Skee-Lo, a pre-Dogg Pound Kurupt, and many others performed at the Good Life's open mic Thursday nights from the late-80s into the mid-90s. In the 2009 documentary This Is the Life, L.A. hip hop artist and Good Life regular 2Mex likened the Good Life movement to that of the New York punk rock and Seattle music scenes.

Criticism

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Legacy

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See also

• Culture of California
• List of West Coast hip hop artists
• List of West Coast hip hop record labels
• Music of California