The rhythm is the bass and the bass is the treble
Chords, strings, we brings melody, G-funk
Where rhythm is life and life is rhythm
G-Funk, short for "gangsta funk", is a subgenre of Hip-Hop originating in the West Coast, launched by Dr. Dre's 1992 album The Chronic and named by Snoop Dogg in his Doggystyle cut "G-Funk". G-Funk takes heavy influence from George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic sound, and emphasises a laid-back, melodic feel, contrasting to the aggressive East Coast boom-bap sound that dominated at the time G-Funk emerged. G-Funk lyrics generally follow the tropes of Gangsta Rap, edging into Horrorcore at times (such as in Snoop Dogg's "Murder Was The Case"), but are often about success, partying and enjoying the West Coast heat; G-Funk rappers tend to use a smooth, understated delivery with slurred enunciation and cool, laid-back rhythms.
Years before Compton G-funk began to rise, however, a regional sub-style of gangsta rap called "mobb music" was popularized in the Bay Area of California by artists such as Too $hort, E-40, Luinz, and Spice-1, among others. In terms of sound, mobb music is similar to G-Funk, but uses almost no P-Funk samples, and also avoids other commonly sampled Midwest funk bands in G-Funk such as Zapp & Roger and the Ohio Players. Mobb music would be a big influence on G-funk's creation, and the artists that dabbled in it; especially Snoop Dogg.
G-Funk uses many more live instruments in its production than typical hip-hop - while sampling is used, musicians will often 'interpolate' the sample by replaying it with live instruments. This practice began in part because interpolation is cheaper than sampling the original records, due to a 1991 lawsuit
caused by Biz Markie's non-permitted sampling of Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)"; however, Dr. Dre praised interpolation on a creative level, as it allowed more flexibility with mixing individual instruments, a more organic feel, and better sound quality. G-Funk also places emphasis on synthesizers - a particular squiggly analog monosynth 'whistle' sound, often playing over a hook, is so associated with the genre that it's used as a shorthand in other genres to say "this is influenced by G-Funk" (as in the music of Spice Girls and Lana Del Rey). Another signature G-Funk production technique is the talkbox, a self-consciously synthesized retro sound used on sung vocals and hooks, popularized by Zapp frontman Roger Troutman back in the 1980s.
Speaking of the various bands and musicians sampled in G-Funk, many of them had their careers revived, thanks to being a core part of G-funk's sound. Some of them, such as George Clinton and Roger Troutman, even made guest appearances on many artists' songs and music videos. Troutman himself would score the biggest pop hit of his career with the Tupac Shakur/Dr. Dre collaboration "California Love," which hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and earned him his lone Grammy nomination.
G-Funk was a significant influence on hip-hop, R&B, and mainstream pop music up until Turn of the Millennium, when G-Funk evolved into a much more synthetic, less funky style (driven in part by Dr. Dre taking inspiration from the spookier, more rock-influenced and much less sexy production style of his protégé Eminem).
Compare to Glam Rap, which G-Funk was an ancestor of, and Rap Rock, another fusion hip-hop style emphasising use of traditional band instruments.
Examples:
- Coolio - Formerly part of the group WC and the Maad Circle, Coolio struck out on his own in 1994, and scored several G-funk hits on the Hot 100, including the worldwide #1 hit, "Gangsta's Paradise".
- DJ Battlecat - A G-Funk producer with a heavier funk tilt than Dr. Dre, and has produced for several West Coast emcees, including many of Dre's artists.
- DJ Quik's Quik Is The Name was a precursor to Dr. Dre's "The Chronic" by almost two years, with tracks like "Tonite", "Born and Raised in Compton", and "Quik's Groove". He also veered towards mobb music, as he usually avoided using the typical G-Funk samples.
- Domino - A Long Beach emcee and former Crip, who gained popularity with his self-titled debut in 1993, but was quickly blacklisted by most of the West Coast for allegedly copying the style of the then-rising Snoop Dogg.
- Dr. Dre - the Trope Codifier with his album The Chronic (1992), and his associated acts:
- Above The Law, specifically group member Cold 187um, claimed to have pioneered the G-Funk sound before Dre made it popular.
- The D.O.C. was an early progenitor of the genre, particularly his first album No One Can Do It Better, released in 1989. Hits like "It's Funky Enough" (which charted at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100), and "The Formula" used a G-funk style years before the genre went big.
