Alternative hip-hop

Alternative hip hop
Stylistic origins	Hip hop alternative rock funk jazz fusion electronic psychedelia reggae rock
Cultural origins	Late 1980s, United States
Typical instruments	Vocals turntable drum machine drums keyboard sampler bass guitar guitar synthesizer
Derivative forms	Experimental hip hop trip hop industrial hip hop underground hip hop
Subgenres
Jazz rap Hipster hop Nerdcore
Other topics
Rap rock rapcore rap metal

Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses the wide range of styles of hip hop that have not become identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as follows: "Alternative rap refers to hip hop groups that tend not to conform to any of the traditional forms of rap, such as gangsta, bass, hardcore, pop, and party rap. Instead, they blur genres – drawing equally from funk and rock, as well as jazz, soul, reggae, country, electronic, and even folk."

Alternative hip hop developed in the late 1980s. Its commercial momentum was impeded by the then also newly emerging, significantly harder-edged West Coast gangsta rap. A resurgence came about in the late 1990s and early 2000s with the rejuvenated interest in indie music by the general public. In the 2000s alternative hip hop reattained its place within the mainstream, due in part to the declining commercial viability of gangsta rap as well as the crossover success of artists such as OutKast and Kanye West. The alternative hip hop movement expanded beyond the US to include the Somali-Canadian poet K'naan, Japanese rapper Shing02, and British artist MIA. Alternative hip hop acts have attained much critical acclaim, but receive relatively little exposure through radio and other media outlets.

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