Crunk

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For other uses, see Crunk (disambiguation).
Crunk
Stylistic origins
  • Hyphy

Crunk is a subgenre of

blanket term to denote any style of Southern hip hop, a side effect of the genre's breakthrough to the mainstream.[3] The word derives from its African-American Vernacular English past-participle form, "crunk", of the verb "to crank" (as in the phrase "crank up"). It refers to being excited or high on drugs.[4]

Etymology

The term has been attributed mainly to African-American slang, in which it holds various meanings.[5] It most commonly refers to the verb phrase "to crank up". It is theorized that the use of the term came from a past-tense form of "crank", which was sometimes conjugated as "crunk" in the South, such that if a person, event, or party was hyped-up, i.e. energetic – "cranked" or "cranked up" – it was said to be "crunk".[5]

In publications, "crunk" can be traced back to 1972 in the Dr. Seuss book Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!. He uses the term "Crunk-Car" without any given definition.[6] The term has also been traced to usage in the 1980s coming out of Atlanta, Georgia nightclubs and meaning being "full of energy" or "hyped".[7][unreliable source?][unreliable source?][8] In the mid-1990s, crunk was variously defined either as "hype", "phat", or "pumped up". Rolling Stone magazine published "glossary of Dirty South slang", where to crunk was defined as "to get excited".[3][5]

Outkast has been attributed as the first artist to use the term in mainstream music, in the 1993 track "Player's Ball".[9] A seminal year for the genre was 1996, with the releases of Three 6 Mafia album Chapter 1: The End (featuring "Gette'm Crunk"),[10] and Memphis-based underground hip hop artist Tommy Wright III's album On the Run, which featured the Project Pimp track "Getting Crunk".[11]

Rapper and record producer Lil Jon was instrumental in bringing the term further into the mainstream music scene with his 1997 album titled Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album. He later released other songs and albums using the term, and has been credited by other artists and musicians as galvanizing use of the term as well as mainstreaming the music genre itself.[8]

Lil Jon further popularized the word with his 2004 album Crunk Juice, and has been credited with inventing the potent alcoholic cocktail by that name. This use of "crunk" became synonymous with the meaning "crazy drunk". Non-alcoholic drinks, to which alcohol could be added, were manufactured and marketed under the Crunk brand name, with Lil Jon as spokesman.[12][self-published source?]

The term has continued to evolve, taking on a negative stigma with police, parents and the media. In 2011, the company which manufactured "Crunk" drink brought out an alcoholic version named "Crunk Juice".[13] This drink was allegedly marketed towards 19- to 21-year-olds – those under the US legal drinking age – resulting in Crunk Juice drinking being blamed as a cause of crime or becoming a victim of crime. The mainstream media began publishing stories in which the term "crunk" was used to refer to "crazy and drunk" criminals.[14]

Musical characteristics

Musically, crunk is heavily influenced by Miami bass, Eurodance, and 1980s-era call-and-response hip hop. The distinguishing feature of the conventional crunk sound is characterized by its extensive utilization of multilayered synthesizers orchestrated in a recurrent arrangement that seamlessly transitions from a lower to a higher pitch to augment the sound's harmonious and melodic qualities. Furthermore, a crunk composition is also complemented by the presence of resonant 808 bass kick drums, textured with crisp 808 dance-oriented hand claps, and adorned with modulated snare rolls. Looped, stripped-down drum machine dance claps and snare rolls coupled with heavy 808 bassline drum rhythms are usually used. The Roland TR-808 and 909 are among the most popular instruments to create crunk compositions with. The drum machines are usually accompanied by simple, repeated synthesizer melodies in the form of ostinato, to create a hypnotic effect, and heavy 808 bass stabs. The tempo of Lil Jon's "Get Crunk" is 78 BPM.[15]

The focal point of crunk is more often emphasized on the beat structure rather than the lyrical content therein. Nevertheless, artists like Lil Jon often convey their lyrics through vigorous vocalization, encompassing chanting, shouting, and screaming. This unconventional approach yields a cacophonous yet intense manifestation of southern hip hop, characterized by its assertive, aggressive, and forceful nature.These lyrics can often be isolated to simple chants ("Where you from?" and "You can't fuck with me" are common examples). Compared with other regional hip hop scenes around the United States, crunk has remained one of American hip hop's club-oriented staples, given the subgenre's particular focus on its allure to club audiences and partygoers who exhibit more energetic musical tastes with a penchant for more dynamic and vibrant musical preferences. Crunk's captivating appeal is expertly tailored to befit the ambient dance floors of Atlanta's southern hip hop nightclub scene, opting for simplistic and repetitious call and response vocal refrains in lieu of more substantive approaches.[3]

History

Origins

Atlanta-based rapper and record producer Lil Jon is one of crunk's most prominent figures.

