themucka : I think you're wrong about saying the Gangstaar formula is generic ....
To me there are 3 main Gangstaar periods :
The Jazz period 1989-1992 : definitively softer ,jazzier than today, drum breaks are used almost all the time, the sound is very organic...
The hard period 1993-96: the group at its toughest (both lyrics and music) , lots of agressive sampled strings , Preemo was still into breaks ... sampling sources include diverse music genres
The Jazz/Funk period 1998-2003 : the drum breaks have completely disapeared , replaced by Drum programming, samples mainly come from the distinct mini genre of Jazz/Funk (explicitly the union of both Jazz and Funk structures , ex: Axelrod,etc ...), the whole sound is a cross between their early jazz style and rough mid carreer sound, keyboards are used for basslines, ... lyrics are less agressive but still deliver a message...
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