- N.W.A's 1991 album Niggaz4Life, produced by N.W.A. member Dr. Dre. As well as former members of NWA, with or without Dre's production:
- Ice Cube - notably "No Vaseline", a Diss Track aimed at N.W.A. A more straightforward example of Ice Cube using G-Funk was his 1993 album Lethal Injection.
- Eazy-E would get on the G-funk train with his anti-Dre EP It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa, partly to mock Dre.
- Nate Dogg - notably a singer working in this style, rather than a rapper.
- Snoop Dogg - Doggystyle (1992) is in this style; Tha Doggfather (1996) is in an evolution of the style. The Trope Namer, with his Doggystyle cut "G-Funk".
- Tupac Shakur's 1995 album Me Against the World has multiple tracks in the G-Funk style; contrasting his first two albums, which were mostly Bomb Squad influenced. His 1996 album, All Eyez on Me, and it's lead single "California Love" (a collaboration with Dre), is considered a definitive G-Funk classic.
- Warren G - Regulate... G-Funk Era (1994) and the title track "Regulate".
- E-40: A pioneer of the Bay Area's mobb music scene, as both a rapper and producer, and an early influence on G-funk's sound.
- MC Hammer's The Funky Headhunter, his attempt to transition into Gangsta Rap, was in a G-Funk style. It wasn't convincing. His next G-funk album, Inside Out, was better received, but a commercial dud.
- Too $hort: Like E-40, $hort is an early pioneer of mobb music, the sonic precursor to G-funk; though he's also done SoCal-style G-Funk, and worked with prominent artists from the area.
Artists who are not in the genre, but are inspired by it:
- Eminem mainly used Midwest Horrorcore production, but, as a Dr. Dre protégé, he'd bust out the portamento synths on occasion. His 1999 Breakout Hit "My Name Is" uses an interpolated funk sample and a G-funk whistle... though it comes out sounding more like slacker Rap Rock with a spooky 50s sci-fi noise.
- Eminem's extremely silly "Rain Man" makes a reference to the style: When 'Rain Man' summons Dr. Dre, Dre's arrival is heralded by a little G-funk whistle lick in the beat, as if it's a Leitmotif for him.
- J Dilla put his own twist on the west coast sound with the Zapp-sampling "Do You"; a 2004 track he produced for his former band Slum Village.
- Janet Jackson's 1997 album The Velvet Rope took many cues from G-funk; the track "Go Deep" being the most notable example.
- Madonna's "Human Nature" uses G-Funk whistles and production.
- Kendrick Lamar, another Dr. Dre protégé, on his 2012 album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. Particularly notable on "Compton", which uses vocoded vocals towards the end reminiscent of "California Love".
- Lana Del Rey uses stoned cadences and G-funk whistles in some of her production, nodding to this style, due to her association with California.
- Montell Jordan, a native of South Central L.A., used G-funk liberally on his early albums, despite being an R&B singer.
- Scarface and other Houston-based artists define their sound as "slab music" ("slow, loud, and bangin'"), but it still takes heavy influence from G-funk and mobb music.
- Spice Girls, throughout their 1995 album Spice, especially on "Say You'll Be There" and "Last Time Lover" (which even has Geri Halliwell rapping in an imitation of Snoop Dogg's voice).
Tropes associated with G-Funk:
- Audio Play: G-Funk was most popular during the era when hip-hop was most heavily experimenting with skits. Songs frequently begin and end with audio drama scenes, and sometimes audio drama elements are used within songs as well.
- Blaxploitation: Soundtracks of old Blaxsploitation flicks influenced the sound of the genre.
- Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster!: G-Funk sounds melodic and fun, so it naturally follows that lyrics often concern the fun and cool parts of crime.
- Gangsta Rap: A subgenre of gangsta. One of the main Trope Codifier styles for the Commercial style.
- Glam Rap: Much G-Funk is about enjoying material pleasures like low-rider cars, fat blunts and gorgeous women.
- Misogyny Song: Compton G-Funk is often accused of starting bitches-and-hos rap songs, which is an oversimplification.
- Ode to Intoxication: Countless G-funk songs are about getting stoned or drunk as hell. Famous examples include the majority of Dr. Dre's The Chronic, "Tha Bombudd" and "8 Ball" by DJ Quik, and virtually all of Snoop Dogg's output.
- Watch It Stoned: G-Funk is aimed to be great to smoke weed to. Unsurprisingly, many songs are about getting high and/or drunk.
