West Coast Hip Hop

Putting The Science Into Music

West Coast Hip Hop developed in California during the late 1970s and 1980s through local DJ culture, electro, funk, street parties and the growth of independent Rap scenes in Los Angeles and surrounding cities. Early recordings drew from East Coast Hip Hop while building a stronger regional identity through electronic production, car culture and West Coast funk traditions.

Artists including Egyptian Lover, Ice-T and World Class Wreckin' Cru helped establish the region's early sound through drum machines, synthesisers and Electro-influenced beats. Their work connected Rap with club music, breakdancing and the emerging street culture of Los Angeles.

Gangsta Rap became one of the region's most influential styles during the late 1980s through N.W.A, Ice Cube, Eazy-E and producers including Dr. Dre. The music used hard drum programming, Funk samples and direct accounts of policing, inequality, violence and daily life in South Central Los Angeles.

During the early 1990s, G-Funk introduced slower tempos, deep basslines, melodic synthesisers and samples from Parliament-Funkadelic and other Funk artists. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Warren G and Nate Dogg helped bring this smoother but still street-focused sound to international audiences.

The West Coast category also includes alternative and underground scenes connected with artists such as Cypress Hill, Del the Funky Homosapien, Souls of Mischief, The Pharcyde and Jurassic 5. These acts developed different approaches through Funk, Jazz, psychedelic influences, complex lyricism and independent production.

Important scenes later developed across Los Angeles, Compton, Long Beach, Oakland, the Bay Area and other parts of California. Hyphy, Chicano Rap, underground Hip Hop and newer regional styles expanded the category beyond the Gangsta Rap and G-Funk sounds most closely associated with the 1990s.

West Coast Hip Hop now includes classic and modern Rap connected with California and the wider Pacific region. Its defining character comes from regional identity, strong bass, Funk influence, distinctive production and the variety of local scenes that developed across the West Coast.

At Scientific Sound Asia, west coast hip hop is a defining feature of Mixtape Addict, with further appearances on Flamin' Hip Hop and Boom Bap Show.