crunk

American  

[kruhngk] / krʌŋk /

noun

1. a type of hip-hop originating in the southern U.S. and characterized by heavy bass and call-and-response vocals.

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adjective

1. Slang.

   1. excited; full of energy.

   2. drunk and high on drugs.

crunk British  

/ krʌnk /

noun

1. a form of hip-hop music originating in the southern states of the US

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Etymology

Origin of crunk

1990-95; perhaps cr(azy) + (dr)unk

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

crunk

Rapper DJ Unk, who was best known for the bouncy early-2000s crunk hit “Walk It Out,” has died.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2025

Even as she praised her successors, Gangsta Boo asserted her dominance in the Southern rap explosion that spawned crunk and trap music.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 4, 2023

This buzzing, eardrum-bursting key riff – half southern crunk, half horror movie – is matched with 70s-style funk drumming, splashes of piano and unusual falsetto croons in a strange, scintillating concoction.

From The Guardian ● May 17, 2019

It introduced audiences everywhere to the raw, thrashing energy that fuelled the crunk subgenre, and stuck out against relatively quaint hits like “Get Low” and “Yeah!,” which only implied the manic energy that “Knuck” embodied.

From The New Yorker ● Nov. 4, 2016

Her set was also more dynamic than Spears', blending up-tempo dance numbers with melancholy crunk and the floating R&B of "Fly," a song co-written by Tacoma musician Clemm Rishad.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 30, 2011