Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of
hip hop music that encompasses the wide range of styles that are not
typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as follows:
"Alternative rap refers to hip hop groups that refuse to conform to
any of the traditional stereotypes of rap, such as gangsta, bass,
hardcore, pop, and party rap. Instead, they blur genres drawing
equally from funk and pop/rock, as well as jazz, soul, reggae, and
even folk."Alternative hip hop developed in the late 1980s and
experienced a degree of mainstream recognition during the early-to-mid
1990s. While some groups such as Arrested Development and The Fugees
managed to achieve commercial success before breaking up, most
alternative rap acts tended to be embraced largely by alternative rock
listeners rather than hip-hop or pop audiences. The commercial and
cultural momentum was impeded by the then also emerging, significantly
harder-edged West Coast gangsta rap. A resurgence came about in the
late 1990s and early 2000s at the dawn of the digital era with
rejuvenated interest in independent music by the general public.During
the 2000s, alternative hip hop reattained its place within the
mainstream, due to the declining commercial viability of gangsta rap
as well as the crossover success of artists such as OutKast and Kanye
West. The alternative hip hop movement has expanded beyond the United
States to include the Somali-Canadian poet K'naan, Japanese rapper
Shing02, and English artist M.I.A. Alternative hip hop acts have
attained much critical acclaim, but receive relatively little exposure
through radio and other media outlets.
hip hop music that encompasses the wide range of styles that are not
typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as follows:
"Alternative rap refers to hip hop groups that refuse to conform to
any of the traditional stereotypes of rap, such as gangsta, bass,
hardcore, pop, and party rap. Instead, they blur genres drawing
equally from funk and pop/rock, as well as jazz, soul, reggae, and
even folk."Alternative hip hop developed in the late 1980s and
experienced a degree of mainstream recognition during the early-to-mid
1990s. While some groups such as Arrested Development and The Fugees
managed to achieve commercial success before breaking up, most
alternative rap acts tended to be embraced largely by alternative rock
listeners rather than hip-hop or pop audiences. The commercial and
cultural momentum was impeded by the then also emerging, significantly
harder-edged West Coast gangsta rap. A resurgence came about in the
late 1990s and early 2000s at the dawn of the digital era with
rejuvenated interest in independent music by the general public.During
the 2000s, alternative hip hop reattained its place within the
mainstream, due to the declining commercial viability of gangsta rap
as well as the crossover success of artists such as OutKast and Kanye
West. The alternative hip hop movement has expanded beyond the United
States to include the Somali-Canadian poet K'naan, Japanese rapper
Shing02, and English artist M.I.A. Alternative hip hop acts have
attained much critical acclaim, but receive relatively little exposure
through radio and other media outlets.
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