Hardcore hip hop

Hardcore hip hop is a form of hip hop music that has confrontational, often violent lyrics, and generally sparse, gritty urban beats. The genre began in the mid- to late 1980s with artists like Boogie Down Productions on the East Coast and Ice-T on the West. Soon after, hardcore hip hop evolved into gangsta rap with the emergence of N.W.A. and similar West Coast groups, who dominated the genre for several years. The Wu-Tang Clan's debut in 1993 (see 1993 in music), Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), re-energized East Coast hardcore, and their style soon dominated the charts with stars like Jay-Z and DMX.