What is Gangsta rap?
{{Infobox Music genre | name = '''Gangsta rap''' | bgcolor = Grey | color = Black | stylistic_origins = [[Hip hop music|Hip hop]] | cultural_origins = {{hlist|Mid 1980s|[[Los Angeles]], [[California]]}} | instruments = {{hlist|[[Drum machine]]|[[beatboxing]]|[[vocals]]}} | popularity = Mid-[[1990s]] to early-[[2000s]], peaked in late [[1990s]]. | derivatives = {{hlist|[[Mafioso rap]]|[[Dirty rap]]|[[Horrorcore]]|[[Hardcore hip hop]]}} | subgenrelist = | subgenres = {{hlist|[[Mafioso rap]]|[[Drill music|drill]]|[[Trap music|trap]]}} | fusiongenres = [[G funk]] | regional_scenes = {{hlist|[[West Coast hip hop]]|[[East Coast hip hop]]|[[Southern hip hop]]|Midwest hip hop|[[Chicano rap]]<!-- Chicano rap might be considered West Coast. No scenes outside US? -->}} | other_topics = [[Horrorcore]] }} '''Gangsta rap''' (also called '''Gangster rap''' and '''reality rap''') is a [[subgenre]] of [[hip hop]] that reflects the violent lifestyles of some inner-city youths. ''Gangsta'' is a non-rhotic pronunciation of the word ''[[gangster]]''. The genre was pioneered in the mid 1980s by rappers such as [[Afroman]] and [[Ice Cube]], and was popularized in the later part of the 1980s by groups like [[N.W.A]]. After the national attention that Ice-T and N.W.A created in the late 1980s and early 1990s, gangsta rap became the most commercially lucrative subgenre of hip hop. Many people have criticized gangsta rap for allegedly promoting illegal activities such as [[assault]], [[Homicide|murder]], and selling [[illegal drugs]]. ==Notable Artists== * [[Ace Hood]] * [[Raekwon]] * [[Twista]] * [[Big L]] * [[Public Enemy]] * [[Tupac Shakur|2Pac]] * [[The Notorious B.I.G.]] * [[DMX]] * [[Ice Cube]] * [[Lil Wayne]] * [[Eazy-E]] * [[Fat Joe]] * [[2 Chainz]] * [[Wu-Tang Clan]] * [[N.W.A.]] * [[Bone Thugs-n-Harmony]] * [[South Park Mexican]] * [[Kid Frost]] * [[Ja Rule]] * [[Rick Ross]] * [[Ganskta N-I-P]] * [[The Game (rapper)|The Game]] * [[Too Short|Too $hort]] * [[50 Cent]] * [[Lloyd Banks]] * [[G-Unit]] * [[Ice-T]