Gangsta Rap Essentials

Apple Music Hip-Hop

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.
Kendrick Lamar
m.A.A.d city (feat. MC Eiht)
Kendrick Lamar
good kid, m.A.A.d city (Deluxe)
YG
Why You Always Hatin? (feat. Drake & Kamaiyah)
YG
Still Brazy (Deluxe)
Nipsey Hussle
Racks in the Middle (feat. Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy)
Nipsey Hussle
Racks in the Middle (feat. Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy) - Single
Vince Staples
Norf Norf
Vince Staples
Summertime '06
Pusha T
Numbers On the Boards
Pusha T
My Name Is My Name
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib
Thuggin'
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib
Piñata
Dr. Dre
Nuthin' but a G thang (feat. Snoop Dogg) [Mixed]
Dr. Dre
Uncle Snoop’s “A Black Music Story”
2Pac
Ambitionz Az A Ridah
2Pac
All Eyez On Me
Warren G
Regulate (feat. Nate Dogg)
Warren G
Regulate… G Funk Era (Special Edition)
The Notorious B.I.G.
Gimme the Loot
The Notorious B.I.G.
Ready to Die - The Remaster
Mobb Deep
Survival of the Fittest
Mobb Deep
The Infamous
The LOX
Money, Power & Respect (feat. DMX & Lil' Kim)
The LOX
Money, Power & Respect
JAY-Z
Where I'm From
JAY-Z
In My Lifetime, Vol. 1
Rick Ross
B.M.F. (Blowin' Money Fast) [feat. Styles P]
Rick Ross
Teflon Don
Master P
Mr. Ice Cream Man (feat. Silkk the Shocker)
Master P
Ice Cream Man
Geto Boys
Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta
Geto Boys
Uncut Dope
Lil Wayne
Tha Block Is Hot
Lil Wayne
Tha Block Is Hot
UGK
Pocket Full of Stones
UGK
Too Hard To Swallow
Snoop Dogg
Who Am I (What's My Name)
Snoop Dogg
The Good Old Days
DJ Quik
Born and Raised In Compton
DJ Quik
Quik Is the Name
Xzibit
What U See Is What U Get
Xzibit
40 Dayz & 40 Nightz
Compton's Most Wanted
Growin' Up In the Hood
Compton's Most Wanted
Straight Checkn 'Em
Above the Law
Murder Rap
Above the Law
Livin' Like Hustlers
N.W.A.
Straight Outta Compton
N.W.A.
Straight Outta Compton
Spice 1
Welcome To the Ghetto
Spice 1
Spice 1
WC and the Maad Circle
Ain't a Damn Thang Changed
WC and the Maad Circle
Ain't a Damn Thang Changed
Kid Frost
La Raza
Kid Frost
Hispanic Causing Panic
Ice-T
6 'N the Mornin'
Ice-T
Rhyme Pays
King Tee
Act a Fool
King Tee
Act a Fool
Nas
N.Y. State of Mind
Nas
Illmatic
Raekwon
Incarcerated Scarfaces
Raekwon
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
Mobb Deep
Shook Ones, Pt. II
Mobb Deep
The Infamous
Capone-N-Noreaga
Bloody Money
Capone-N-Noreaga
The War Report
The Notorious B.I.G.
Ten Crack Commandments
The Notorious B.I.G.
Life After Death (2014 Remaster)
Kool G Rap
Fast Life
Kool G Rap
4, 5, 6
The East Flatbush Project
Tried By 12
The East Flatbush Project
First Born (Overdue) - EP
AZ
Sugar Hill
AZ
Doe or Die
DMX
Ruff Ryders' Anthem
DMX
It's Dark and Hell Is Hot
Big Punisher
Twinz (Deep Cover 98) [feat. Fat Joe]
Big Punisher
Capital Punishment
M.O.P.
Stick to Ya Gunz
M.O.P.
