G-Funk/ Gangsta

Jump-started by Dr. Dre's signature production style and his first post-N.W.A. project, The Chronic (1992), the G-Funk sound ushered in a period of sales chart dominance by West Coast artists that lasted for several years. With its minor key synths, thorough absorption of the George Clinton/Parliament/Funkadelic catalog, and roster of charismatic vocalists (including Snoop Dogg, Warren G., and Tupac Shakur in addition to many others), G-Funk became the soundtrack to the early to mid '90s. Dre's crowning anthem, "Ain't Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang," launched an empire that drastically altered the balance of power in the Hip-hop kingdom.