Archive for the ‘G-Funk’ Category

What the g-funk?

Monday, May 19th, 2008

Gangsta funk, or g-funk, is the topic, so in keeping with the theme, let me hear a “yo, wassap?” This style of music came from gangsta rap that started over on the West Coast, and is – as is most of these radical musical movements – a product of the early 1990s. G-funk is so called because it takes regular funk music and slows that the the tempo, adding multi layers of other sounds – sythesizers, slow hypnotic grows, deep bass and female vocals amongst others.

Usually, in true gangsta style of course, the topic of g-funk song lyrics tends to be about violence, sex and drugs. Lyrical complexity has been sacrified for the sake of good ol’ fashioned rhythm and clarity. G-funk was a big subgenre from hip-hop for over four years, the landmark being Dr. Dre’s debut of ‘The Chronic’ in 1992.

The first single to be labelled g-funk was ‘Call It What U Want’ by Above the Law, which featured on the ‘Black Mafia Life’ LP and feature Tupac Shakur. Above the Law have several other g-funk songs, including ‘Black Superman’, ‘Kalifornia’, ‘V.S.O.P’ and ‘Gansta Madness’.

The g-funk style has had a long lasting impact on hip hop music. Dr Dre’s more recent music, and his 1999 comeback ‘2001’, had a very different musical style to ‘The Chronic’ but its roots from the g-funk music era were still present. Other artists such as Suga Free, Dogg Pound and Warren G all continue to produce music that follows the g-funk trend.

The Conscious Daughters - Ear To The Street (1993)

Saturday, February 16th, 2008

Don’t be fooled, these two female emcees are definitely not conscious rappers and their debut definitely shows that. Thanks to producer Paris, who is one of the more underrated G-Funk producers around, did a perfect job on setting the tone of the album. He even produced the entire album. More onto the discussion of the artists themselves, the female group consists of CMG and The Special One (TCD) who met Paris at a club in 1993 and was soon signed to his Scarface Records label after giving him their demo tape. The album sold over 300,000 copies thanks to such singles as (more…)

Snoop Dogg - Doggystyle: The Lost Tapes (1993)

Saturday, February 2nd, 2008

According to a recent Snoop Dogg interview with 101.5 Jamz in Phoenix, Arizona, Snoop Dogg revealed that his entourage has been urging him to release an updated version of Doggystyle. Most people consider that album to be his best work. Many fans, including myself, wouldn’t mind having a re-released version with CDQ versions of some of his unreleased tracks during that time. One example is “Nigga Named Dave“, which set the blueprint for “Murder Was The Case”. Another example is “The Next Episode“, which was originally going to appear on the album but (more…)

Young Dre - Hated By Many (1997)

Friday, January 25th, 2008

After a week of not posting about a new album, you probably are going to be amazed on why I am even bothering posting about this. This is just a lesson, a lesson on how not to make a G-Funk album or an hip hop/rap album period. I honestly can’t find one decent thing to say about this album. Young Dre’s flow throughout the album is terrible and it sounds like someone is scratching a chalkboard furiously on every damn track. Also the mixing is terrible, the only saving grace for the album has got to be the guest appearances and even then, it isn’t enough to outweigh the major (more…)

DJ Quik & Kurupt Duo Album Revealed

Sunday, January 20th, 2008

Recently revealed in a Dubcnn’s weekly podcast (01/17/08) by Kurupt, there will be an upcoming duo album by two of the most popular G-Funk artists, DJ Quik and Kurupt himself. Considering all the issues that went on with The Fixxers, which involved sketchy management and creative differences, lets hope this one doesn’t turn out the same. No doubt, we seen the chemistry that they have shown with each other on the mic in the past so I can’t see how anybody can’t be excited about this project. What little information about the album that has been released includes production held by DJ Quik and Terrace Martin. Expect guest appearances by fellow Tha Dogg Pound members Daz Dillinger and Snoop Dogg.