Hip-hop dates back to 1979, but for me, it started in 1995, when I officially discovered hip-hop. I had been given a tape of Regulate…G-Funk Era, Warren G’s debut with the old West Coast anthem, “Regulators”. I fell in love with “Regulators”, “Do You See”, and “This DJ”. From there, I started listening to KSFM 102.5 in Sacramento, the local hip-hop station. Every day, I was treated to this whole new world of Dr. Dre’s production, Snoop Doggy Dogg’s smooth delivery, B-Real’s nasal tone, and this introspective gangsta rapper named 2pac. As with most things I become interested in, I instantly wanted to know all I could about this music. From there came interest in E-40 and Too Short, N.W.A, Dogg Pound, Cypress Hill, and everyone else from the West Coast’s illustrious history. And as I got deeper into the coast most known for gangsta rap, I realized that the term itself, “gangsta rap” is not what everyone thinks it is. Rather, painting such vividly violent and shocking pictures through hip-hop could actually move the establishment to act and do what they could to help the traditionally ignored neighborhoods known as the ghetto.
Taking a cursory glance at West Coast hip-hop, one would assume it was all palm trees, Impalas, AK’s, chronic, and 40s. For many West Coast artists, this was true. And yet, many MC’s squeezed classic material out of those topics. Of course, it wasn’t ALL about those topics that had formed into something called “gangsta rap”. With N.W.A having set the bar as far as what gangsta rap was, they, possibly by accident, created a completely new definition of what gangsta rap was. “F*ck tha Police” flaunted their First Amendment rights and let the powers that be know that they spoke for the economically underdeveloped neighborhoods when they said that they didn’t trust the police. The Rodney King trial and ensuing riots only served to bolster that belief. Police corruption ran rampant in California at that time, and those events helped bring it to the nation’s attention. With the nation’s eyes on the LAPD, investigations were launched, crooked cops were busted in such trials like the Rampart scandal, and the police force underwent sweeping changes to ensure that those events never repeated themselves. N.W.A had somehow used gangsta rap as way to raise awareness, an idea that former member Ice Cube took off and ran with on his ensuing solo albums.
Ice Cube’s sophomore album Death Certificate redefined gangsta to millions of hip-hop heads. Ice Cube saw the death and destruction of the gang wars and the drug problems in Los Angeles, and saw how people had labeled it “gangsta”. Cube saw that and decided to use this “gangsta” mentality, the no-holds barred fighting spirit, as a way to effect change. Instead of gangbanging on our fellow brother, reasoned Cube, we should be standing up and challenging the government, instead. With songs like “Color Blind” trying to ease tension and foster unity between rival gangs, Ice Cube sought to unite those who had been labeled as “gangsta” under one roof. With this following, he was able to turn their gangbanging against each other to gangbanging on the establishment, redefining gangsta as a reaction to circumstance that forced its creation. Now, “gangsta” is what happened because of social problems, anger, and hopelessness. Ice Cube’s greatest song, “A Bird in the Hand”, perfectly captures the dilemma of so many youth during that era. The ghetto was ignored (and some say created) by the government, prompting many in those conditions to turn to illegal means as a way to support themselves and their families. Turning the old adage of “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” on its head, Ice Cube argues that the youth are better off with birds in their hand (aka kilos of coke) than they are with President Bush and his policies. One of Ice Cube’s contemporaries, 2pac, was perhaps the most glorified gangsta rapper ever, and was also a gangsta in the Ice Cube sense of the word. One of his most famous lines, “We got money for wars, but can’t feed the poor” continues to resonate, even to this day. “Changes”, “Keep Ya Head Up”, and “Brenda’s Got a Baby”, for example, all highlight society’s ills that are only amplified in the ghetto.
Through the words of rappers like 2pac and Ice Cube, “gangsta rap” transcended its own label of being about blunts and 40s and became another channel for people to voice their displeasure with the powers that be. So the next time someone asks you why you listen to that “West Coast gangsta rap” and they say it ain’t nothing but G thangs and gin and juice, proudly proclaim your love of gangsta rap, the REAL gangsta rap, the gangsta rap of Ice Cube, 2pac, N.W.A, and all those who have come after them.
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Upon first reading this article, I was blown away. In fact, as an editor for the site’s written products, I usually rearrange a few things here and there, but this, I felt no need to touch any of this.
I was particularly happy to see the mention of the Ice Cube and his importance to the West Coast. Perhaps known now more for his movies, Cube was a real revolutionary of the West coast in terms of hip hop, politics, and business. He, more than any others out of the coast, was truly the total package.
The article gives a great backing as to WHY West Coast hip hop is/was the way it is/was. Sure, we may claim it’s nothing but gang banging and violence, but essentially, aren’t there more than enough reasons for it to be so?
Great piece Freddie C. I feel the same way about Westcoast “Gangsta” Hip Hop. Ice Cube and 2pac are definetely more than just blunts, bitches, 40s, and thugging and so is Westcoast Hip Hop as well.
well put!!
I agree with Freddie. They weren’t trying to glorify anything per se, but to bring the things they go through to the attention to people who didn’t know. What he said kinda reminds me of the Vietnam War and how it was the first to have been extensively covered on TV. When Americans saw how horrific it was, they decided to act and try to end the war by protesting in large numbers. This is a similar case where they’re trying to get people’s attention so they can act.
