Gangsta rap
With the commercial success of gangsta rap in the early 1990s, the emphasis in lyrics shifted to drugs, violence, and misogyny. Early proponents of gangsta rap included groups and artists such as Ice-T, who recorded what some consider to be the first gangster rap single, "6 in the Mornin'", and N.W.A whose second album "Niggaz4Life" became the first gangsta rap album to enter the charts at number one. Gangsta rap also played an important part in hip hop becoming a mainstream commodity. Considering albums such as N.W.A's "Straight Outta Compton", Eazy-E's "Eazy-Duz-It", and Ice Cube's "Amerikkka's Most Wanted" were selling in such high numbers meant that black teens were no longer hip hop's sole buying audience. As a result, gangsta rap became a platform for artists who chose to use their music to spread political and social messages to parts of the country that were previously unaware of the conditions of ghettos. While hip hop music now appeals to a broader demographic, media critics argue that socially and politically conscious hip hop has been largely disregarded by mainstream America.