Hardcore Hip-Hop
Anchor moment: Criminal Minded is released
Musical signatures
Aggressive, bass-heavy production; dense breakbeats and abrasive sample collages; confrontational and often political or street-narrative lyricism delivered with forceful cadence; tempos typically 90–100 BPM.
Pioneers
- Boogie Down Productions
- Public Enemy
- eric-b-and-rakim
- schoolly-d
- Run-DMC
Associated scenes
- new-york-golden-age
Moments in this sub-genre 2
Notes
Origin date is broad — Schoolly D's 'P.S.K. What Does It Mean?' (1985) and Run-DMC's self-titled debut (1984) are precursors; the style crystallized with Boogie Down Productions' 'Criminal Minded' (1987) and Public Enemy's 'Yo! Bum Rush the Show' (1987).
Citations 2
- B
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