Excellent article Freddie C …I can remember the 1st time I heard “boyz n the hood” I went bannaz because of the 808 bass and that began my history for the luv for the west coast…That day I brought NWA, EAZY E and a dude from Oakland named Too $hort..I was the 1st one in my neighborhood (Simple City aka Benning Height Projects..SE, DC) to cop these cassettes
These piece that was written brought back so many memories …Freddie C keep up the excellent work
Nice read Fred, keep it up, this is your week!
Thanks for the love everybody. I’m really proud of this piece, and I think it’s important that everyone sees that there’s always 2 sides to a story, and this story is important; not just in hip-hop, not just in music, but in our country’s history
Great piece. Gives great insight on why West Coast music is what it is. Good job.
J Rizzle….SE DC. NWA, Eazy E, Short Dog, were my introduction to west coast music.
wow im just amazed ive never actually took the time to think about gangsta rap in that way but its true, its saying ok when we wanna party we make smoke a blunt drink a 40 or 2 but if you dig below the surface of all of that its tellin the story of pain and struggle that you can only witness is you live in the ghetto. great job fred, as a west coast native im proud, keep doin ya thang
I totally agree with you Freddie C.
The piece was great
it boosted my love for Hip Hop even more.
Amazze piece. I just did a full out hip-hop journal [for a class] and I think ‘Cube/Death Certificate were all over that project. West Cost is full of controversy, but all the same it’s that ‘gang mentality’ that has brought a lot of socio-political issues to the forefront of society.
Freddie..
you know what, fam? its funny how I got you and Thomas mixed up in these two articles.. thing is that I read this article BEFORE I read the G-Funk blog lol. Seriously, you did your research on this right here very well.. well you know it very well, considering you live in NorCal, so this must’ve been a breeze to write. Tackling the history of west coast hiphop must’ve been a hard task to deliver.. there are some dope artists that came from out here like, Domino [with Ghetto Jam], TQ [They Never Saw Me Coming], Da Lench Mob, Spice-1, and plenty of others. But seriously, this is definitely a great read, and im glad that you added a lot of detail with the history of gang violence and police brutality. It’s still going on right now til this day, and I think that we are desensitized from it, because it becomes word of mouth.. then we’re lucky to see if it makes news.. even if it does, people will still continue to live their life as if nothing has happened. its crazy!
dont let me wander off topic! LOL. but seriously. This is one of the best pieces ive read in a long time, especially about where I’m from! Keep up the great work, Freddie!
Eric, funny enough, I doubt Fred did any research.
See, one of the best benefits of this site is how it’s world wide, but Fred represents the west coast sector heavily. He has a large frame of knowledge of his own, and why wouldn’t he? It’s what he grew up with.
This article was just natural to him and in fact, I probably had to cut him down a little bit. He was like a kid in a candy store with this week.
LOL, busted
Deez is right, I actually didn’t do any research at all for this. A lot of it is just what I’ve seen, experienced, etc. It kind of just came to me naturally, and I think it effectively captures how how a lot of West Coasters feel. I can’t tell ya’ll how good it feels to have fellow Cali heads tell me that this article hit it on the head. These comments right here remind me why I write. Thanks
Good article. People tend to forget that the “ganghsta rap” that originated at the end of the 80’s was still socially more relevant and way more intelligent than soft radio rap you hear nowadays. Artists like Cube and Pac adopted a threatening stance to be heard and respected but their lyrics were more similar to those of, say, Public Enemy, than those of a contemporary gangsta act like (I hate to say it) 50 Cent. People also tend to forget that before Death Row, Pac was a loose cannon veering towards the conscious: whereas on “Strictly” he was still defiant, he became a lot more introspective on “Me Against The World”. It’s only after hookin up with Suge that he started playing out the gangsta lifestyle that has come to be associated with gangsta rap (can you say “dollar bill”?). Before that, gangsta rap was less about trying to pose as some kind of Tony Montana and more about aggressively attacking social injustices like police brutality etc
Tommy, great point about Pac. I guess that’s why many feel that Me Against the World is his best album (I’ll tend to agree with that), but I question a lot of what Pac did on the Row. I’m not Pac’s biggest fan though.
Good article Freddie. And i agree the problems in the WEst are still going on here, but now the music speaking out against it is repressed by the media, who feed urban radio solely songs about popping champagne and clubbing, nothing about fighting to better your situation. I think this kind of gangsta rap has disappeared, at least from most of the public eye, because the strength of the media now. I mean, last week two men were killed at the taqueria at the end of my street, it was gang related, but it wasnt mentioned on the new yet they did tell us about a baby panda born at a zoo in detroit or something ridiculous that i cant remember. People think things are beter and while there’s been improvements, a lot of things are just covered up now.
It also goes back to rumors, don’t know if they are true, but that gangs, lik the crips, were started as a means for fighting for the rights of the community and then transformed into what they are today.
SOC4L – that’s right, the gangs were originally like a continuation of the Black Panthers. Of course, their original views and motivations became corrupted, and it all deteriorated into what it is today
crazy shit about the killings near you that get no coverage. It’s sad that these things get shoveled to the side as “more gang violence”. The West needs a revival, an anthem similar to Color Blind, something to shed more light on the problems going on. Just because it’s not as prevalent as it was in the 80s and 90s doesn’t mean it’s not a problem. And, like u said, instead of our protests getting radio play, we’re getting champagne and all that.
I’ve actually studied small parts of LA Gangs. But shit, even scholars know there are loads of Dark figures in there that we’d never know. It’s such a complex society though, and strangely corrupted to a point where the motives and morals are lost in the shuffle