Hard core rap involves several different musical feelings, and its characteristics can be summarized as confrontation and aggression. It is characterized by passionate themes, violent drums, noisy sampling and production, or any combination of them. Hard-core rap is tough, sensitive and intense, and often threatens (although threats don't always exist, it also has a humorous and energetic side. Gangsta rap is a style most often associated with hardcore rap, and there is a lot of overlap between them, especially in hardcore rap in the 1990s, but not all hardcore raps are around the theme of bandits. The earliest hardcore rap appeared on the east coast in the late 1980s. At that time, artists began to stay away from the rhythm of the party and brag about loudspeaker technology. Their music and language began to reflect this tenacious, rough and cruel urban environment, which is usually where they were created and appreciated. Before any specific rules about gang rap were worked out, artists like new york's Buji Production Company and Los Angeles' Tracy Marlowe were recording their observations on street life in detail on tapes. At the same time, the chaotic collage of "Public Enemy" is setting a new standard of recording ability, while "N.W.A" shows the desolate lifestyle of Jews and gangs with too much masculinity. In the early 1990s, hardcore rap was basically synonymous with West Coast gang rap. Until 1993, the Wu Tang clan appeared, and their miniature drums and samples haunted strings and pianos became widely imitated styles. Hard-core rap became the most popular mixed music style in the second half of the 1990s because of its records full of collisions and violent blows and the indomitable spirit of urban street thugs. Now its theme is a mixture of party carols, robbers' obsession with money, sex and violence, and occasional social comments. Artists such as the infamous B.I.G, Eminem, DMX and Jay-Z have become platinum-selling superstars, while Master P has become a profitable commercial force under the brand of "Gangster-originated South Hard Core", although he has not produced the same level of mixed hit singles.

Hip-Hop is a more powerful music form in rap, which is more destructive and inflammatory than the previous rap and dance music forms. Its background is always accompanied by weakened drums, and most of the lyrics reflect the way of thinking that runs counter to society or is different from ordinary people.