2000-?
The popularity of hip hop music continued through the 2000s. In the year 2000, The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem sold over ten million copies in the United States and was the fastest selling album of all time. Nelly's debut LP, Country Grammar, sold over nine million copies. In the 2000s, crunk music, a derivative of Southern hip hop, gained considerable popularity via the likes of Lil Jon and the Ying Yang Twins.
The popularity of hip hop music continued through the 2000s. In the year 2000, The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem sold over ten million copies in the United States and was the fastest selling album of all time. Nelly's debut LP, Country Grammar, sold over nine million copies. In the 2000s, crunk music, a derivative of Southern hip hop, gained considerable popularity via the likes of Lil Jon and the Ying Yang Twins.
Hip hop influences also found their way increasingly into mainstream pop during this period mainly the mid 2000s. In the East Coast, popular acts during this period included 50 Cent, whose 2003 album Get Rich or Die Tryin' debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts...
In addition to the mainstream success, the United States also saw the success of alternative hip hop in the form of performers such as The Roots, Dilated Peoples, Gnarls Barkley and Mos Def, who achieved significant recognition. Gnarls Barkley's album St. Elsewhere, which contained a fusion of funk, neo soul and hip hop, debuted at number 20 on the Billboard 200 charts. In addition, Aesop Rock's 2007 album None Shall Pass was well received,]and reached #50 on the Billboard charts.
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While Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, Afrika Bambaataa and some of the other hip-hop pioneers were hitting the recording studios in the 1980s, a new guard of hip-hop artists started to appear. Hip-hop was crossing boundaries, making appearances in new wave and punk music. Both Blondie's "Rapture" and The Clash's "The Magnificent Seven" incorporated hip-hop stylings. Run-D.M.C. melded rap with hard rock. Artists like LL Cool J, Whodini, and The Beastie Boys created a variety of hip-hop music.
The industry changed along with the sounds. Sugar Hill Records, the premier label of hip-hop, died, but Def Jam Records and other hip-hop labels moved in. Female rappers like Salt-N-Pepa, Queen Latifah and MC Lyte broke the gender line, making it easier for female artists to come like Mary J. Blige and Lauryn Hill. Black Nationalism took center stage in Public Enemy's lyrics. The soundscape of hip-hop expanded from New York and the northern East Coast to the West Coast. In 1988, hip-hop made TV -- MTV that is -- with the new show, "Yo! MTV Raps." About a year later, rap videos could be seen throughout the day on MTV.
Artists like Schoolly D, Ice T, N.W.A. and Snoop Doggy Dog (now just Snoop Dog) brought gangsta rap to the scene. As gangsta rap gained widespread popularity, the original hope of hip-hop's message got lost in the mix. Gangsta rap glorified gang violence, poverty and the insidious drug trade rather than denouncing them. Misogyny reigned supreme as women were objectified and depicted as "bitches and hos." For example, according to N.W.A.'s gangsta rap hit "Gangsta, Gangsta," "life ain't nothing but bitches and money."
Alongside the gansta-themed stylings were artists more interested in socio-political statements and black pride, while others still were just about entertaining rhymes and good dance music. Some of the popular hip-hop artists during this time were: Wu Tang Clan (and its subsequent soloists Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa, Method Man, Ol' Dirty Bastard and RZA), Tupac Shakur (2Pac), N.W.A. (and its subsequent soloists Eazy-E, Ice Cube and Dr. Dre), Warren G, Sir Mix-a-Lot, KRS-One, Cypress Hill, and Mos Def.
Meanwhile, other sub-genres like progressive rap, Miami bass, New Orleans bounce, snap music, rap-metal (or rapcore) and crunk made the scene. Many of these came not from the northern East Coast or the West Coast, but from the southern United States. Perhaps one of the first groups from the south to gain mainstream acclaim is 2 Live Crew (think of the hit single "Me So Horny"). Some other southern artists include: the Geto Boys, Arrested Development, OutKast, David Banner, Ludacris, Mystikal, TLC, Timbaland, Lil John and the East Side Boyz, and Missy Elliot.
Today, hip-hop music is still going strong. Several artists who found their footing in the 80s and 90s are still prolific, selling CDs and singles alongside artists who appeared in this century, such as Eminem, 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Juelz Santana, Akon and Nelly....and many other which are not so famous just because they are new.
