G-Funk

'It's like this and like that and like this ...' (The Bus 6.48)

Welcome aboard The Bus!

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED (2.37) 6 FEBRUARY 2023

The Stop

Short for ‘gangsta funk,’ G-funk is a sub-genre of gangsta rap - a style that became popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Characterised by ‘plodding tempos, synthesiser washes, and copious musical sampling of 1970s funk records,’ G-funk originated in Los Angeles, California. Though lyrical content varied according to the artist, the music’s themes generally concerned ‘sex, drugs, violence, vandalism and women,’ often in the context of ‘love for a city, love for friends,’ and love for a party and … relaxation.¹

Photo by LexScope on Unsplash

G-funk is generally believed to have been invented by Dr Dre (the rapper and producer behind the gangsta rap group N.W.A.) on his debut solo albumThe Chronic (1992). This belief is largely due to a comment by NPR host Tony Cox in a review of a biography about the rapper during which he asserted that ‘in the early ‘90s, the Los Angeles producer almost single-handedly crafted the new G-funk rap sound.’ In reality, the year before The Chronic’s release Gregory ‘Big Hutch’ Hutchinson (also known as Cold 187um) and his group Above the Law recorded Black Mafia Life, using samples from George Clinton’s Parliament Funkadelic to create a sonic profile Hutchison branded as ‘G-funk.’ However, due to ‘messy album release timelines,’ the release of Black Mafia Life was delayed until 1993, and Dr Dre - who, along with his protégé Snoop Dog, ‘made the creation of G-funk seem as easy as it was fun and relaxing’ - got credit for its invention.

Following the commercial success of The Chronic, G-funk grew in popularity and rappers as varied as Ice Cube, 2Pac, Snoop Dogg and Eazy-E produced albums which are today considered classic examples of the subgenre.² Unlike earlier rap styles, G-funk productions typically used fewer - and unaltered - samples per song. In Rap Music and the Poetics of Identity (Cambridge, 2000), the music theorist Adam Krims notes this decision meant the tracks tended to ‘deploy live instrumentation, heavy on bass and keyboards, with minimal (sometimes no) sampling and often highly conventional harmonic progressions and harmonies.’ In fact, Dr Dre preferred to use live musicians to replay the sampled music in order to produce his own sounds instead of using a copy of the original.

The popularity of G-funk continued to grow throughout the 1990s, and while the majority of the music came out of California, its influence was heard in contemporary rap groups throughout the country.³ Though in the 2000s the style’s popularity declined significantly, its influence continues to be found in the work of many West Coast rappers.⁴ Since the heyday of the 1990s, stricter copyright laws around music sampling has meant fewer recognisable samples are able to be used,⁵ and limiting the use of samples to ‘generate something new while … being in conversation with musical and cultural antecedents’ has forced producers and rappers to evolve new sounds and subgenera - some of which might be today’s equivalent to G-funk.⁶

The Detour

Today’s Detour is to a short film (6:50): (Richard Donner is) FOREVER YOUNG. Produced by two young French boys (and their fathers) over lockdown in 2020, it’s an amazing piece of work in which they weave themselves into many, many of their favourite films including The Goonies, Forrest Gump, Dirty Dancing, Titanic, Back to the Future, The Shining, Kill Bill and Ghost … to name only a few. Part of the fun is identifying the films - but it’s also clearly a project produced by a sheer love of film. Definitely worth a watch.

(Richard Donner is) FOREVER YOUNG

The Recommendation

Today’s recommendation is Straight Outta Compton (2015). Directed by F. Gary Gray,⁷ the film is a biographical drama that tells the story of the rise and fall of the hip hop/rap group N.W.A and its members - Dr Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella. From their origins in the streets of Compton, California to becoming one of the most successful - and controversial - rap groups in the early 1990s, the film is described by Rotten Tomatoes as a ‘powerful film about the rise of … gangster rap’ and a ‘biopic that’s built to last, thanks to … confident directing and engaging performances from a solid cast.’ Being a fan, I was interested in the film when it came out - and it didn’t disappoint. Not for everyone, of course, but if you’re interested give it a watch. 

Straight Outta Compton streams on multiple platforms.

Straight Outta Compton (2015) Trailer

The Sounds

Today’s playlist is composed of five classic G-funk tracks, starting with the grandfather of them all: ‘Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang’ (Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, 1992), ‘Regulate’ (Warren G and Nate Dogg, 1994),⁸ ‘It Was a Good Day’ (Ice Cube, 1992), ‘Gin and Juice’ (Snoop Dogg, 1993) and ‘California Love’ (2Pac and Dr Dre, 1995). Enjoy!

The Thought

Today’s Thought is from George Orwell (1903-1950),⁹ the English essayist, journalist, critic and novelist who is most famous for Animal Farm and - one of my favourite novels - 1984. I found Orwell’s quote rather apropos given the current political climate regarding the teaching of history. At the very least, it should get you thinking:

‘The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.’

If you have a thought on this Thought - or any part of today’s issue - please leave a comment below:

And that’s the end of this Stop - I hope you enjoyed the diversion!

Thanks to everyone who subscribes - your interest and support is truly appreciated. If you like The Bus, please SHARE it with a friend or two. 

If you haven’t climbed aboard The Bus, please do!

Until the next Stop …

1. A perfect example of this attitude is Snoop Dog’s ‘Gin and Juice’ (1993): ‘No G-funk song … has borne witness to more youthful mischief and misadventure, more petty crime, and more gin-based mixed drinks …. It’s blatantly, blithely disrespectful to those with precious sensibilities. It’s a bacchanalia of alcohol, weed and casual sex. It’s perfect.’ It’s also really fun. Sources for today’s Stop include Dr Dre's Role in G-funk (Britannica), Best G-funk Tracks (factmag), Dr Dre (Britannica), G-funk (Wikipedia) and G-funk (discogs.com).

2. Even M C Hammer, not exactly known for his ‘hard’ image (remember the parachute trousers?!), decided to go ‘more gangsta’ and employed the G-funk sound on his album The Funky Headhunter (1994).

3. Notable examples include Outkast, Goodie Mob, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and the Geto Boys.

4. In particular, Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012) and To Pimp a Butterfly (2015) - both of which are definitely worth a listen.

5. A recognisable sample on rap songs has now become a ‘marker of an artist with existing capital to pay for the rights.’

6. I truly hope so, because - with a few exceptions (Kid Cudi, for example) - I’m unimpressed with most contemporary rap. A lot of it seems to eschew musicality for a clever lyric or musical phrase repeated ad nauseam - kind of like the musical equivalent of a clever SNL sketch: it’s funny the first time, maybe even the second - possibly even the third - but inevitably it gets driven into the ground.

7. Gray began his career directing numerous award-winning music videos (including TLC’s ‘Waterfalls,’ Dr Dre’s ‘Keep Their Heads Ringin’,’ Ice Cube’s ‘It Was a Good Day,’ and ‘Ms Jackson’ by Outkast), before making his directorial debut with Friday, which was co-written by and starring Ice Cube - of both N.W.A and G-funk fame.

8. Yep, the sample is from the omnipresent Michael McDonald’s ‘I Keep Forgettin’,’ thus linking G-funk to Steely Dan (The Bus 2.29) and Yacht Rock (The Bus 1.10). Captain of the Yacht, indeed.

9. For more information on Orwell (who’s actual name was Eric Arthur Blair), see: George Orwell (Britannica).