Crunk music arose from Miami bass music before 1996

Tennessee. Memphis-based hip hop group Three 6 Mafia were "instrumental for the emergence of the crunk style" in the mid-to-late 1990s.[3] Two mixtape DJs from Memphis, DJ Paul and Juicy J, started making their original music, which was distinctive with its "spare, low-BPM rhythms, simplistic chants... and narcotically repetitive, slasher-flick textures".[3] This duo soon became known as Three 6 Mafia. Frequently featuring rappers such as Project Pat, Lord Infamous, Gangsta Boo, and La Chat on their releases, they became instrumental in the formation of crunk music.[16]

In 1997, in Atlanta, Lil Jon, with his group the East Side Boyz, released their first album titled Get Crunk, Who U Wit. These were the first of six albums released by Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz. The New York Times denied that Get Crunk, Who Are You With was the first crunk album ever.[1] He was one of the key figures in popularizing crunk during 1998 and 1999, and produced two gold records independently, before signing to TVT Records in 2001. After being named the "King of Crunk", Lil Jon went on[17] to make collaborations with many rappers such as Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Ludacris and pop singer Britney Spears. Nevertheless, crunk was not exclusively associated with Lil Jon and Three 6 Mafia. In its early stages, soloists and groups such as Ying Yang Twins, White Dawg, Bone Crusher, Lil Scrappy, Trillville, YoungBloodZ and Pastor Troy from Atlanta, and David Banner from Mississippi also helped to popularize crunk music.[3]

Popularity and evolution

By the early to mid-2000s, some crunk music hits such as "

Usher and Ciara
, respectively) were the mainstream crunk hits of 2004.

The 2003 crunk song "

RIAA. In the past, rappers who did not originate from the Southern regions of the United Stateshad previously shown reluctance in aligning themselves with being linked to the emerging Southern hip hop scene during the early 21st-century. However, this narrative began to shift when both Busta Rhymes, an East coast rapper, and Nelly, a mid-west rap soloist from St. Louis, agreed to collaborate and contribute their talents to remixes of the song "Get Low".[18]

In 2004, the independent record label Crunk Incorporated signed a major distribution deal with Reprise/Warner Bros. Records for the crunk group

West coast hip hop. The song peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, which has since remained as E-40's highest-charting single as a lead artist to date with the song eventually garnering platinum certification for exceeding 1 million in certified sales by March 2016.[25] Atlanta-based R&B girl group Cherish also gained national prominence with their summer 2006 hit single "Do It to It"[26] where the song debuted at number 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week of May 20, 2006,[27] later peaking at number 12 for the week of September 2, 2006, and staying on the charts for 21 weeks.[28]

On April 10, 2007, Louisiana-based rapper

self empowerment. The secondary revival of crunk in the realm of mainstream popular music did not occur until the end of the 2010s, when the San Francisco–based female rapper Saweetie sampled Petey Pablo's 2004 crunk hit "Freek-a-Leek" for her 2019 hit single "My Type
." The song marked as one of the last crunk compositions to achieve significant mainstream success on the US Billboard 100 as the decade came to a conclusion.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Sanneh, Kelefa (November 28, 2004). "Lil John Crunks Up the Volume". The New York Times.
  2. ^ a b Sarig, Roni (December 2003). "Southern Lights". Vibe. 11 (12): 168–74.
  3. ^
    doi:10.18737/M78P5T. Archived from the original
    on 10 August 2012.
  4. ^ crunk at dictionary.com
  5. ^ a b c Oxford English Dictionary
  6. ^ Buchwald, Art (July 30, 1974). "Richard M. Nixon Will You Please Go Now!". The Washington Post.
  7. ^ Wong, David (2011-12-22). "Ridiculous Origins of Everyday Words". Cracked.com. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  8. ^ a b Jones, Steve (July 25, 2003). "Get Crunk". USA Today.
  9. ^ "Outkast Lyrics: 'Player's Ball'". Lyricstime.com. Archived from the original on 2011-05-11. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  10. ^ Birchmeier, Jason (1996-12-03). "Da End: Three 6 Mafia". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  11. ^ "On the Run: Tommy Wright III". Allmusic.com. 1996-11-19. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  12. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Crunk Energy Drink". YouTube. 2007.[self-published source]
  13. ^ "Crunk Juice Website". Cjcrunk.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-17. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  14. ^ "A Google listing of Crunk Related Crimes". 2011-05-13. Retrieved 2013-05-29.[original research?]
  15. ^ Lil Jon bpmdatabase.com/ Retrieved 28 June 2023
  16. ^ Green, Tony (October 16, 2001). "Twerk to Do". Village Voice. Archived from the original on 22 September 2008.
  17. ^ "Lil Jon biography". Archived from the original on 2014-10-22. Retrieved 2014-01-27.
  18. ^ a b Green, Tony (May 21, 2004). "Punk rap". MSNBC.
  19. ^ Baca, Ricardo (September 16, 2003). "Brink in da Crunk: More take notice of hyper sound with Southern accent". The Denver Post. p. F-01.
  20. ^ "Houston Album & Song Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  21. ^ "Nivea Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  22. ^ "Billboard Top 100 – 2005". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  23. ^ "Hot 100 (November 26, 2005)". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  24. Washington Post
    . January 8, 2007. Last accessed January 10, 2007.
  25. ^ "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  26. ^ Shepherd, Julianne (August 18, 2006). "Soul Bounce: Crunk 'n' B 101". Archived from the original on September 13, 2007.
  27. ^ Hope, Clover (May 11, 2006). "Rihanna Stays Strong On Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  28. ^ "Cherish and Sean Paul Of The Youngbloodz - Do It To It". aCharts.us. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  29. ^ Jonathan Cohen, Reigns Again Atop Hot 100", Billboard.com, June 14, 2007.
  30. ^ Jonathan Cohen, "Rihanna, Shop Boyz, Fergie Locked In On Hot 100", Billboard.com, June 28, 2007.
  31. ^ Artist biography Billboard.com. Retrieved July 7, 2009.
  32. ^ MySpace.com - Hurricane Chris:51/50 Ratchet IN STORES NOW!! - Shreveport, Louisiana - Rap / Hip Hop - www.myspace.com/hurricane
  33. ^ Hurricane Chris takes hip-hop scene like a storm - USATODAY.com
  34. ^ "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2019.

Further reading

Look up crunk in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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