Electro hop (sometimes called
Electronic Hip hop,
Electronic Rap or
Robot Hip hop) is the fusion of
electrofunk with
hip hop or
rap. The electro-hop movement had come about after seeing the underground electro movement on the East Coast gain popularity with artists such as
Mantronix,
Man Parrish,
Jonzun Crew,
Newcleus,
Planet Patrol etc. The electro sound was pioneered by
Kraftwerk and was further developed by
Zulu Nation leader and hip-hop godfather
Afrika Bambaataa. This style of hip-hop had its huge underground fanbase based primary in
Southern California. An eastern strand of electro was born from DJ Arthur and Diesel D in late 2006. They hold a strong underground following in northern Georgia and eastern Tennessee; it likely developed independently of other influences, such as
Crunk and
Snap music.
History
The Electro hop movement began and remained prominent during the
1980s. It slowly faded from mainstream throughout the
1990s. As of the late 2000's it has made a comeback and remains very popular with many artists like
Flo Rida,
LMFAO,
Pitbull, &
Akon.
Lonzo Williams was one of the early DJS on the West Coast and many consider him the godfather of West Coast hip-hop. He helped usher in the electro-hop scene. His Eve After Dark nightclub was important to the future of west coast hip-hop and was pivotal in creating the careers of
Dr Dre and
DJ Yella along with a lot of other west coast hip-hop talent getting noticed. The nightclub is also famous for being the place where
Eazy E met experienced rock manager
Jerry Heller who was interested in the underground electro-hop movement who in that period managed World Class Wreckin Cru, Egyptian Lover and a few others. The meeting of Jerry Heller and Eazy E which led to their partnership and the formation of Ruthless Records and the rise of
gangsta rap.
The acts who represented electro-hop were artists such as
Egyptian Lover,
LA Dream Team,
World Class Wreckin Cru,
The Unknown DJ and even some of
Ice-T's early records before he fully glorified
gangsta rap the hip-hop genre that would become the main trademark of the West Coast that would help to overthrow the East Coast in popularity. Early Ice Cube records when he was in the group
C.I.A. who get the attention of Dr Dre and would perform dirty raps together at organised parties. Other artists who represented the electro-hop scene such as
Chris "The Glove" Taylor and
Uncle Jamms ArmyAll artists typically blended a fusion of
electronic music popularised by electronic pioneers
Kraftwerk as well as using elements of the electro scene that was dominated by their East Coast counterparts using some elements of
old-school hip-hop typically party-jam based lyrics along with some
love-
ballad influenced sounds with more emphasis on a heavy bass sound than their East Coast and Southern counterparts particularly used by the more popular electro-hop acts of that 1984-1986 period
World Class Wreckin Cru.
The World Class Wreckin Cru's most well-known and best selling song Turn Off The Lights was a slow-moving electro ballad that would do reasonably well on the mainstream charts and helped electro-hop gain some moderate, if brief, mainstream success. This was produced by Dre and Yella before they left the World Class Wreckin Cru over money disputes.
By the late 1980s the electro-hop movement went into decline as a controversial new
hip-hop genre was developing on the West Coast: gangsta rap. This was pioneered by Ice-T and popularised by controversial and influential group
NWA. Although artists such as
Arabian Prince who at one time was a founding member of the NWA and
Lonzo Williams the founder of the World Class Wreckin Cru released a solo album
Phases In Life after
Dr Dre and
DJ Yella left the World Class Wreckin Cru to join NWA were still bringing out electro-hop music. The Unknown DJ like Dr Dre and Yella would embrace the gangsta rap genre producing for gangsta rap artists such as
Comptons Most Wanted,
The D.O.C,
JJ Fad,
Above The Law and would reinvent hip-hop and change the landscape of hip-hop forever.
Although it should be noted that the sound/music production of some early NWA material particularly for their first album NWA And The Posse were very the roots of the World Class Wreckin Cru with the electro-hop/dance/club based sound. The early NWA had less of the stripped down, raw sound that the group were known for. Their landmark album
Straight Outta Compton is where they rejected the electro-hop sound with the expection of the song Something 2 Dance 2 on the Straight Outta Compton album. Arabian Prince an early member of NWA who performed on NWA and The Posse and Straight Outta Compton would leave the group and continue his electro-hop roots on solo albums with limited success.
Even though the electro-hop sound went into decline, the sound became influential in the development of
G-Funk and various other hip-hop genres. It is also influential to many hip-hop producers including The Neptunes. Artists such as Egyptian Lover still perform music today and continue their cult legacy.
Exposure
"Eve After Dark" was a nighclub formed in 1979 which gave electro-hop exposure. However probably the most important thing to give the west coast hip-hop exposure not just for electro-hop but beyond would be K-Day the first hip-hop radio station to play total non-stop hip-hop 24/7 ran by influential DJ Greg Mack. K-Day not only gave electro-hop exposure it also helped to get exposure for a lot of early gangsta-rap records and was influential in getting gangsta-rap off the ground as no other radio station would touch gangsta rap due to its lyrical content and seemingly violent nature. K-Day and Greg Mack helped to launch Eazy E's career as Boyz N The Hood suddenly rose from an underground hit in Compton to increase of record sales due to the consistent record playing of the single on K-Day which help reach to a wider audience. Films such as
Breakin' and
Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo also helped to give the genre greater exposure to the mainstream audience.
Electro-hop artists
Related genres