Firing Squad
50 Cent
Wanksta
50 Cent
Get Rich or Die Tryin' (Bonus Track Version)
Ice Cube
It Was A Good Day
Ice Cube
Greatest Hits
2Pac
All Eyez On Me (feat. Big Syke)
2Pac
All Eyez On Me
Dr. Dre
Still D.R.E. (feat. Snoop Dogg)
Dr. Dre
2001
South Central Cartel
Gang Stories
South Central Cartel
'N Gatz We Truss
Mack 10 & Dogg Pound
Nothin' But the Cavi Hit
Mack 10 & Dogg Pound
Best of Mack 10
DFC & M.C. Breed
Ain't No Future In Yo' Frontin'
DFC & M.C. Breed
MC Breed & DFC
JT the Bigga Figga & Mac Mall
Game Recognize Game
JT the Bigga Figga & Mac Mall
Playaz N the Game
Above the Law
Black Superman
Above the Law
The Good Old Days
DJ Quik
Dollaz & Sense
DJ Quik
Safe & Sound
Eazy-E
No More ?'s (feat. Ice Cube)
Eazy-E
Eazy-Duz-It
ScHoolboy Q
Collard Greens (feat. Kendrick Lamar)
ScHoolboy Q
Oxymoron (Deluxe Version)
YG
Bompton
YG
My Krazy Life (Deluxe)
The Game
Hate It Or Love It (feat. 50 Cent)
The Game
The Documentary
Rick Ross
Hustlin'
Rick Ross
Port of Miami
Clipse
Grindin'
Clipse
Lord Willin'
Young Bleed
How Ya Do Dat (feat. C-Loc & Master P)
Young Bleed
All I Have In the World, Are... My Balls and My Word
Lil Wayne
Get Off the Corner
Lil Wayne
Lights Out
C-Murder
Down For My N****z (feat. Snoop Dogg & Magic)
C-Murder
Trapped In Crime
UGK
The Game Belongs to Me
UGK
UGK (Underground Kingz)
8Ball & MJG
Comin' Out Hard
8Ball & MJG
Comin Out Hard
Mobb Deep
Keep It Thoro
Mobb Deep
Life of the Infamous - The Best of Mobb Deep
Smif-N-Wessun
Bucktown
Smif-N-Wessun
Dah Shinin'
Raekwon
Criminology (feat. Ghostface Killah)
Raekwon
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
Westside Gunn
George Bondo (feat. Conway the Machine & BENNY the BUTCHER)
Westside Gunn
Pray for Paris
Roc Marciano
Amethyst
Roc Marciano
Behold a Dark Horse
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib
Crime Pays
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib
Bandana
Pop Smoke
Dior
Pop Smoke
Meet the Woo
50 Cent
What Up Gangsta
50 Cent
Get Rich or Die Tryin' (Bonus Track Version)
Snoop Dogg
Gin And Juice
Snoop Dogg
Black History Month: Funk + Hip-Hop
2Pac
California Love (feat. Roger Troutman & Dr. Dre)
2Pac
Greatest Hits
MC Eiht
Straight Up Menace
MC Eiht
Menace II Society (The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Volume 10
Pistol Grip Pump
Volume 10
Hip-Hopera
Scarface
I Seen a Man Die
Scarface
The Diary
N.W.A.
Gangsta Gangsta
N.W.A.
Straight Outta Compton
Spice 1
Strap On the Side
Spice 1
Amerikkka's Nightmare
Ice-T
O.G. Original Gangster
Ice-T
O.G. Original Gangster
Cypress Hill
Hand On the Pump
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
Schoolly D
P.S.K. What Does It Mean?
Schoolly D
Best of Schoolly D
TRU
I'm 'Bout It, 'Bout It
TRU
No Limit Records - Greatest Hits
UGK
Murder
UGK
Ridin' Dirty
Wu-Tang Clan
C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me) [feat. Method Man, Raekwon, Inspectah Deck & Buddha Monk]
Wu-Tang Clan
Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) [Expanded Edition]
JAY-Z
Can I Live
JAY-Z
Reasonable Doubt
Junior M.A.F.I.A.
Get Money
Junior M.A.F.I.A.
Conspiracy
M.O.P.
Breakin' the Rules
M.O.P.
First Family 4 Life
The LOX
F*** You
The LOX
We Are The Streets
Eazy-E
Boyz-n-the-Hood (feat. Ice Cube) [Remix]
Eazy-E
Eazy-Duz-It
Mack 10
Foe Life (feat. Ice Cube)
Mack 10
Best of Mack 10
2Pac
2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted (feat. Snoop Dogg)
2Pac
All Eyez On Me
Compton's Most Wanted
Hood Took Me Under
Compton's Most Wanted
Music to Driveby
ScHoolboy Q
Dope Dealer (feat. E-40)
ScHoolboy Q
Blank Face LP
The Game
How We Do (feat. 50 Cent)
The Game
The Documentary
Nipsey Hussle
Last Time That I Checc’d (feat. YG)
Nipsey Hussle
Victory Lap
Pop Smoke
Gangstas
Pop Smoke
Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon
Boldy James & The Alchemist
Scrape the Bowl (feat. Benny the Butcher)
Boldy James & The Alchemist
The Price of Tea in China (Deluxe Edition)
AZ
Phone Tap (feat. Nas, Nature, Dr. Dre & The Firm)
AZ
Greatest Hits, Vol. 1
Kool G Rap
ILL Street Blues
Kool G Rap
The Pre-Kill, Vol. 2
Master P
Break 'Em Off Somethin'