Gangsta rap is considered to be the most controversial hip hop sub-genre due to its lyrical content and the message rappers spread. However, it has also a deep political meaning. Many critics, such as Nelson George and Craig Watkins, trace its birth in the early ‘80s. In order to understand the reason why it exploded on the West-Coast of the United States, it is essential to first understand how and where hip hop was born.
Hip Hop
The unstable grounds on which hip hop stood were characterized by the disillusionment of black youth with the results of the civil rights movement. The consequences of the increasing hostile environment that the new political climate had generated forced young blacks to face a less optimistic reality than the one people who struggled for equal opportunities had hoped for.
By the end of 1970s, the cultural interaction generated by the migration of racial minorities such as the Hispanics, Caribbeans and African Americans, in particular in South Bronx, led to the creation of what became hip hop music. As Craig Watkins asserts, “many of the creative elements of hip hop developed in correspondence with the postwar migrations and subsequent shifting racial geography of New York City.” (S. Craig Watkins, Representing: Hip Hop Culture and the Production of Black Cinema. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1998. p.65).
The mixing and mutual influences of several cultures gave birth to this brand-new music genre that has its roots in Latino breakers. Nelson George argues that, “Very significant, but little appreciated outside New York’s Caribbean’s community at the time, was the introduction of the Jamaican ‘sound system’ style to the city’s party-going mix.” (Nelson George, Hip Hop America. New York: Penguin Books, 1998. p. 6)
Along with this particular sound system, there was the DJ, who with his style “stripped away the melody to give reggae’s deep, dark grooves throbbing prominence. DJs began to ‘toast’, or talk on microphones during their performances about their prowess as lovers or DJs.” Juxtaposed to the other three forms of art that collaborated to create hip hop graffiti art, breakdancing and rapping they constitute the four pillars this music genre stands on. It quickly developed during the Reagan-Bush years to the art form we now know (George, 7).
Gangsta Rap
Although hip hop started in postindustrial New York City, it expanded very quickly throughout the United States. The most important variant of rap in the mid-1980s began in Compton, a rough area in Los Angeles, California, that became known as gangsta rap.
The group N.W.A. (acronym for Niggaz With Attitude) is considered to be the initiator of the most controversial hip hop sub-genre. Its members, known to the public mainly by their stage names, Dr. Dre (Andre Romelle Young), Eazy-E (Eric Wright), Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson) and MC Ren (Lorenzo Jerald Patterson), gained success with their second album, Straight Outta Compton (1988), becoming a double platinum sales record, despite the fact that radio stations did not play their songs due to the extremely violent content.
Soon after this success, internal problems pushed each artist towards starting a solo carrier. Dr Dre and Ice Cube became more successful than the other ones (Eazy-E died of AIDS at the age of 31). In 1991, Dr Dre co-founded, together with Suge Knight, Death Row Records, a record label that became home of some of the most famous West Coast hip hop artists, such as 2Pac (Tupac Amaru Shakur) and Snoop Dogg (Cordazar Calvin Broadus).
East-Coast vs. West-Coast
In the meanwhile, on the East Coast, rappers such as Kool G. Rap (Nathaniel Wilson), Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace) and Puff Daddy (Sean Combs) were struggling to keep up with Los Angeles-based rapping style. In 1993 Combs founded Bad Boy Records and Notorious B.I.G. became its main star.
The duo led to the success not only of the solo artist but also of the East Coast-based record label. Until that moment, Death Row Records did not have to compete with anybody because of the extraordinary popularity of the West Coast hardcore rap. However, with the increasing success of Bad Boy Records, resentment and jealousy heightened, due to the fact that public attention and acclaim now had to be shared. Tupac and B.I.G. paid with their lives for the animosity between West Coast and East Cost.
Gangsta Rap: Only a Hip Hop Sub-genre?
Born as a hip hop sub-genre, gangsta rap eventually developed into an independent music genre, creating a name for itself and declaring the West-Coast of the USA as its home, thus not only causing the worst rappers feud in hip hop’s history, but also provoking intense discussions among critics and scholars.
Works Cited:
- George, Nelson. Hip Hop America. New York: Penguin Book, 1998.
- Watkins, S. Craig. Representing: Hip Hop Culture and the Production of Black Cinema.Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998.
Brunella Irma Costagliola - Brunella Irma Costagliola is a full-time writer and a published author. Her book is titled "Gangster Movies in Gangsta Rap"
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