Gangsta Rap Essentials

Apple Music Hip-Hop
Updated 2 Weeks Ago

Blurring the lines between documentary and action movie, between bleak realities and empowering fantasy, the unflinching narratives of gangsta rap remain among hip-hop’s most influential, popular and controversial strains. Inspired by Philadelphia rapper Schoolly D’s groundbreaking, monolithic 1985 12-inch "P.S.K.-What Does It Mean?" California rappers like Ice-T, N.W.A., and Too $hort started making records better suited for car stereos than pop radio—gleefully explicit, focused on violent realism and speaking frankly to systemic problems. In the ’90s, artists like Dr. Dre and 2Pac helped turn gangsta rap from underground sensation into a Billboard-dominating cultural force. Ice Cube preferred the term “reality rap,” and indeed gangsta rap provided a window into what was happening on the street corners of Houston, Memphis, Austin, Cleveland, New Orleans, Miami, Atlanta, and beyond. Today, gangsta rap is part of hip-hop’s understructure, a key element in the luxury rap of Rick Ross and the Pulitzer-winning panoramas of Kendrick Lamar.
2Pac
2Pac
All Eyez On Me (Remastered)
4:38
Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Doggystyle
3:31
Warren G
Warren G
Regulate… G Funk Era (Special Edition)
4:08
Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
The Chronic
4:21
Ice Cube
Ice Cube
Greatest Hits
4:20
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar
good kid, m.A.A.d city (Deluxe)
5:50
Nipsey Hussle
Nipsey Hussle
Victory Lap
3:45
DMX
DMX
It's Dark and Hell Is Hot
3:34
Mobb Deep
Mobb Deep
The Infamous
5:25
The Notorious B.I.G.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Ready to Die - The Remaster
3:40
JAY-Z
JAY-Z
In My Lifetime, Vol. 1
4:26
Nas
Nas
Illmatic
4:54
Raekwon
Raekwon
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
4:42
THE LOX
THE LOX
We Are the Streets
4:07
50 Cent
50 Cent
Get Rich or Die Tryin'
4:16
UGK
UGK
Too Hard To Swallow
6:09
Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Tha Block Is Hot
4:12
Master p
Master p
Ice Cream Man
5:07
Clipse
Clipse
Lord Willin'
4:24
Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
The Chronic
3:58
2Pac
2Pac
All Eyez On Me (Remastered)
5:07
DJ Quik
DJ Quik
Quik Is the Name
3:25
Mack 10
Mack 10
Best of Mack 10
4:14
Compton's Most Wanted
Compton's Most Wanted
Music to Driveby
3:39
Dogg Pound
Dogg Pound
Dogg Food
4:50
Above the Law
Above the Law
Livin' Like Hustlers
4:13
The Lady of Rage
The Lady of Rage
Above the Rim
4:50
The Game
The Game
The Documentary
3:26
YG
YG
4 THE LADIES - EP
3:58
ScHoolboy Q
ScHoolboy Q
Oxymoron (Deluxe Version)
4:59
Nipsey Hussle
Nipsey Hussle
Racks in the Middle (feat. Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy) - Single
3:53
Ice-T
Ice-T
O.G. Original Gangster
4:43
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
4:03
Kid Frost
Kid Frost
Hispanic Causing Panic
3:29
Volume 10
Volume 10
Hip-Hopera
2:57
Geto Boys
Geto Boys
Til Death Do Us Part
5:24
Kool G Rap, DJ Polo
Kool G Rap, DJ Polo
Live and Let Die (Deluxe Version)
3:49
Eazy-E
Eazy-E
Eazy-Duz-It
6:21
C-Murder
C-Murder
Trapped In Crime
