Will Hip-Rock Kill Gangsta Rap? Posted by Gavin Smith "Smith Beatz" on 04/26/10 | Filed under Features

"She look like sex, drugs, rock and roll. (Say ho! )
When she movin' on the dance floor.
Stop! Go! Stop and go! (Say ho! )
Like a New York cab, yo!
Fast! Slow! Fast and Slow!
She drives me mad, yo! Just like
My nano she's shufflin'. I'm lovin' it.

I'm thinkin' about touchin' it, kissin' her in public.
But baby got me fumblin', stumblin' and mumblin'.
She got me wonderin' if I should get her number then
She just looked up at me and said...

Take me in the bathroom, take my clothes off.
Make love to me up against a dirty wall.
'Cause I can't wait to get you home, wait
To get you home."
- LMFAO Shwayze- “Get You Home”

Gangsta rap isn’t dead. But take a look at the XXL freshmen cover. Sure there are artist like Freddie Gibbs, Pill, and OJ that display the typical characteristics of “gangsta” rap, but if you listen to a song by Wiz Khalifa you hear something different then the pounding base of Pill. You hear high synth chords and techno samples. Its not just Wiz Khalifa; Wale, XV, LMFAO, Kid Cudi, Gym Class Heroes, and DJ Scene. This is a movement. There isn’t talk of posting on the block; its about partying and drinking, life, struggle, and emotion. They may not have grown up in the gutter, but instead are speaking of internal strife that speaks to the listener. Or maybe in the case of LMFAO, it’s about getting drunk and making mistakes, waking up and repeating (ex. "I"m in Miami Trick"). Their newest record is even called “Party Rock.” They are even Headlining the Bamboozle road show with bands like All Time Low and Third Eye Blind. I like to call this new wave Hip Rock.

Hip Rock bridges borders. You can see the Chiddy Bang “Opposite of Adults” where they take a sample of MGMT “Kids” (a rock band form NYC). This track has received a broad new listening audience for Hip-Hop. Chiddy Bang is even signed to Paralphone in Europe, the same label the Beatles were signed to. Travis Barker (the drummer of Blink 182) is collaborating with artists like Game and Soulja Boy. But what does this new movement mean for the world of hip hop?

I love hip hop. I love rock, even a little ska and a few raves now and then. The industry is appealing to a larger demographic, the retro crowd, the college kids. These types of people take EX and go to festivals in the UK. This isn’t 400 people bobbing their head to the base in a cramped club; this is 3,000 people in an open field at 11PM at night strung out and drunk shaking their entire body and rolling in mud. Could this be the end of hip hop as we know it?

I do believe this will effect radio play on say power 106 in LA, but I don’t think Hip-Rock will kill gangsta rap. I think it will be a new breed of Hip-Hop. They may have 16 line verses, but they are not wearing white tees. They have strobe lights and fog machines, but don’t worry, there is room for ghetto rap in hip hop. It’s played at college parties, not in low riders in Long Beach. This is not hip hop, this is hip rock. Even Snoop knows, “ I wanna rock right now.”