Kool G Rap

USA, 1986–now

American rapper (b. 1968, Nathaniel Wilson) of Marley Marl's Juice Crew. Road to the Riches (1989) with DJ Polo brought a dense multisyllabic rhyme scheme and the crime-narrative voice that became mafioso rap - the template the next New York generation worked from.

MusicRoots documents 1 artist who influenced Kool G Rap and 3 artists Kool G Rap influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Kool G Rap?

• Cold Crush Brothers — As a teenager G Rap studied the Cold Crush Brothers' Grandmaster Caz among the MCs who showed him what a rhyme could carry.

Which artists did Kool G Rap influence?

• Nas — G Rap's crime narrative and multisyllabic scheme are the direct precedent for Nas; Def Jam is said to have passed on Nas because he sounded too much like him.
• Jay-Z — The mafioso rap G Rap invented is the mode Jay-Z made mainstream on Reasonable Doubt.
• The Notorious B.I.G. — Biggie's crime storytelling comes out of the mafioso rap G Rap built.