3:45
8Ball & MJG
8Ball & MJG
Comin Out Hard
4:30
Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Lights Out
4:45
Jeezy
Jeezy
Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101
4:13
UGK
UGK
UGK (Underground Kingz)
5:14
Rick Ross
Rick Ross
Port of Miami
4:14
DFC, M.C. Breed
DFC, M.C. Breed
MC Breed & DFC
4:04
2Pac
2Pac
Greatest Hits
4:44
Ice-T
Ice-T
Colors
4:27
Mack 10, Dogg Pound
Mack 10, Dogg Pound
Best of Mack 10
4:01
MC Eiht
MC Eiht
Menace II Society (The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
4:36
Snoop Dogg, Xzibit
Snoop Dogg, Xzibit
No Limit Top Dogg
3:54
Vince Staples
Vince Staples
Summertime '06
3:03
YG
YG
Still Brazy (Deluxe)
3:16
Jay Rock
Jay Rock
90059
4:43
Pop Smoke
Pop Smoke
Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon
2:40
Freddie Gibbs, Madlib
Freddie Gibbs, Madlib
Piñata
3:46
Boldy James, The Alchemist
Boldy James, The Alchemist
The Price of Tea in China (Deluxe Edition)
3:38
Pusha T
Pusha T
My Name Is My Name
2:43
50 Cent
50 Cent
Get Rich or Die Tryin'
2:59
Mobb Deep
Mobb Deep
The Infamous
3:44
Big Punisher
Big Punisher
Capital Punishment
3:48
Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
2001
2:41
JAY-Z
JAY-Z
Reasonable Doubt
4:08
The Notorious B.I.G.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Ready to Die - The Remaster
4:45
M.O.P.
M.O.P.
Firing Squad
3:51
The East Flatbush Project
The East Flatbush Project
First Born (Overdue) - EP
2:58
Nas
Nas
It Was Written
4:39
Big L
Big L
The Big Picture
3:21
Geto Boys
Geto Boys
Uncut Dope
5:10
Young Bleed
Young Bleed
All I Have In the World, Are... My Balls and My Word
4:31
Gucci Mane
Gucci Mane
Trap House
4:43
Rick Ross
Rick Ross
Teflon Don
4:10
Spice 1
Spice 1
Spice 1
4:09
Above the Law
Above the Law
The Good Old Days
3:51
WC and the Maad Circle
WC and the Maad Circle
Ain't a Damn Thang Changed
3:32
Schoolly D
Schoolly D
Best of Schoolly D
6:29
Ice-T
Ice-T
O.G. Original Gangster
4:43
King Tee
King Tee
Act a Fool
4:18
N.W.A.
N.W.A.
Straight Outta Compton
4:18
Compton's Most Wanted
Compton's Most Wanted
Straight Checkn 'Em
4:11
DJ Quik
DJ Quik
Safe & Sound
5:52
JT the Bigga Figga, Mac Mall
JT the Bigga Figga, Mac Mall
Playaz N the Game
3:54
South Central Cartel
South Central Cartel
'N Gatz We Truss
4:48
Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Doggystyle
4:06
2Pac
2Pac
Greatest Hits
5:12
Xzibit
Xzibit
40 Dayz & 40 Nightz
5:08
The Game
The Game
The Documentary
3:55
Freddie Gibbs, Madlib
Freddie Gibbs, Madlib
Bandana
3:02
Westside Gunn
Westside Gunn
Pray for Paris
4:44
Roc Marciano
Roc Marciano
Behold a Dark Horse
2:50
AZ
AZ
Greatest Hits, Vol. 1
3:04
THE LOX
THE LOX
Money, Power & Respect
4:30
Junior M.A.F.I.A.
Junior M.A.F.I.A.
Conspiracy
4:34
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) [Expanded Edition]
4:12
JAY-Z
JAY-Z
Reasonable Doubt
4:26
Smif-N-Wessun
Smif-N-Wessun
Dah Shinin'
4:07
Capone-N-Noreaga
Capone-N-Noreaga
The War Report
4:34
TRU
TRU
No Limit Records - Greatest Hits
5:30
Scarface
Scarface
Mr. Scarface Is Back
5:52
Eazy-E
Eazy-E
Eazy-Duz-It
3:54
Ice-T
Ice-T
Rhyme Pays
3:44

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