Guru
Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2 (The New Reality)
Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)
Digable Planets

Rap » Alternative Rap » Jazz-Rap

Jazz-Rap was an attempt to fuse African-American music of the past with a newly dominant form of the present, paying tribute to and reinvigorating the former while expanding the horizons of the latter. While the rhythms of jazz-rap came entirely from hip-hop, the samples and sonic textures were drawn mainly from cool jazz, soul-jazz, and hard bop. It was cooler and more cerebral than other styles of hip-hop, and many of its artists displayed an Afrocentric political consciousness, complementing the style's historical awareness. Given its more intellectual bent, it's not surprising that jazz-rap never really caught on as a street favorite, but then it wasn't meant to. Jazz-rap styled itself as a more positive alternative to the hardcore/gangsta movement taking over rap's mainstream at the dawn of the '90s, and concerned itself with spreading hip-hop to listeners unable to embrace or identify with the music's increasing inner-city aggression. As such, jazz-rap found its main audiences in places like college campuses, and was also embraced by a number of critics and white alternative rock fans. Afrika Bambaataa's Native Tongues posse -- a loose collective of New York-based, Afrocentric rap groups -- was the most important force in jazz-rap, including groups like A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and the Jungle Brothers; Digable Planets and Gang Starr were other notable early artists. During the mid- to late '90s, as alternative rap moved into a wider-ranging eclecticism, jazz-rap was not often pursued as an exclusive end, although the Roots frequently incorporated it in their live-instrumentation hip-hop.

Jazz-Rap Artists Highlights

Guru
Guru
Digable Planets
Digable Planets
Us3
Us3
Brand Nubian
Brand Nubian
Noname
Noname
Grand Puba
Grand Puba

More Jazz-Rap Artists

Jazz-Rap Album Highlights

Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2 (The New Reality)
Guru
Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2 (The ...
Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)
Digable Planets
Reachin' (A New Refutation ...
Hand on the Torch
Us3
Hand on the Torch
Uptown Saturday Night
Camp Lo
Uptown Saturday Night
The Low End Theory
A Tribe Called Quest
The Low End Theory
Breaking Atoms
Main Source
Breaking Atoms

More Jazz-Rap Albums

Jazz-Rap Song Highlights

Title/Composer Performer Stream
Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat) Digable Planets
Loungin' Donald Byrd / Guru
Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) Us3
Doin' Our Own Dang De La Soul / Jungle Brothers / Monie Love / A Tribe Called Quest
360° (What Goes Around) Grand Puba
All for One Brand Nubian
Nouveau Western MC Solaar
They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
Who's Gonna Take the Weight? Gang Starr
Looking at the Front Door
Main Source

More Jazz-Rap Songs

Other Styles in Alternative Rap