Genre story · Other
Alternative Rap
Rap that stepped outside the expected commercial forms of its period and built different audiences.
Alternative Rap is often used interchangeably with Alternative Hip-Hop, especially for records associated with the late-1980s and early-1990s Native Tongues network, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and later independent scenes. Artists brought playful sampling, varied lyrical subjects and unusual vocal interplay into music that already had many regional traditions. The term is broad and historically relative: what counted as an alternative to commercial rap in 1990 differs from what the word might mean today. It should not be confused with Experimental Rap, which more strongly emphasizes techniques and structure. Alternative Rap and Alternative Hip-Hop are not unrelated styles with separate founding scenes.
Listening examples
- 1989De La Soul3 Feet High and Rising
- 1990A Tribe Called QuestPeople's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
- 1992the PharcydeBizarre Ride II the Pharcyde