Hip Hop Definitions - What is Crunk?

Nov 21, 2010
Mary Rayme

What is crunk? - © Image by Mary Rayme

What is crunk? What is beatboxing? What do all those hip hop names and definitions actually mean?

One of the things I love about rap and hip hop is that it is a contemporary field of music, dance, and fashion that is always creating new terms and tags to describe the facets of this rich and complex culture. Below is a rough list of some of the most important genres and words of hip hop that need a little extra definition so we can better understand rap music and culture.

Definitions of Rap Music Terms and Slang

Beatboxing is vocal percussions that imitate the sounds of drums and other musical instruments. Lots of rap musicians practice beatboxing which really grew out of a need to improvise on the street.
Conscious Hip Hop is rap with a social message, but doesn’t a lot of hip hop have a social or political message? (Mm-hmm, but there’s also Party Rap that’s all about getting down and having fun.) Rap bands with strong social messages include Michael Franti and Spearhead, The Coup, Immortal Technique and The Roots.
Crunk, the word, has vague origins but is possibly a combination of the words ‘drunk’ and ‘chronic’. Since chronic means marijuana, crunk could be the state once finds oneself in when both drunk and high. The music of crunk is characterized by an almost reggae slowness and a looped drum machine rhythms. Crunk was first performed by such musical artists as Lil John & the East Street Boyz on their 1997 album Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album. Check out the complexity that is crunk on at Rapdict.org .
Freestyle Rap is improvisational and often competitive, and is usually performed a cappella perhaps combined with some beatboxing. Freestyle rap is a great way for street rappers to prove their chops and establish their mad skills hierarchy. Who is the best rapper?
Gangsta Rap is meant to reflect the violence of inner city life of not only gangsters but also those who live next to them, and includes the work of such musical artists as: The Beastie Boys, N.W.A., Ice-T and Public Enemy.
Ghettotech is a fast form of electronica, originating in Detroit. Also called GetoTek and Ghettotec, other names include Detroit Bass, Booty Bass and Booty Music. Musical artists who create GhettoTech include Aaron Carl, Afrosyntrix, DJ Assault and DJ Godfather.
Jazz Hop is a mixture of hip hop and jazz as created by such musical artists as Digable Panets and US3.
Nerdcore – It’s not just about Weird Al Yankovic. There’s also MC Frontalot, the founder of Nerdcore. Nerdcore is characterized by general nerd themes such as computers, science and Star Wars. I would also call this rap for wasps, such as YTCracker who has a free album you can download entitled "Nerdrap Entertainment System". Other musical artists who create nerdcore hip hop include 2 Skinnee Js, Beefy, High-C, Jesse Dangerously, MC Hawking, and MC Lars. Even geeks rap.
Old School Hip Hop represents the earliest rappers who created music from 1979 to 1984. These Original Gangsta Old School Hip Hoppers includes the likes of The Fat Boys, Afrika Bambaataa, Fab 5 Freddy and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.
Snap originated in Atlanta, Georgia and seems to most consist of a percussive backbeat with a vocal track. Laffy Taffy by D4l and Crank That by Soulja Boy are examples of hit snap songs.
Trip Hop is a kind of mellow hip hop that can make its listener feel like an opium hipster. Famous musical artists who create trip hop include Morcheeba, Portishead, DJ Shadow, Tricky and Massive Attack.

Don’t be put off by the many terms to describe hip hop. Even rock and roll has endless variations when you consider Southern Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Classic Rock and the list goes on and on and on…

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