Dirty rap

Dirty rap
Dirty rap
Other names	Porno rap; porn rap; sex rap; booty rap; pornocore;
Stylistic origins	Hip hop; profanity; porn groove; hardcore hip hop; Miami bass;
Cultural origins	1980s, United States
Typical instruments	Rapping; turntables; sampler; drum machine; synthesizer;
Other topics
	Ghetto house; ghettotech; new jack swing; pornogrind; Southern hip hop; dirty blues; Baltimore club;

Dirty rap (also known as porno rap, porn rap, sex rap, booty rap, or pornocore) is a subgenre of hip hop music that contains lyrical content revolving mainly around sexually explicit subjects.

The lyrics are often overtly explicit and graphic, sometimes to the point of being comical or offensive. Historically, dirty rap often contained a distinctly bass-driven sound, which arose from the popular, usually sexually explicit Miami bass rap scene. However, dirty rap has recently also been heavily influenced by Baltimore club, ghetto house, and ghettotech. Many dirty rap songs have been used as soundtracks to pornographic movies since the 2000s, replacing the traditional porn groove.

Late 1980s and early 1990s dirty rap

The genre had been around since at least the 1970s or the 1980s, with Blowfly's Rapp Dirty release. However, it was not until later that decade, when Oakland rapper Too Short released the 1983 album Don't Stop Rappin' containing multiple dirty sex subjects, that sex became a central focus. Although the release did not see much attention outside of his hometown of Oakland, he would continue to use provocative and sexual lyrics throughout his career, gaining him six platinum albums and three gold.

The controversial rap group 2 Live Crew brought "dirty rap" to the mainstream with their Miami bass debut 2 Live Crew Is What We Are. With the graphic sexual content of their X-rated party rhymes, 2 Live Crew garnered much negative publicity. However, it was not until their 1989 album, As Nasty as They Wanna Be, that dirty rap became a legitimate genre.^[1] After being attacked by conservative critics, censors, and attorneys, 2 Live Crew responded with the 1990 album Banned in the USA, a much more political and angry album.

2 Live Crew returned to their utterly pornographic roots with 1991's Sports Weekend: As Nasty as They Wanna Be, Pt. 2, which was lambasted by many critics as running the sexually deviant lyrics of As Nasty As They Wanna Be into the ground. From Sport's Weekend onward, the Crew continued to make dirty rap and party rap.

Various rappers followed with dirty rap in the wake of 2 Live Crew's popularity. The group Poison Clan became widely successful, as did the group Bytches With Problems. Salt-N-Pepa released several "dirty rap" songs in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Sir Mix-A-Lot's 1992 hit single "Baby Got Back" could arguably be considered within the dirty rap genre; however, the majority of Mix-A-Lot's work is not sexually explicit enough for him to be considered a true dirty rap artist. Similarly, the new jack swing hip hop group Wreckx-n-Effect scored a dirty rap hit with their 1992 single "Rump Shaker". The pimp rapper Too Short is also a notable contributor and beginner to dirty rap music since he began his first album in 1983, though his topics range from sex to the gangster lifestyle.^[2]

In the early 1990s, the Baltimore club scene first began gaining an identity separate from house music and mainstream hip hop. Baltimore club, or gutter music, often features sexually explicit lyrics, and has influenced many current dirty rappers. Both ghettotech and ghetto house (or "booty house") also evolved around the same time, and, to an even greater extent than Baltimore club, frequently contain pornographic and sexually explicit content, as exemplified by DJ Assault and DJ Funk, two artists who pioneered ghettotech and ghetto house, respectively.

White dirty rappers include the Russian group Malchishnik, active between 1989 and 1994 and known for their song "Seks-kontrol" ("Sex Control"), a diatribe against interracial sex.

Contemporary dirty rap

Dirty rap was a popular subgenre into the 1990s and 2000s, particular in Southern hip hop.^[3] Luke Campbell of 2 Live Crew continued to produce dirty rap as a solo artist into the 2000s.

Kool Keith described the lyrical content of his 1997 album Sex Style as "pornocore".^[3] The album features Keith variously portraying himself as characters ranging from pimps to perverts.^[3] Keith also uses sexual metaphors to diss other rappers, many of which involve urolagnia.^[3] Kool Keith later appeared on the 2001 album Porn Again, a dirty rap or pornocore concept album by the Smut Peddlers.