It's a type of music, a drink, a brand of clothing - and a way of life. Hattie Collins on a movement from the American south that's heading this way
It's hard to imagine a more traumatic piece of music news than recent reports that Paris Hilton has decided to embark on a singing career: indeed, for those still reeling from John Peel's death and the demise of Top of the Pops, the idea that the charts could soon be graced by the hotel heiress and amateur porn star may be the final straw. Yet one group of music lovers must be celebrating the news: the producers and artists who deal in crunk, the sub-genre of hip-hop that Hilton is apparently keen to record. There can be no surer sign of how crunk has saturated the American public's consciousness.
Back in 2002 people thought R&B queen Mary J Blige had taken artistic licence too far when, on the chorus of her single Family Affair, she crooned something about getting crunk up on it in the danceree. What nonsense, people scoffed, she's talking utter arse.
In fact, the ever-astute MJB actually had the heads-up on a burgeoning style of music that was taking southern America by storm. It wasn't "danceree", she sniffed, it was "dance for me" and anyway "crunk" was/is an actual real-life subgenre of (deep breath) hip-hop-booty-bass-R&B-funk-rock-dancehall-soul-and-er-trill. From relative obscurity two years ago, crunk - "crazy" and "drunk" - is fast becoming a phenomenon, with Petey Pablo's Freek-A-Leek, Ciara's Goodies and Usher's Yeah all taking the top spot in the Billboard charts this year.
Indeed, so entrenched is it in American culture, crunk is now a verb. One can experience crunkery, crunktitude and crunkilation according to www.urbandictionary.com music is high-energy rap music designed strictly for the clubs," says (actually, shouts) Lil Jon, who produced all three of the aforementioned No 1s. "It makes you wild out, throw them 'bows, push up, stagedive, moshpit - it makes you go crazy, baby," he gurgles, sounding like an autistic Austin Powers. "I'm gottdam crunk most of the time."
This is no new trend either. Outkast referenced crunk on 1998's Rosa Parks, but the music dates back to 1993. Local Atlanta rappers, producers and DJs, including 8Ball and MJG, Jon and UGK, would gather up in da strip clubs like The 559, swig Hennessy and vodka (together, natch) and create the most chaotic music imaginable; splintering keyboards and relentlessly rowdy b-lines populated by swaggering chants and choruses of inaudible gabble.
The diminutive Jon is considered the main perpetrator, the crunk-meister, if you will. The 5ft 6in sonic scientist is a terrifying prospect: a bedraggled, dreadlocked, loopy-looking crazy-man. Once compared to a Fraggle by Chris Rock (he's more like one on crack), Jon exuberantly wields a sparkling cane, dazzlingly bejewelled pimp cup and a scary set of "fronts" - a platinum plated grill over the teeth.
Known primarily for shouting "Yeeeaahhhh" and "Oh-kayyyy" incessantly and at ear-piercing volume over the tracks he produces, Jon soared to success with his particular brand of high-wire harmonics including Bia Bia and I Don't Give A @#&% - "I do a give a fuck about a lot of shit, but then, you know, I don't give a fuck about a lot of shit," he muses.
Nowadays offshoots include crunk-rock and Crunk&B, while everyone from Beyoncé to Beenie Man is desperate to milk the crunk cash cow. Indeed, never one to miss an opportunity, Jon has created an official drink, Lil Jon's Crunk Juice. No, really. Go to the website www.crunkenergydrink.com and see for yourself. An alternative to Red Bull, it's selling by the crunkload in America.
Call it disposable or faddish, but, as Jon points out, crunk is more about drinking, dancing and having a good time. "We're not trying to be no fucking saviour of this or that," he growls. "We're just out to keep the people crunked up."
For those wanting to experience the craziness that is crunk first hand, best take the advice of Ms Blige and get you down the danceree. You won't be disappointed.
A version of this article appeared in The Guardian
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