Is G-Funk really dead?

[R-Tistic]

What do y'all feel about G-Funk as of right now?
It seems like every since Dre stopped makin G-Funk beats, people outside of Cali think that G-Funk is played out, it is dead, and many people from Cali think it is time for a change because it's just not tite anymore.
True, G-Funk is nowhere near what it was in 94, but when Dj Quik Battlecat Fred Wreck Jelly Roll and Meech Wells drop a g-funk beat, I still get the same feeling as I used to...I never hear a modern day g-funk beat and say "it woulda been good 7 years ago"
If u ask me, even tho Dre re-invented the west's sound, G-Funk should still be a style of music that never goes away. The same way the east has various styles, such as slick club shit, then old school sampled shit, the west should also keep g-funk as one of it's main styles of beats. I'll NEVER get tired of g-funk.

[GangstaBoogy]

It's dead.

[BAD_SCE]

that smooth sailing track is some good g funk

[gFuNkA]

as long as warren g keeps on producin..gfunk isnt dead. also dj glaze sticks to this production style.

[DX from A.T.L.]

What do y'all feel about G-Funk as of right now?
It seems like every since Dre stopped makin G-Funk beats, people outside of Cali think that G-Funk is played out, it is dead, and many people from Cali think it is time for a change because it's just not tite anymore.
True, G-Funk is nowhere near what it was in 94, but when Dj Quik Battlecat Fred Wreck Jelly Roll and Meech Wells drop a g-funk beat, I still get the same feeling as I used to...I never hear a modern day g-funk beat and say "it woulda been good 7 years ago"
If u ask me, even tho Dre re-invented the west's sound, G-Funk should still be a style of music that never goes away. The same way the east has various styles, such as slick club shit, then old school sampled shit, the west should also keep g-funk as one of it's main styles of beats. I'll NEVER get tired of g-funk.

How could Dr. Dre re-invent the west-coast sound, when he nor any of the artists mentioned invented the sound?

[R-Tistic]

How could Dr. Dre re-invent the west-coast sound, when he nor any of the artists mentioned invented the sound?

If u think about i, didn't 100% create G-Funk, because people had sampled funk and old school forever...but the way he did it, with live instruments and all, brought a sound that never had been heard before.
When he changed his style on 2001, he brought out a style that combined elements of previous styles, which was somethin that hadn't been heard before. Before Chronic 2001, when had we ever heard beats that sounded like Still Dre, Forgot about Dre, and Xxplosive? We had heard similar beats, but when we heard it, it was a sound that was fresh to our ears. So basically, it wasn't that he created a completely different genre of beats, but just as he did with G-Funk, he brought a style of combined elements to create somethin we hadn't heard before.

[smoke562]

this thing with the gfunk era is dead.
but that doesnt mean that gfunk production isnt happenin, its just that ppl aint gettin all hyped about a style of production anymore, like how it was so essential to the begining of the west coast scene.
now to me gfunk is just some dope production, with bangin beats , and kicc bacc n relax style music, like how warren knows best, anyone can really make gfunk beats. as you can see alot of producers make similar beats to warren. its just not really specified what's gfunk & what isnt.
you can see gfunk  style production in alot of producers like meech , battlecat , fredwreck, dj quik, big hutch etc...
even some eastcoast producers have adopted some gfunk extracts in their production on some their tracks.
but warren g tries to keep the real gfunk production alive in all his albums.
but thats just warren g's style of production.

but yeah, the era might be dead, but everyone has integrated a bit of gfunk in their production

[DX from A.T.L.]

Ok, that's sounds good and all for folks who don't know West-Coast history (they may take that as truth, when it's not), but none of the artists you mentioned invented or created the "G-Funk" sound, era, etc. And G-Funk was more than sampling funk records which was over a decade earlier.
So how can G-Funk be dead, alive, gone, here when NONE of the artists/producers didn't create it, just imitated a style that was already around?

[40oz GRApHire]

Damon is on point, but it was Dr Dre/ATL/Warren G who profesionalized the songs into Rap music and came out to be what we now call G-Funk.

[AxleF]

Damon is on point, but it was Dr Dre/ATL/Warren G who profesionalized the songs into Rap music and came out to be what we now call G-Funk.

Totally agree with you and DX.  The GFunk sound was developed by The Westcoast and over time it evolved into what was COINED as G-Funk.  (I'll explain in a second..)  Dre was very much involved in shaping that sound, of course.. but it wasn't like Dre invented it and all of a sudden everyone started biting.  Not at all.  Dre learned alot and developed his style from observing producers that came before him and also from producers that he was around alot and working with often.  A good example would be Big Hutch.  If you ask me, Dre was very influenced by the likes of Big Hutch.  No question.  

If you think about it, there was a period of time where everybody was sampling... (if it wasn't Mo Bounce, it wasn't a hit..) The whole James Brown / Zapp / George Clinton days were crazy back in 1986 till about 1992.  I mean, every producer was lifting a loop or a break beat from some old school funk track.  One of the main reasons that stopped was because of MONEY.  For a long time producers got away with sampling without permission.  But these sampled artists got smart and started suing so to our credit, we got smarter.  Dre was one of the first to realize that he wouldnt have to clear a sample if he didn't sample it but rather played it out right.. maybe changing it a bit to avoid any problems.

