Rap Gangs: Annotated Bibliography

Nelson George states that “Gangsta rap is direct by- product of crack explosion. Unless you grasp that connection nothing else that happened in the hip hop’s journey to national scapegoat will make sense. This is not a chicken-or-the-egg riddle —first came rocks, then gangsta rap” (136). To prove his point he examines the connection between drug culture of the inner city areas and the hip hop music. The money collected from illegal drug deals spent on recordings of gangsta rap music. George says “Suspicion of women, loyalty to the crew, adoption of a stone face in confronting the world, hatred of authority—all major themes of gangsta rap-owe their presence of lyrics and impact on audiences to the large number of African-American men incarcerated in the ‘90s” (138). I agree with his statement that gangsta rap is a directed by- product of crack explosion, because social and racial issues for instance drug dealing influencing the lyrics of music and this explosion of heroin and crack in communities gave birth to gangsta rap.

N.W.A’s first album ‘Straight Outta Compton’ influenced a number of films depicting inner-city violence, such as “Boyz N The Hood” and “Menace II Society.” N.W.A influenced an attitude change about rap music and its impact. ‘Straight Outta Compton’ changed what was considered extreme and explicit. N.W.A’s music affected people similarly to Nirvana’s “Nevermind” album that introduced grunge in 1991. Their music allowed for a certain freedom. Now rappers were free to speak their minds no matter how explicit their lyrics were. “At

The 1960’s or 1970’s is when gangs were originated. Gangs became a formation of protection against racial crimes being committed by whites. There were quite a few popular gangs such as the Slausons,

In the late 1980’s N.W.A was formed in Compton, California. Members of the group included Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, and more. Many of these members still retain their fame today and continue to be social activists within there community and on a national level. The formation of the group was ultimately derived from circumstantial anger and outrage at Los Angeles law enforcement at that time.

Gangs originated in New York, during the late 18th century. They consisted of seven infamous groups: “The Forty Thieves, the Bowery Boys, the Dead Rabbits, the Daybreak boys, the Whyos, the Five Points Gang, and lastly the Eastman Gang. Gangs back then when originated was not for the use of criminal activity. Originally their sole purpose was to protect their neighborhood and were mostly common labors. Gangs formed the “basic unit of social life" among the young males in New York in the nineteenth century. More dangerous gangs emerged during the earlier 1900s from the persistent disorder that gripped the city slums, tenements, saloons, and dance halls. However, African Americans history to gang activity differentiates from this timeline.

I think you made a great point! I too believe that your ideas of the continuous change of atmospheres and lack of moral values play a major role in the “gang world.” For example I know many people personally who do not have any moral values, does not care about anything, and has no goals in life, so they commit all if not most of their time and dedication to their gang. Also atmospheres are constantly changing and gangs are always migrating to new areas, which often leads to new recruitments. I also agree with you that “gangsta rap” music as well as the videos has made violence and the gang life seem socially acceptable to live the lifestyle they are living. This often leads to people wanting to be like the rappers or ultimately forming

When I think of Rap and Hip Hop, to me they are pretty much the same thing so I use them interchangeably. This genre of music has been a staple within the black community as a way to freely express themselves not only creatively but also politically. Hip hop began in the 1970s as a result of the overwhelming creativity, restrained energy, and the lack of outlets for local youth in impoverished areas; “Rap music is an externalization of highly charged inner feelings shared commonly by young black people. It is the cultural manifestation of this epoch in the pristine history of Black people. It is both old and new, old because it is one with the black man’s existence; new, because it is fresh and contemporary. There is an inner need to express something new and exciting, outrageous and engaging.” (Spady, 637). The main concept behind hip hop was to unite people to showcase talents and become an outlet for inventiveness to combat the alternative path choice to gang violence. This genre of music was key to bringing the youth of the Bronx and surrounding and neighboring areas closer to express artistic creativity. As time passed, hip hop has evolved and grown into the culture that it is now. Not surprisingly, it did not take long for the hip hop genre to become one of the most popular genres of music in the United States. There are various components that make up hip hop when it first started out; for example breakdancing, freestyling, MCing and DJing. Hip hop has exceeded its

“Gangsta rap” which is form of rap became prominent. This type of music features not only violent lyrics but additionally sexually explicit themes that many view demeaning toward women. Rap groups such as NWA (Niggaz With Attitude) and 2 Live Crew helped found this trend which continues throughout the years with such artists as Nell, 50 Cent and Tupac Shakur just to name a few. Male rappers lyrics frequently served as indirect references to their position of power and they are viewed as boasting the hyper-masculine personas: pimps, players and macs. Alongside their lyrics, rappers also use their videos to reiterate their patriarchal dominance. NWA are considered the innovators of violent and sexist lyrics. They went against what artists like Public Enemy’s stood for with their rules of hip hop, which was about hardcore revolution, and transformed the style and message of hardcore rap. NWA released a highly debatable album “Straight Outta Compton” in 1989. This created turmoil within the media as well a public outcry against “gangsta rap.” The parental advisory label was one of the first actions taken to control the delivery of violent and sexual explicit

