The Culture Of Gangsta Rap Essay

Gangsta rap is a very specific musical genre that has its distinctive features, and all the songs created in this genre can be easily detected but not as easily understood by society.

People who create their music in gangsta rap genre are very often considered to be hooligans or real criminals. Of course, according to Holtzman & Sharpe (2014), this attitude to this music and its representatives is based on the fact that public opinion is stereotyped because an attitude of the American society to the genre was controversial in the past and is the same even nowadays. Moreover, Kubrin (2005) stated that both the state as well as American statesmen and public human rights organizations tried to put the genre under their pressure.

Analyzing gangsta rap songs and their texts, it is seen that all of them are aimed at the depiction of the life of ordinary people who are limited by their living conditions and the absence of money. In other words, Quinn (2005) noted that gangsta rappers’ texts are dedicated to the hard life in the African-American ghetto, including street hooliganism, robbery and drug trafficking. A specific characteristic of these texts, according to Keyes (2002) can be seen in the use of abundantly obscenities and African-American slang. Dwelling on the texts (and the features they have in common) more deeply, it becomes obvious that these texts are a kind of a satire on contemporary society and attempt to open the eyes of ordinary people to the problems of youth: drug addiction, crime, police brutality.

In conclusion, making a short analysis of gangsta rap songs, it was found that songs of this genre address social problems in unique way because many (almost all songs) are created in rather specific way and full of brutal words and their combinations but human life is not always beautiful and gangsta rappers present their views in rather emotional form. They just tell people the brutal truth and beat on people’s emotions, presenting a real life picture, which shows the underside of the person.

 

References:

Holtzman, L. & Sharpe, L. (2014). Media messages: What film, television, and popular music teach us about race, class, gender, and sexual orientation. (2nd ed.) Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.

Keyes, C. (2002). Rap Music and Street Consciousness. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.

Kubrin, C. (2005). Gangstas, Thugs, and Hustlas: Identity and the Code of the Street in Rap Music. Social Problems, 52 (3), pp. 360–378.

Quinn, E. (2005). Nuthin’ but a “G” Thang: The Culture and Commerce of Gangsta Rap. Columbia University Press.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]
close
Haven't found the right essay?
Get an expert to write you the one you need!
print

Professional writers and researchers

quotes

Sources and citation are provided

clock

3 hour delivery

person