(Example, the THX sound at the beginning of 2001.  George Lucas actually sued him for that but lost in court.)  http://www.dotmusic.com/news/April2000/news13652.asp

Dre was one of the first to really changed the game by staying away from samples and if you think back, that's when those "hi pitched" keyboard sounds became synonymous with WC music and everybody started using them.  So again, if you ask me... that was the point when others took notice and followed suit.  Other producers (mainly underground Bay Area producers) were already making sample free beats.  People just didnt hear about these albums cuz they were for the most part, underground.  But with The Chronic selling 5 million plus copies.. people couldn't help but notice.  So back to the topic of this thread.. I don't think that the sound is dead.. but I do think that G-Funk has had it's time in the lime light and now the public has moved on.  There's only so many ways you can discribe WC gang life and I think we've had our turn.  Time to reinvent.. but that doesn't mean that G-Funk is dead to us loyal fans.  Hell nah.  Imma bump this shit for my grand kids!!!  lol.. ok, maybe not but I'll never let it die.

Axle

[Skindiana bon3z]

Yeah its been dead for a while now IMO...

[40oz GRApHire]

Damon is on point, but it was Dr Dre/ATL/Warren G who profesionalized the songs into Rap music and came out to be what we now call G-Funk.

Totally agree with you and DX.  The GFunk sound was developed by The Westcoast and over time it evolved into what was COINED as G-Funk.  (I'll explain in a second..)  Dre was very much involved in shaping that sound, of course.. but it wasn't like Dre invented it and all of a sudden everyone started biting.  Not at all.  Dre learned alot and developed his style from observing producers that came before him and also from producers that he was around alot and working with often.  A good example would be Big Hutch.  If you ask me, Dre was very influenced by the likes of Big Hutch.  No question.  

If you think about it, there was a period of time where everybody was sampling... (if it wasn't Mo Bounce, it wasn't a hit..) The whole James Brown / Zapp / George Clinton days were crazy back in 1986 till about 1992.  I mean, every producer was lifting a loop or a break beat from some old school funk track.  One of the main reasons that stopped was because of MONEY.  For a long time producers got away with sampling without permission.  But these sampled artists got smart and started suing so to our credit, we got smarter.  Dre was one of the first to realize that he wouldnt have to clear a sample if he didn't sample it but rather played it out right.. maybe changing it a bit to avoid any problems.

(Example, the THX sound at the beginning of 2001.  George Lucas actually sued him for that but lost in court.)  http://www.dotmusic.com/news/April2000/news13652.asp

Dre was one of the first to really changed the game by staying away from samples and if you think back, that's when those "hi pitched" keyboard sounds became synonymous with WC music and everybody started using them.  So again, if you ask me... that was the point when others took notice and followed suit.  Other producers (mainly underground Bay Area producers) were already making sample free beats.  People just didnt hear about these albums cuz they were for the most part, underground.  But with The Chronic selling 5 million plus copies.. people couldn't help but notice.  So back to the topic of this thread.. I don't think that the sound is dead.. but I do think that G-Funk has had it's time in the lime light and now the public has moved on.  There's only so many ways you can discribe WC gang life and I think we've had our turn.  Time to reinvent.. but that doesn't mean that G-Funk is dead to us loyal fans.  Hell nah.  Imma bump this shit for my grand kids!!!  lol.. ok, maybe not but I'll never let it die.

Axle

WORD ^

[DX from A.T.L.]

There's going to be a special interview with the creators of G-Funk and they will explain in detail what G-Funk really is and how everyone outside the creative minds of 3 brothers from Pomona California are just imitating a sound and branding it "G-Funk" only on the official website of Above The Law (it will up soon after the re-designed site is up)  


But "G-Funk" isn't dead since the creators of the sound and name ABOVE THE LAW (not Dre or Warren) are not dead. While it's true that many west-coast groups were sampling the basic funk records, listen to "Living Like Hustlers" and then listen to "Straight Out Of Compton" you will hear a VAST difference in composition. Listen to "Black Mafia Life" "Who Am I" and then listen to Niggaz4Life and you will here a vast difference in style, then if you compare The Chronic and B.M.L. and Who Am I, you will hear very similiar styles. Dre indeed taught Hutch the concepts of fine tuning  and mixing records, but when it comes to actual composing and producing a record using sounds and styles that was "foreign" to Dre at the time, you can't deny how he changed up his style. I love Dre and always will, but fact is fact. In fact if Hutch was in Dre's position at D.R., history for the group would of been in reversed. In fact Suge Knight said out of his own mouth, that ATL was the blueprint that Dre used to help propel his label into what is is/was.

[gFuNkA]

in my opinion warren g perfected this sound...he made it melodic, smooth, very laid back. maybe he´s not the creator, but his "warren g-funk" is my favourite style. like warren said: "It's still Long Beach music, but ain't nobody doing it like me. This is upgraded hip-hop to the fullest". damn right...just listen to the intro of his last album...

[Danté Williams]

(Example, the THX sound at the beginning of 2001.  George Lucas actually sued him for that but lost in court.)  

Could you pleeze explain or give me a link of how did that sue end? I wanna know WHY did George Lucas lose because I think it's a plain fact Dre stole the sound from THX and if it was trademarked...well...

Just holla back, ok? Thanks.


Oh, and BTW, G-Funk it's still alive, just not in its prime nor in the public ear...but it's alive and it always will as long as we got Warren kickin ass round here!