View source for Hardcore hip-hop

{{short description|Music genre}}
{{Distinguish|Rapcore|Horrorcore}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Hardcore hip-hop
| other_names       = Hardcore rap
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|[[East Coast hip-hop]]|[[boom bap]]}}
| cultural_origins  = Early 1980s, mainly in [[New York City]] and [[Philadelphia]]
| derivatives       = {{hlist|[[Gangsta rap]]|[[horrorcore]]|[[British hip hop#Road rap|road rap]]|[[Gangsta rap#Mafioso rap|mafioso rap]]|[[dirty rap]]|[[Drill music|drill]]|[[Trap music|trap]]|[[rage rap]]}}
| subgenrelist      = 
| fusiongenres      = 
| regional_scenes   = [[West Coast hip-hop]], [[East Coast hip-hop]]
| other_topics      = 
}}

'''Hardcore hip-hop''' (also known as '''hardcore rap''') is a subgenre of [[Hip-hop|hip hop music]] that developed through the [[East Coast hip-hop|East Coast hip hop]] scene in the 1980s. Pioneered by such artists as [[Run-DMC]], [[Schoolly D]], [[Boogie Down Productions]] and [[Public Enemy]], it is generally characterized by [[anger]], [[aggression]] and [[confrontation]].

==History==
Music experts have credited [[Run-DMC]] as the first hardcore hip hop group.<ref>Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p121003/biography|pure_url=yes}} allmusic ((( Run-D.M.C. > Biography )))]. AllMusic. Accessed January 14, 2008.</ref> Other early artists to adopt an aggressive style were [[Schoolly D]] in [[Philadelphia]] and [[Too Short|Too $hort]] in [[Oakland, California|Oakland]]. Before a formula for [[gangsta rap]] had developed, artists such as [[Boogie Down Productions]] and [[Ice-T]] wrote lyrics based on detailed observations of "street life", while the confrontational and aggressive lyrics and chaotic, rough production style of [[Public Enemy]]'s records set new standards for hardcore hip hop and [[Hip-hop production|hip hop production]].<ref name="allmusic">.{{Cite web|url = https://www.allmusic.com/style/hardcore-rap-ma0000011937/songs|title = Hardcore Rap|website = [[AllMusic]]|access-date = April 4, 2021|archive-date = October 17, 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211017170418/https://www.allmusic.com/style/hardcore-rap-ma0000011937/songs|url-status = live}} AllMusic. Accessed May 12, 2025.</ref> Though initially a largely East Coast phenomenon, by the late 1980s, hardcore rap increasingly became largely synonymous with [[West Coast hip-hop|West Coast]] [[gangsta rap]], with artists like [[N.W.A]] infusing "[[gangster|gangsta]]" themed stories of gritty gang life.

In the early 1990s, hardcore hip hop again became associated with the East Coast as [[Wu-Tang Clan]] emerged with [[Minimalism|minimalistic]] [[Beat (music)|beats]] and piano-driven [[Sampling (music)|sampling]], which became widely popular among other hardcore hip hop artists of the time.<ref name="allmusic" /> In the early, late 90s and early 2000s, other New York based artists like [[Onyx (hip-hop group)|Onyx]], [[DMX]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/artist/dmx/|title=DMX - Undisputed Reigning King of Hardcore Rap|date=February 18, 2020|access-date=April 4, 2021|archive-date=October 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017173337/https://www.udiscovermusic.com/artist/dmx/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.allmusic.com/style/hardcore-rap-ma0000011937/songs|title = Hardcore Rap|website = [[AllMusic]]|access-date = April 4, 2021|archive-date = October 17, 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211017170418/https://www.allmusic.com/style/hardcore-rap-ma0000011937/songs|url-status = live}}</ref> and [[M.O.P.]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.redbull.com/ca-en/10-things-you-should-know-about-mop | title=10 things you didn't know about the hip-hop heavy hitters M.O.P. | website=[[Red Bull]] | access-date=April 4, 2021 | archive-date=October 17, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017170328/https://www.redbull.com/ca-en/10-things-you-should-know-about-mop | url-status=live }}</ref> incorporated yelling in their lyrics. In the 2010s, [[punk rap]] combined elements of hardcore hip hop and [[hardcore punk]], with artists like [[Denzel Curry]] at the forefront.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.miaminewtimes.com/music/interview-with-miami-rapper-denzel-curry-11432362|title=Denzel Curry Comes Home to Miami for His Zeltron Word Wide Rap Battle|access-date=April 4, 2021|archive-date=February 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226054833/https://www.miaminewtimes.com/music/interview-with-miami-rapper-denzel-curry-11432362|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20191015-how-todays-rappers-are-resurrecting-the-spirit-of-punk|title=How today's rappers are resurrecting the spirit of punk|access-date=April 4, 2021|archive-date=October 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221029174405/https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20191015-how-todays-rappers-are-resurrecting-the-spirit-of-punk|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Characteristics==
[[Gangsta rap]] has often been associated with the hardcore hip hop style, and gangsta rap is generally considered a subgenre or offshoot of hardcore hip hop. However, not all hardcore hip hop revolves around "[[Gangster|gangsta]]" lyrical themes, despite the considerable overlap between the two genres, especially within hardcore rappers of the 1990s.<ref name="allmusic"/> Hardcore hip hop is characterised by [[aggression]] and [[confrontation]] and generally describes violence or [[anger]]. [[Russell Potter]] wrote that while hardcore rap has been associated with a "monolithic 'gangsta' outlook" by the [[Mass media|popular press]], hardcore rappers have "laid claim to a wide variety of ground".<ref>Potter, Russell A. (1995). ''Spectacular Vernaculars: Hip-hop and the Politics of Postmodernism''. p.  130. SUNY Press. {{ISBN|0-7914-2626-2}}.</ref> Hardcore hip hop can also be associated with progressive politics, with artists such as Public Enemy, [[KRS-One]], [[Immortal Technique]] and [[Dead Prez]], incorporating revolutionary lyrical content in a hardcore style.

==See also==
* [[The Dozens]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{hiphop}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardcore Hip Hop}}
[[Category:Hardcore hip-hop| ]]
[[Category:Hip-hop genres]]
[[Category:History of hip-hop]]
[[Category:1980s in hip-hop]]