Hip hop music bands can be found all around the globe, adapting to suit each region’s style and subject matter challenges.
On the West Coast, rappers such as Ice Cube deliver smooth rhymes over skipping hi-hats while members of A Tribe Called Quest depict ghetto life with brutal honesty.
Eminem
Eminem has long been one of the most beloved hip hop artists. He has sold more than 220 million albums globally and earned numerous awards and recognition. Furthermore, Eminem was recently named as the best-selling artist ever in America with nine number-one albums on music charts and has held onto that position for eight consecutive years – which makes him one of the highest earning male rappers ever in this country.
Marshall Bruce Mathers III of St. Joseph, Missouri and Detroit Michigan was raised. Eminem began rapping to express his disillusionment with life. Drawing inspiration from childhood experiences such as drugs and violence for many of his lyrics that often focus on them; critics often cited his profane language but applauded him for the emotional impact his music conveys.
In 2000, Marshall Mathers released his debut album The Marshall Mathers LP to critical and commercial acclaim, though not without much controversy surrounding its contents – particularly excessive profanity, violence and drug use glorifying, apparent homophobia and misogyny in its lyrics, homophobic remarks by singer-songwriters as well as antisemitism in lyrics that glorify violence as well as other allegations related to misogyny in lyrics that critics claimed endorsed the album’s content.
Eminem released numerous successful albums throughout the decade, such as Relapse and The Slim Shady LP 2. In 2018, Eminem made headlines again when he released the soundtrack for Marvel movie Venom which performed extremely well on music charts worldwide. Later that same year he released Kamikaze which received critical acclaim but nevertheless did well on music charts worldwide.
Marshall Mathers
New York may get most of the credit for inventing hip hop, but New Orleans was also making waves with MCs rocking out its own version known as bounce music – featuring many female rappers who could sing as well as rap. New Orleans pioneered combining hip hop with R&B and soul.
The late 1980s was an important period for hip hop as the genre began to emerge and capitalize on MTV. Artists such as A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Public Enemy and Gang Starr found critical success while gangster rap rose in popularity thanks to acts such as Tupac and Notorious B.I.G leading its revival.
Early 1990s West Coast rap groups saw tremendous popularity. NWA with Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube and MC Ren are considered pioneers of West Coast hip-hop as they popularized gangster rap with their music and lyrics.
In the 1990s, conscious rap emerged. Groups such as Arrested Development took more political stands through their music, reinvigorating black pride within rap music genre. Arrested Development also helped fuel an East Coast vs West Coast feud which ultimately resulted in Tupac Shakur’s death and that of Notorious B.I.G’s.
Ice Cube
Ice Cube has become one of the most iconic figures in Hip-Hop history. He led a musical revolution as part of groundbreaking gangsta rap band N.W.A and then continued as a solo artist, producing iconic albums like AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted and Death Certificate that featured harsh social commentary and storytelling in their music.
After his unceremonious departure from N.W.A and their dissing him on their album N****z4Life, Ice Cube hit back hard with this track from 1992 extended play Kill At Will that showcases his trademark gangsta rap style and storytelling capabilities.
He excels on the instrumental track as well, featuring a classic sample from 1976 funk rock song “It’s a Shame.” This piece showcases perfectly how sounds from that period were composed and delivered – an essential listen for fans of genre music!
Ice Cube excelled at showing his vocal versatility throughout this song, which features legendary rap producer DJ Yella (of N.W.A fame) producing its beat. Bow Down later appeared in 1995 film Friday as well as on War & Peace Vol 2 (The Peace Disc).
Outkast
Outkast, comprised of rappers Big Boi and Andre 3000 from Atlanta, Georgia, is a two-man hip hop duo known for fusing gritty Southern soul with fluid raps over low-slung funk beats and horn lines. Their debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik helped usher in the new wave of Southern hip hop in the mid and late ’90s, by juxtaposing material featuring pimps/gangster lifestyle with politically conscious material commenting on African Americans living there.
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was both critical and commercially successful, earning critical acclaim and selling over one million copies worldwide. Considered one of the greatest albums of the 1990s, its singles “Hey Ya!” and “Rooster” are still widely played on radio today; its masterful storytelling and musicality remain unparalleled among contemporary hip hop albums.
Outkast then took an indefinite hiatus, with each member undertaking solo projects: Big Boi released Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty to widespread critical acclaim while Andre 3000 continued his production career by creating Aquemini and producing music for 2006’s Idlewild movie soundtrack.
In 2014, they reunited to perform at various festivals throughout the U.S. They then released their classic album Stankonia for its 20th anniversary rerelease and since have remained one of the most celebrated rap groups ever.
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine was one of the key musical expressions of black resistance during the 1990s. Formed in 1991, they quickly rose to become one of the premier bands at representing this cause. Vocalist Zack de la Rocha, guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk all came together to blend hip-hop’s political leanings with heavy metal’s aggressive sound in an ensemble known as DEADSHOT MC5. Their music had also been heard among MC5, Public Enemy and The Clash among others. Their self-titled debut album was an enormously successful debut, and quickly cemented their signature sound. It featured Morello’s inventive guitar work (sometimes mimicking DJ turntable scratching), Wilk’s pounding rhythms, and de la Rocha’s passionate rapping; their lyrics addressed local and global issues including police corruption, sweatshop workers plights, racism and police brutality, with “Killing in the Name” serving as an indictment against both.
The band’s politically charged message has long resonated with young people, and remains highly relevant today. Their music serves as an effective call to arms against oppressive forces – this song stands as one of the greatest rock-and-roll political songs ever composed! But what exactly are they criticizing? According to Ponderings From Pluto blog, this may refer to their early tour van which kept breaking down, becoming an endless source of frustration among members; or possibly capitalism or other oppressive structures at higher levels in society which they were protesting against; or it could refers to other forms of oppressive systems found throughout society at large which had an ongoing negative effect.
Linkin Park
After graduating high school, Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, and Rob Bourdon decided to take their musical careers more seriously. Together they formed the Xero band and practiced in Shinoda’s makeshift bedroom studio before adding vocalists Joe Hahn and Dave “Phoenix” Farrell for completeness. Although initially struggling to find an audience for their music, an unexpected meeting with Warner Bros vice president Jeff Blue changed everything – after signing a deal they changed name again as Linkin Park (misspelling Lincoln Park Santa Monica) before starting their debut album Hybrid Theory release.
After the success of Hybrid Theory, Linkin Park ventured further musically on their next album Meteora. Inspired by a Greek rocky region with the same name, this new record blended nu metal, rapcore and experimental sounds seamlessly together while featuring guests like System of a Down’s Daron Malakian, Helmet’s Page Hamilton as well as hip-hop producer Rakim.
“Final Masquerade” stood out on this album due to its emotional peak and captivating vocal interplay between Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda; its success heralded future more pop-oriented releases by the group and was even featured with a novel video that leveraged viewers’ Facebook profiles to provide them with a personalized viewing experience.