N.W.A. (Niggaz Wit Attitudes) defined gangsta rap in the 1980s and put West Coast hip hop on the map. During their time in the limelight, they were constantly put down for their lyrics which glorified drugs and crime, were disrespectful to women, showed hatred to the police, and were heavily laced with profanity. Their music was banned from mainstream radio stations for years, but the group still sold tens of millions of records.

In the early 1990’s African Americans faced racial discrimination throughout their daily lives. Since this was arguably one of the most racially charged decades since the 60’s, African American and Americans alike needed a way to express how the corrupt world was working. The worst part of living in this era was the fact the people who had sworn in to protect us were the ones doing the most harm. Police officers abused their power with no regards to human life. Cases such as the beating of Rodney King by police on March 3, 1991 in Los Angeles demonstrated their disregard. With all of this commotion around the world, it led people to find another way to speak upon how corrupt things were. They had to use nonviolent ways to settle this, because if they fought back they would end up in jail for life or simply dead. This soon inspired a music group who went by the name NWA, or “N*ggas with Attitude”. They lived during this time and used their music as a way to spread their ideas and

“Fuck the police coming straight from the underground, a young nigga got it bad cause I'm brown, and not the other color so police think, they have the authority to kill a minority” (Ice Cube, 1988). N.W.A often considered the most dangerous group to set foot in the music industry, however their music is often not recognized for what it really is, reality rap. Most people consider N.W.A music to be “hood music” or “gangster rap” and often get away from the reality that’s embedded in N.W.A’s lyrics. Many people talk about police brutality today which is still an issue, however today’s form of brutality pales in comparison to the brutality happening in the urban streets of Compton, Watts and most of Southcentral L.A in the 1980s. These cities

1988, That’s when the so called “Gangsta Rap” emerged with the album Straight out of Compton N.W.A as a huge product that appealed to the younger generation of African Americans since it was the rawest thing they’ve heard, in my opinion, it is as raw as the reality surrounding young African Americans, which is the reason why it became something huge. The album Straight out of Compton, N.W.A is one the most successful figures in the hip-hop industry by being a classic that is still being played to this day. The huge success was rewarded by the most important certifications in the world of music, by being a double-platinum which means this it doubled the minimum limit for the certification of a platinum record by selling more than one million

Even though many of us are familiar with rap music, most of us don’t know its origin. Rap music began in West Africa. It started out as a story that was turned into rhymes. All they had for a beat were drums and made up instruments. In Africa, griots began telling stories about their home and family. Griots were the West African historians and storytellers who kept all the records throughout the village. In the 1970s, rap music started becoming popular in the U.S as street art among African American teenagers. A popular rap group gain their popularity in 1979. This group was known as ‘The Sugarhill Gang.’ They are mostly known for their single “Rapper’s Delight” that made producers realize how big rap was getting. As rap began expanding, African

NWA played a big part in the evolution of hip-hop culture in the late 80s and early 90s, they were the first gangsta rap group to become mainstream in the music industry. Eazy E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and Dj Yella were the original members. Straight Outta Compton chronicles the creation, rise and fall of the iconic rap group NWA along with the social unrest occurring during this era. The film gleemed its name from the group’s first album, Straight Outta Compton released in 1988. The controversial album went double platinum and rubbed many government and police officials the wrong way with the real life description of social injustices experienced by many poor minority neighborhoods.

Hip hop is a genre of music that has developed a culture of its own. Artists treat the process of creating a hip hop song as a form of art. The culture began with breaking in 1925 when Earl Tucker performed at The Cotton Club and his moves inspired one aspect of hip hop culture. It progressed into the music element when Thomas Wong blasted American records with his sound system. The culture known as “hip hop” was first coined by DJ Lovebug Starski four years after The Last Poets formed their group and combined jazz with spoken word. Hip hop started to become popular when Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” became the first hip hop song to hit the Billboard charts at 36. February 14, 1981 marked another milestone for the culture when The Funky 4 became the first hip hop group to perform on national television. They performed their song “That’s the Joint” on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. In 1988, the hip hop group NWA released one of their most infamous songs “F*** Tha Police” to speak out against police brutality and the injustice people of color face in society. They were the pioneers of using hip hop to create awareness. Twenty-nine years later the song still holds the same relevance today as it did then. The strong language utilized by the members of NWA emphasized their frustration. Other hip-hop artists, whether from the past like