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Crunk

Crunk: Encyclopedia - Crunk

Crunk music (also spelled Krunk Muzik) is a specific type of hip hop music, based out of the southern United States, particularly on the eastern side of Atlanta, Georgia, and Memphis, Tennessee. Crunk is classified as a subdivision of Dirty South or Southern rap and is an outgrowth of Atlanta-based Miami Bass (and to a lesser degree, New Orleans Bounce). Crunk - Overview. Crunk was originated in the early 1990s but did not become mainstream until the early 2000s. In the year 2003, the crunk genre had ...

Including:

Crunk - Overview

Crunk - Etymology

Crunk - Alternate origin

Crunk - Unclear relationship between origins

Crunk - Misconception of word origin

Crunk - Notable crunk artists

Crunk - Selected songs

Crunk - Sources

Crunk, Crunk - Alternate origin, Crunk - Etymology, Crunk - Misconception of word origin, Crunk - Notable crunk artists, Crunk - Overview, Crunk - Selected songs, Crunk - Sources, Crunk - Unclear relationship between origins, Memphis rap

Crunk: Encyclopedia - Crunk

Crunk

Crunk music (also spelled Krunk Muzik) is a specific type of hip hop music, based out of the southern United States, particularly on the eastern side of Atlanta, Georgia, and Memphis, Tennessee. Crunk is classified as a subdivision of Dirty South or Southern rap and is an outgrowth of Atlanta-based Miami Bass (and to a lesser degree, New Orleans Bounce).

Crunk - Overview

Crunk was originated in the early 1990s but did not become mainstream until the early 2000s. In the year 2003, the crunk genre had surprise hit singles with "Never Scared" by Bone Crusher, featuring Killer Mike and T.I., "Damn!" by Youngbloodz (and produced by Lil Jon) and most notably "Get Low" by Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz featuring the Ying Yang Twins, which reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. By 2004, crunk and especially Lil Jon were in such high demand that superstar R&B singer Usher enlisted Lil Jon to produce his single "Yeah!" which went on to be the biggest hit of 2004, according to Billboard magazine. Lil Jon produced another #1 hit in 2004 with "Goodies" by R&B singer Ciara, featuring Petey Pablo. By 2005, however, it was widely perceived that crunk was on the wane, with its appeal primarily confined to its co-birthplace of Atlanta.

Unlike the East Coast style of hip hop, crunk is high-energy, club-oriented hip hop. While other hip hop styles might involve a more conversational vocal delivery, crunk usually involves hoarse chants and repetitive, simple refrains. Lyrics are based on a rhythmic bounce, which is very effective in clubs. In fact, several crunk songs have been banned in venues due to how wild the crowds can get.

Looped drum machine rhythms are usually in the forefront of the mix, with the Roland TR-808 being especially popular. Many of the drum machines and the rhythms they produce were previously well known in specialty genres of dance music. Crunk also employs non-melodic sound effects such as whistles and synth blips.

Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz often claim to be the Kings of Crunk, while Lil Scrappy is referred to as the Prince of Crunk. Shaina is sometimes known as the Queen of Crunk, and Ciara is often referred to as the Princess of Crunk. While these artists have embodied the term in the hip hop industry, the term was more widely exposed when Lil Jon named his albums Kings of Krunk and Crunk Juice.

In the hip hop world, crunk rappers have been criticized for lacking any lyrical content and all using essentially the same beats and styles. While agreeing that the subject of the lyrics are all more or less identical, others say that the music is specifically designed for the rowdy clubs in which it thrives, and that it serves this purpose admirably. In any case, crunk has established itself and will likely enjoy greater success due to the increased number of crunk albums being released.

In early 2005, rapper Kanye West amusingly coined the term white crunk to describe the gritty drum sounds of the all Caucasian Scottish alternative dance-rock group Franz Ferdinand. West and the band met at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards, where they sat down together to share praise and advice. West feels that the white crunk vibe has affected his new work and is best exemplified on his 2005 single"Diamonds from Sierra Leone" from the album Late Registration.

Memphis rap

Crunk - Etymology

The use of crunk to describe a genre of music is derived from the phrase "to get crunk", using "crunk" as the colloquial past tense of "crank". To "get crunk" means to have an extremely good time, usually at a party. Additionally, "making [a club, party, or venue] crunk" means making the atmosphere more exciting and enjoyable to the participants.

While the word "crunk" is presumed to be a blend of the words "crazy drunk," being crunk does not necessarily include being intoxicated, but there is a good chance that if one is crunk, he or she is, indeed, intoxicated as well. Crunk artist Will to the E describes getting crunk as "bein' up in the club, maybe havin' a few girls up on you, and feelin' in the zone."

Crunk juice refers to a burst of energy, consumed primarily for the purpose of becoming drunk. In his performances, L'il Jon has endorsed the combination of Hennessy and Red Bull. He now has his own line of energy drink, appropriately called Crunk Energy Drink, a pomegranate-flavored beverage.

Crunk - Alternate origin

During the first two seasons of his television program Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Conan O'Brien encouraged guests on his show to insert the word "krunk" into their conversations. However, O'Brien used the term (an apparently invented nonsense word) as a multipurpose expletive, explaining that it was the most profane expletive of all time. The show exhibited video clips of various people using the word, including one of Ice T (notorious in his rap persona for his use of expletive-laced language) sitting in the show's guest chair saying, "Wow, that's krunked up, man."

Crunk - Unclear relationship between origins

The exact relationship between "crunk" and "krunk" is unclear. When American Idol judge Randy Jackson appeared on O'Brien's show on 30 April 2004 (nine years after O'Brien's endorsements of krunk), he used the word "krunked", but O'Brien seemed to have no recollection of the word.

Crunk - Misconception of word origin

Contrary to popular misconception, there is no evidence at all to suggest that crunk derives from krank (ill) in Yiddish or German. Similarly, there is no evidence to suggest that Jewish shopkeepers introduced the word to black communities in the southern United States.