Rap rise: Hip-hop’s evolution pushes most controversial stars atop charts

Spencer Patterson

Friday, July 22, 2005 | 8:24 a.m.

Just how far has hardcore rap music come in 20 years?

Consider that N.W.A, generally credited with launching the genre in the mid-1980s, couldn't get its songs onto the radio most anywhere in America.

The rappers co-headlining this summer's biggest hip-hop tour, Eminem and 50 Cent, dominate today's rap airwaves.

"Fifty and Eminem are the face of the format," said Sherita Saulsberry, program director for Southern Nevada hip-hop station "Hot 97.5" (KVEG 97.5-FM). "They have a huge following black, white, men, women, kids, adults ... you'd be an idiot not to play their songs."

At the height of its popularity, N.W.A. opened club dates for the then better-known, all-girl trio Salt-N-Pepa.

This summer, Eminem and 50 Cent are hitting sports arenas and large outdoor venues, including New York's Madison Square Garden, Chicago's Tweeter Center and Detroit's Comerica Park.

The pair's "Anger Management Tour" stops at the Thomas & Mack Center at 7 p.m. on Sunday. At press time, tickets in $72 and $100 sections remained available, but $150 seats were sold out.

"People are really excited about it," Saulsberry said. "It's the biggest show of the summer, if you ask me."

N.W.A.'s first album, "Straight Outta Compton," has sold more than 3 million copies since its 1989 release, but hardcore rap's transformation from a fringe sub-genre to a mainstream-embraced phenomenon can be traced more accurately back to 1992.

That's when two former members of N.W.A., Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, reached Nos. 1 and 3, respectively, on the Billboard 200 chart with their albums "The Predator" and "The Chronic."

Both discs featured top 20 singles Dre's "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang" made it the highest, to No. 2 on Billboard's Hot 100 and both spawned a series of videos that were played in heavy rotation on MTV.

Since then, hip-hop albums featuring violent lyrics and imagery have become fixtures atop the charts. Snoop Dogg's first three CDs, the Wu-Tang Clan's "Wu-Tang Forever" and Jay-Z's "The Blueprint" are just a few such releases that have soared to the No. 1 album position over the years.

Dr. Dre protege Eminem hit paydirt with his full-length debut, 1999's "The Slim Shady LP," which found its way to No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

Since then, each of the 32-year-old Detroit rappers' discs have raced instantly to No. 1, with 2000's "The Marshall Mathers LP," 2002's "The Eminem Show" and last year's "Encore" all achieving that distinction.

Controversies over Eminem's lyrics -- he has been roundly condemned for being homophobic and misogynistic -- have done nothing to halt his climb. In fact, some argue that the flap has only helped him achieve greater heights.

Curtis Jackson, better known as 29-year-old New Yorker rapper 50 Cent, has met with Eminem-like success since bursting from the street to the big time with 2003's "Get Rich or Die Tryin'."

That album, and March's "The Massacre," both moved straight to No. 1, combining to hold down that position for a whopping 11 weeks.

Though his best-known song remains his first hit, the fun, danceable "In da Club," much of 50 Cent's material depicts brutal episodes from his days as drug dealer, when he faced a number of attempts on his life, including one in which he survived nine gunshots.

Despite that, Sunday's show will be an all-ages event, with the Thomas & Mack providing a waiting area for parents picking up their kids.

That stands in contrast to 50 Cent's May 2003 Las Vegas show at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, which was limited to fans aged 21 and over. That night, 50 Cent arrived onstage wearing a bulletproof vest, while the sound of gunfire emanated from the speakers.

For Eminem fans young and old, Sunday might mark a final opportunity to catch the superstar in action in Las Vegas.

The Detroit Free Press recently reported the rapper plans to retire from the road this year to concentrate on his producing duties in future.

"If that's true, it makes the show a little bit more meaningful," Saulsberry said, though she added her own doubts about Eminem's impending retirement. "Sometimes I think artists say that but don't really mean it."

Along with Eminem and 50 Cent, Sunday's show is scheduled to feature an opening set from Lil' Jon and the East Side Boyz, the Atlanta group responsible for "dirty south" party hits such as "Bia Bia" and "Get Low."

Eminem's band, D-12; 50-Cent's rap crew, G-Unit; Obie Trice and Stat Quo are among several additional performers expected to take the stage at points on Sunday night.