Abstract hip hop: Encyclopedia - Abstract hip hop

Abstract hip hop

Abstract hip hop is a subgenre of alternative hip hop that differs from other hip hop music largely in the content of the lyrics. In stark contrast to gangsta rap, which deals with living in poor urban neighborhoods and real or imagined aspects of gang life, abstract hip hop deals with topics that usually have no association with the hip hop subculture. In fact, the lyrics know virtually no boundaries, ranging to the completely abstract (hence the name). Many see it as more of an experiment in the rapping art form than an integral part of the hip hop scene.

One might expect that abstract hip hop, being less associated with a particular subculture, would be more widely accessible to the general public. On the contrary, due to a lack of commercialization, abstract hip hop is largely unknown outside the alternative hip hop scene. However, critics outside the hip hop community often see abstract hip hop as an overwhelmingly positive influence, lacking the perceived misogyny and violence of gangsta rap.

Some abstract hip-hop labels well-known in the underground scene are Definitive Jux and Anticon.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Abstract hip hop", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki