G-funk, or
Gangsta-Funk, is a sub-genre of
hip hop music that emerged from
West Coast gangsta rap in the early 1990s. It was a dominant sound that put west coast hip hop on the map. G-funk (which uses
funk music with artificially lowered
tempos) incorporates multi-layered and melodic
synthesizers, slow hypnotic grooves, a deep bass, background female vocals, the extensive sampling of
p-funk tunes, and a high
portamento sine wave keyboard lead. The lyrical content consisted of sex, drugs, violence, and women. There was also a slurred “lazy” way of rapping in order to clarify words and stay in rhythmic cadence.
Unlike other earlier rap acts that also utilized funk samples (such as
EPMD or
The Bomb Squad), G-funk often utilized fewer, unaltered samples per song . Music theorist Adam Krims has described G-funk as "a style of generally West Coast rap whose musical tracks tend to deploy live instrumentation, heavy on bass and keyboards, with minimal (sometimes no) sampling and often highly unconventional harmonic progressions and harmonies". Dr. Dre, a pioneer for the G-Funk genre, normally uses live musicians to replay the original music of sampled records. This enabled him to produce music that had his own sounds, rather than a direct copy of the sample.
There has been some debate over who should be considered the "father of G-funk."
Dr. Dre is generally believed to have developed the sound "It has been said that the sound of g-funk originated from Cold187um of Above the Law. Cold187um’s ideas were used by Dr. Dre for the Deathrow debut album “The Chronic”. They were both on the Ruthless Records prior to this. Warren G and Snoop Dogg were with Cold187um before joining Dr. Dre and Deathrow. It’s been said that Dr. Dre gave no credit to Cold187um for the new sound created. It is rumored that Dr. Dre only credits himself if other producers work on a song for him, also known as uncredited “ghost producers”, lamenting the fact that he did not give credit where credit is due for the up and coming g-funk sound. On Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle album, Warren G and Daz Dillinger claim they produced "Ain't No Fun," even though Dre is credited as the album's sole producer. These rumors have been flying around for over two decades and continue to cause a debate. On the other side of things, Dr. Dre as a producer is more like a director. He does not play the live instruments; rather he has other musicians play them while he directs them and the arrangements, translating his vision of the song.
Dre pioneered gangsta rap and his own variation of the sound, G-Funk .. The first hints of the whiny synthesizers and
Parliament-Funkadelic-style bass grooves in
Dr. Dre's work appeared on
N.W.A's single "
Alwayz Into Somethin'" from their 1991 album
Efil4zaggin. Dr. Dre's first true G-funk single, however, was 1992's "
Deep Cover", the title song from the
movie soundtrack of the same name, which also introduced
Snoop Dogg to the world. When Dre's 1992
Death Row Records debut
The Chronic was released in 1992, the album was immensely successful, and consequently made G-funk the most popular sub-genre of hip hop.
Many opponents, however, have claimed that Dr. Dre developed his sound after hearing
Above the Law's debut
Black Mafia Life, before it had come out. Other’s refute the opposite because Dr. Dre’s The Chronic was released before Black Mafia Life. But Above The Law’s album had been in the works while Dre was still on Ruthless records. The ongoing dispute to who created the g-funk genre will always be in debate. But there is no doubt that Dr. Dre, along with Snoop Dogg and Warren G, continued the movement of g-funk to unparalleled heights, making it the dominant sound of West Coast music.
Dr. Dre’s sound of g-funk has influenced many artists alike: Daz Dillinger, Warren G, DJ Quik, etc. Considered as west coast classics are Warren G’s Regulators, Daz Dillinger and the Dogg Pound’s Dogg Food, and DJ Quik’s Safe & Sound.
Some popular g-funk songs that truly express the sound are:
Gin & Juice - Snoop Dogg
Afro Puffs - The Lady of Rage
Gz and Hustlas - Snoop Dogg
Nuthin' But A G Thang - Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg
Regulate - Warren G feat. Nate Dogg
Tha Shiznit - Snoop Dogg
Keep Their Heads Ringin' - Dr. Dre
Let Me Ride – Dr. Dre
Fuck Wit’ Dre Day – Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg
Ghetto Bird - Ice Cube
Heartz of Men - 2Pac
Doggy Dogg World - Snoop Dogg feat. Tha Dogg Pound
Can't C Me - 2Pac
California Love - 2Pac feat. Dr. Dre
Deep Cover - Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg
2 of Amerika'z Most Wanted - 2Pac feat. Snoop Dogg
See also
