Hip hop influences also found their way increasingly into mainstream pop during this period mainly the mid-2000s, as the Los Angeles style of the 1990s lost power. Nelly's debut LP, Country Grammar, sold over nine million copies.
In the 2000s, crunk music, a derivative of Southern hip hop, gained considerable popularity via the likes of Lil Jon and the Ying Yang Twins.
Jay-Z represented the cultural triumph of hip hop. As his career progressed, he went from performing artist to label president, head of a clothing line, club owner, and market consultant—along the way breaking Elvis Presley’s record for most number one albums on the Billboard magazine charts by a solo artist.
In addition to the mainstream success, the United States also saw the success of alternative hip hop in the form of performers such as The Roots, Dilated Peoples, Talib Kweli and Mos Def, who achieved significant recognition.
Then.......
Crunk and Snap Era
Crunk originated in Tennessee in the 1990s. The style was pioneered and commercialized by artists from Memphis, Tennessee and Atlanta, Georgia.
Looped, stripped-down drum machine rhythms are usually used. The Roland TR-808 and 909 are among the most popular. The drum machines are usually accompanied by simple, repeated synthesizer melodies and heavy bass stabs. The tempo of the music is somewhat slower than hip-hop, around the speed of reggaeton.
The focal point of crunk is more often the beats and music than the lyrics therein. Crunk rappers, however, often shout and scream their lyrics, creating an aggressive, almost heavy, style of hip-hop. While other subgenres of hip-hop address sociopolitical or personal concerns, crunk is almost exclusively party music, favoring call and response hip-hop slogans in lieu of more substantive approaches.
Snap music is a subgenre of crunk that emerged from Atlanta, Georgia, in the late 1990s. The genre soon gained mainstream popularity and in mid-2005 artists from other southern states such as Tennessee began to emerge with this style. Tracks commonly consist of an 808 bassdrum, hi-hat, bass, snapping, a main groove and a vocal track. Hit snap songs include "Lean wit It, Rock wit It" by "Dem Franchize Boyz", "Laffy Taffy" by D4L, "It's Goin' Down" by Yung Joc and "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" by Soulja Boy Tell 'Em.
Here's The Difference....This Music was Released in the 2000's....But There Is A "High" & "Low" Going On....
Example
The Low
The Roots & Jill Scott - You Got Me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b5lNKnqp_o
"You cannot put me in a box because my soul doesn't fit in one. It's not a matter in what I put on...It's just a matter of my soul!" -Jill Scott
Talib Kweli - Get By http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVtpXvzzXiA
"This morning I woke up feeling brand new, I jumped up, feeling my highs and my lows and my soul and my goal. Just to stop smoking and stop drinking...I been thinking...I got my reasons. Just to get by" -Talib Kweli
The High
Soulja Boy - Crank That http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We1AQetsAx4
"Soulja boy up in this hoe. Watch me lean & watch me rock. Superman that hoe. Then watch me crank that robocop" - Soulja Boy