Frogtoon Music - Genre information for Alternative-Rap
Alternative Rap Refers To Hip-Hop Groups That Refuse To Conform To Any Of The Traditional Stereotypes Of Rap Such As Gangsta Bass Hardcore And Party Rap. Instead They Blur Genres - Drawing Equally From Funk And Pop/rock As Well As Jazz Soul Reggae And Even Folk. It May Sample Music From Other Sources Such As Rock And Roll Have Frequent Use Of Guitars Or Other Live Instruments Or Incorporate Blues Or Jazz. Originating In The Late-80s In Midst Of The Golden Age Of Hip Hop Alternative Hip Hop Was Headed Primarily By East Coast Groups Such As De La Soul Jungle Brothers A Tribe Called Quest And Digable Planets In Subsidiary Conjunction By West Coast Acts Such As The Pharcyde Digital Underground And Jurassic 5 As Well As Certain Southern Acts Such As Goodie Mob And OutKast. Similar To The Alternative Rock Movement Alternative Hip Hop Initially Began To Segue Into The Mainstream At The Dawn Of The 1990s. The Classic Debut Albums 3 Feet High And Rising People's Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm And Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde Achieved Minor Commercial Success As They Garnered Immense Acclaim From Music Critics Who Described The Records As Managing To Be Both Ambitiously Innovative But Playful Masterpieces Hailing The Artists As The Future Of Hip Hop Music As A Whole. However A Resurgence Came About In The Late 1990s-Early 2000s With The Rejuvenated Interest In Indie Music By The General Public. Arrested Development Along With The Fugees Stand As The Some Of The First Few Alternative Rap Groups To Be Recognized By Mainstream Audiences. 1 Rodrick Cites Arrested Development Basehead And The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy As Examples Of Such "alternative" Hip-Hop. 10 Since The Mid 90's Indie Labels Such As Rawkus Records Rhymesayers Stones Throw And Definitive Jux Have Experienced Lesser Mainstream Success With Alternative Rap Acts Such As MF DOOM Atmosphere Black Star Pharoahe Monch And Aesop Rock. It Was In The 2000s That Alternative Hip Hop Finally Secured A Place Within The Mainstream Due In Part To The Declining Commercial Viability Of Gangsta Rap As Well As The Crossover Success Of Artists Such As OutKast Kanye West And Gnarls Barkley. 11 Not Only Did OutKast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below Receive Universal Acclaim From Music Critics And Manage To Appeal Listeners Of All Ages Spanning Numerous Musical Genres–including Rap Rock R&B Punk Jazz Indie Country Pop Electronica And Gospel–but Also Spawned Two Number-One Hit Singles And Has Been Certified Diamond By Selling 11 Times Platinum By The RIAA For Shipping More Than 11 Million Units Becoming The Best Selling Rap Album Of All Time. 12 Industry Observers View The Sales Race Between Kanye West's Graduation And 50 Cent's Curtis As A Turning Point For Hip Hop. West Emerged The Victor Selling Nearly A Million Copies In The First Week Alone Proving That Innovative Rap Music Could Be Just As Commercially Viable As Gangsta Rap If Not More So. 13 Although He Designed It As A Melancholic Pop Rather Than Rap Kanye's Following 808s & Heartbreak Would Have A Significant Effect On Hip Hop Music. While His Decision To Sing About Love Loneliness And Heartache For The Entirety Of The Album Was At First Heavily Criticized By Music Audiences And The Album Predicted To Be A Flop Its Subsequent Critical Acclaim And Commercial Success Encouraged Other Mainstream Rappers To Take Greater Creative Risks With Their Music. 14 15 During The Release Of The Blueprint 3 New York Rap Mogul Jay-Z Revealed That Next Studio Album Would Be A An Experimental Effort Stating "... It's Not Gonna Be A #1 Album. That's Where I'm At Right Now. I Wanna Make The Most Experimental Album I Ever Made." 16 Jay-Z Elaborated That Like Kanye He Was Unsatisfied With Contemporary Hip Hop Was Being Inspired By Indie-Rockers Like Grizzly Bear And Asserted His Belief That The Indie Rock Movement Would Play An Important Role In The Continued Evolution Of Hip-Hop. 17 The Alternative Hip Hop Movement Is Not Limited Solely To The United States As Genre-Defying Rappers Such As Somalian Poet K'naan Japanese Rapper Shing02 And Especially Sri Lankan Artist M.I.A. Have Achieved Considerable Worldwide Recognition. In 2009 TIME Magazine Placed M.I.A In The Time 100 List Of "World's Most Influential People" For Having "global Influence Across Many Genres." 18 19 Today Due In Part To The Increasing Use Of Music Distribution Through The Internet Many Alternative Rap Artists Are Able To Find Acceptance By Far-Reaching Audiences. Several Burgeoning Artists Such As Kid Cudi And Drake Have Managed To Attain Record-Breaking Chart-Topping Hit Songs "Day 'n' Night" And "Successful" Respectively Which They Both Released On Free Online Mixtapes Without The Help Of A Major Record Label. The Pair Along With Other New Artists Such As Wale Asher Roth The Cool Kids And B.O.B Openly Acknowledge Being Directly Influenced By Their '90s Alt-Rap Predecessors In Addition To Alt-Rock Groups While Their Music Has Been Noted By Critics As Expressing Eclectic Sounds Life Experiences And Emotions Rarely Seen In Mainstream Hip Hop. Alternative-Rap Every artist, every band, and every song you can imagine, from the newest to the oldest, are easily accessible through Frogtoon Music. Get ready to indulge yourself and allow the music to enrich your soul, ignite your passion, awaken your emotions, and bring back some beautiful memories. The following is a directory of top artists and bands from Alternative Rap: As you visit their pages, you will be presented with a list of popular videos, top tracks, recommended mixes, and music from all the albums they released. In addition, within each page, you can access and discover music from similar artists and bands.