Gangsta rap is a subgenre of hip-hop music which emerged in South Central Los Angeles and Compton during the 1980s. N.W.A., Ice-T, DJ Quik, and others rapped about urban poverty, police brutality, unemployment, gang violence, drugs, prostitution, and other social problems in the inner city. Today, gangsta rap has grown into a multibillion-dollar industry and has become a part of popular culture. At the same time, opponents of gangsta rap also grew in numbers and influence. Several critics have argued that gangsta rap celebrates violence and misogyny, initiating a debate over its merits and consequences that still continues.

It is important to understand the broader social conditions from which gangsta rap emerged. During the 1980s, inner-city communities were devastated by deindustrialization and the rise of a service sector economy. Many working-class blacks lost their jobs and could not find employment when manufacturing plants closed. These trends were particularly visible in inner-city Los Angeles, which experienced record highs in unemployment and crime during the 1980s and 1990s.

Gangsta rap reflects many of these themes. Los Angeles- and Compton-based groups like N.W.A. and South Central Cartel and solo artists like MC Eiht rap about street violence in their neighborhoods. Others, such as Ice-T, DJ Quik, and Eazy-E, rapped about pimping and the emergence of an underground economy in "the hood." Many of the same themes continue in today's generation of rappers. For example, Snoop Dogg and The Game carry on the legacies of previous gangsta rappers.

The growth of gangsta rap also fueled different social responses. Several journalists decried gangsta rap, arguing that it has a negative effect on today's youth. Similarly, in the 1990s former civil rights advocate and (then) president of the National Congress of Black Women, C. Delores Tucker, led a crusade against gangsta rap, arguing that it encouraged violence and misogyny among youth. This resulted in a series of court cases against record labels for distributing controversial rap albums.

Law enforcement also responded negatively to the commercial rise of gangsta rap. Many saw gangsta rap as a threat to mainstream U.S. values. In 1989, N.W.A. released their second album, "Straight Outta Compton," which contained several critiques of the police. In particular, "Fuck the Police" described the inner-city black community's sense of alienation and frustration with local police and other institutions. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), however, did not see this song and others as valid social commentary. In the same year, the FBI sent critical letters to Ruthless and Priority Records about N.W.A.'s lyrics.

Some academics also criticize gangsta rap. Public health researchers argue that exposure to gangsta rap increases the likelihood one will engage in "risky behaviors" such as premarital sex, drug abuse, and other anti-social behaviors. Black feminists such as bell hooks argue that gangsta rap essentializes blackness by perpetuating the image of violent, oversexed, and misogynistic black men. Others criticize gangsta rap for encouraging youth to reject mainstream values, some linking black underachievement in schools to the negative values promoted in gangsta rap music. The underlying assumption is that gangsta rap socializes youth away from the mainstream and encourages them to adopt anti-social or oppositional behaviors.

While the lyrics in gangsta rap are controversial, some argue that they shed light on social problems--poverty, violence, drugs, and gangs--that occur in the inner city. In addition, hip-hop sympathizers argue that critics misunderstand gangsta rap's message. Detractors often take lyrics about violence and misogyny literally and rarely acknowledge the playful and ironic nature of gangsta rap. Although often characterized as such, gangsta rap is not an aberration in urban black culture. Indeed, rap music draws from black nationalist ideology and black oral traditions such as playing "the dozens," signifyin', and other informal communicative practices.

Gangsta rap also provides an alternative space for individuals to express their political, economic, and social frustrations. Despite its portrayal by critics as a uniformly negative musical culture, gangsta rap also discourages individuals from the street life. Some, like Ice Cube, encourage young blacks to think critically about racialized struggles over space and political power in the United States. Others claim that their music informs the general public about issues that communities of color face.

Whichever side one takes, gangsta rap has left an indelible mark on popular culture. Record sales continue to grow each year, gangsta rappers continue to branch out into other kinds of media, and scholars continue debating the consequences and merits of gangsta rap. As it grows in visibility and importance, it becomes important to move beyond simple caricatures of gangsta rap.

Bibliography:

1) Alim, H. Samy. 2006. Roc the Mic Right: The Language of Hip Hop Culture. New York: Routledge.

2) Chang, Jeff. 2005. Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation. New York: St. Martin's.

3) Forman, Murray. 2000. "'Represent': Race, Space and Place in Rap Music." Popular Music 19(1):65-90.

4) Henderson, Erol A. 1996. "Black Nationalism and Rap Music." Journal of Black Studies 26(3):308-39.

5) Hooks, Bell. 1994. Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representations. New York: Routledge.

6) Martinez, Theresa A. 1997. "Popular Culture as Oppositional Culture: Rap as Resistance." Sociological Perspectives 40(2):265-86.

7) McWhorter, John. 2005. Winning the Race: Beyond the Crisis in Black America. New York: Penguin.

8) Quinn, Michael. 1996. "Never Shoulda Been Let out the Penitentiary": Gangsta Rap and the Struggle over Racial Identity." Cultural Critique 34:65-89.

9) Richardson, Jeanita W. and Kim A. Scott. 2002. "Rap Music and Its Violent Progeny: America's Culture of Violence in Context." The Journal of Negro Education 71(3):175-92.

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