Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a genre that is defined in greatly varying ways. Allmusic defines it as follows:
Alternative Rap refers to Hip-Hop groups that refuse to conform to any of the traditional stereotypes of rap, such as gangsta, bass, hardcore, and party rap. Instead, they blur genres - drawing from funk and pop/rock, as well as jazz, soul and reggae.
Aside from exceptions, most alternative rap groups tend to be embraced primarily by alternative rock fans, rather than hip-hop or pop audiences.[1] Rodrick writes that alternative hip-hop has "drawn little more than barely concealed yawns from other rappers and urban audiences." [2] Heywood and Drake counter that "making rap music that appeals to mass audiences isn't simply about selling out," stating that alternative hip-hop is an attempt to counter the association that much of the mass market has between hip-hop music and violence, giving as an example the "Smokin' Grooves Tour" of 1996, featuring Cypress Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Ziggy Marley, and Busta Rhymes—most of whom are hip-hop performers who "don't fit the mold of gangsta rap."[3]