While LA was dominating MTV, the San Francisco Bay Area (Oakland, Vallejo, San Francisco) perfected its own parallel universe called Mobb Music. Characterized by fat, synth-heavy basslines, live instrumentation, and a highly unique, fast-talking slang, Mobb music was the sonic backdrop for the ultimate hustler mentality. Murder Dog magazine famously became one of the first...
Category: History
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Midwest rap
The Midwest is often called the “Chameleon” of hip-hop because it has never had just one single, unifying sound. Instead, it acts as a massive geographic crossroads. Because the region sits right between the lyrical East Coast, the melodic West Coast, and the heavy-bass South, cities like Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and St. Louis took pieces...
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THE GEOGRAPHY OF RAP: HOW THE MAP SHAPED THE SOUND
The East Coast (The Birthplace) The history of East Coast hip-hop is essentially the history of the genre itself. Because it was born there, East Coast rap went through several distinct eras, evolving from neighborhood block parties into a multi-billion-dollar global phenomenon. The Foundation Era (Late 1970s – Mid 1980s) Hip-hop began in the South...
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Southern Rap
The South completely shifted the balance of power in hip-hop. In 1995, at the height of the fierce East Coast vs. West Coast rivalry, a young duo from Atlanta named OutKast stood on stage at the Source Awards in New York to a chorus of boos. Andre 3000 took the microphone and delivered a legendary,...
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The West coast rap
While the East Coast was focusing on complex poetry and jazz loops, the West Coast and the San Francisco Bay Area took a completely different path. Built around sun-soaked weather, lowrider car culture, funk music, and a fiercely independent hustle mentality, the West Coast shook the entire foundation of the music industry. The Concrete Foundation...
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THE GRIT, THE GODS, AND THE GHETTO: A DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF HIP-HOP
By Murder Dog Staff They want you to think hip-hop started in a neat little box. They want to give you the sanitized, corporate version of history where some DJs turned tables, everybody clapped, and suddenly it was a billion-dollar industry. But Murder Dog don’t play that. We know the truth. Hip-hop wasn’t born in...