Alaskan hip hop explained

Alaskan Hip Hop
Other Names:	Alaskan Drill Rap

Alaskan hip hop is a resurgent subgenre of Hip hop within the state of Alaska, primarily in the metropolitan areas of Anchorage and Fairbanks, and to a lesser extent Juneau.^{[1] [2]} Despite its remote location, since the late 1970s, Alaska has had a steady growth in population, including its African American community, with some observers describing it as a melting pot of numerous cultures from across the continental United States.^{[3] [4] [5] [6] [7]}

Background

Alaska as a whole has seen a steady increase in population across its metropolitan areas since the late 1970s. Despite the predominantly white ethnic background; communities of African-Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics have seen a notable rise as they emigrate from the continental United States in search of stable employment.^{[8] [9]}

First wave

In parallel with Alaska's cultural renaissance, crime began to grow in numerous pockets of Anchorage in the 1990s and 2000s. As was similarly the key influence in such genres as Gangsta rap and Hardcore hip hop, artists such as 'Out Tha Cut (ODC)', 'Baydilla' or 'Joker the Bailbondsmen' with ties to known drug traffickers began to see a flourishing first wave scene of underground hip hop among Anchorage's black population in the late 1990s.^{[10] [11] [12]} The growth in the scene was ever present as Anchorage's crime began to increase with the growth in population.^{[13] [14]}

By the late 2000s; Anchorage's rap scene began to decline as federal attention began to shift towards numerous arrests in connection to crimes ranging from drug trafficking and murders.^{[15] [16] [17] [18]}

Second wave

Despite the decline of Alaska's first wave of hip hop, a new wave soon emerged in the late 2010s with numerous artists exhibiting influences from across the United States as Alaska's population continued to grow with incentives for employment and residence.^[19] The second wave of artists such as 'Tayy Tarantino', 'Alaska Redd', 'F03 Bear', 'F03 Fazo', 'Baby Cisco' and 'Fairview Huna' began to incorporate influences of trap, Mumble rap and Drill in a modern interpretation of the original sound.^{[20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]}

The resurgence in growth was not solely limited to Anchorage as Juneau has also seen a recent rise in its own rap scene.^[26] Rappers of Tlingit descent have mixed phrases and elements of their ethnic music and language into their own expression of hip hop.^{[27] [28]}

See also

• Canadian hip hop
• Hip hop music in the Pacific Northwest
• Music of Alaska

Notes and References

1. Web site: Alaska's Top 10 Greatest Rappers of All Time.
2. Web site: Indie Alaskan Artists To Check Out. 9 May 2022 .
3. Web site: UNSIGNED ALASKA RAPPERS ARE HEATING UP THE ICY TUNDRA. 20 January 2019 .
4. Web site: African Americans in Alaska: Black Lives Matter. 10 June 2020 .
5. Web site: 'Black in Alaska' profiles lives and successes of Black Alaskans. 16 February 2022 .
6. Web site: The Most Diverse Place in America. . 12 June 2015 .
7. Web site: Alaska Hip Hop and R&B Music Awards.
8. Web site: 'Black Lives in Alaska' highlights more than 150 years of African American history in the Last Frontier. 21 December 2022 .
9. Web site: In a rising number of U.S. counties, Hispanic and black Americans are the majority. 20 November 2019 .
10. Web site: Leader of Anchorage Drug Conspiracy and Rap Label pleads guilty to drug charges in cocaine importation conspiracy. 29 January 2015 .
11. Web site: Joker the Bailbondsmen in Anchorage.
12. Web site: After prison, Sean Sullivan – once Alaska's most successful rapper – is working double time to start over.
13. Web site: Anchorage, AK Is Among the Most Dangerous US Metro Areas.
14. Web site: Is crime on the rise in Anchorage? A look at the numbers. September 2016 .
15. Web site: Cocaine ring leader admits his rap group was a drug front.
16. Web site: How We Rolled Up North: The Rise, Fall, and Renaissance of the Alaska Rap Scene. 24 August 2015 .
17. Web site: DeMar Moultrie of ODC Records Sentenced to Forty Months for Drug Conspiracy. 4 May 2013 .
18. Web site: Anchorage Hip-Hop Impresario Sentenced to 87 Months. 25 September 2018 .
19. Web site: 'It's still wild out here': Anchorage hip-hop artist Tayy Tarantino chronicles hard truths.
20. Web site: A hip-hop O.G. in the 49th state, Alaska Redd is both a master of the mic and a mentor.
21. Web site: 10 Rappers From Alaska You Should Definitely Know About.
22. Web site: I am an Alaskan Rapper : INDIE ALASKA. 2 August 2018 .
23. Web site: TAYY TARANTINO: THE MMXVII VISUAL MIXTAPE.
24. Web site: Inside Alaska's Most Dangerous Hood. . 17 December 2022 .
25. Web site: Live from the North: Getting Alaska hip-hop caught up with the Lower 48. 5 July 2021 .
26. Web site: Wu-Tang Clan rapper is coming to Juneau. 7 November 2019 .
27. Web site: Juneau teens rap about Tlingit culture in new bilingual music video. August 2018 .
28. Web site: Young artist blends hip-hop and Tlingit heritage on big stage. 10 February 2019 .