I expect to get crucified for this, but would love it if you all had Broad enough minds not to. I stress this is one mans opinion of a musical genre. You may not agree with it and I respect, but please don't get personal.

Gangsta rap music and its lifestyle has been in fashion since the late 80s, over 25 years, why has it not run its time yet, surely by now people would want to move on.

I like some of the early stuff like NWA and Ice T, but since about 1992/93 its just been the same garbage like Snoop Doggy Dogg and Tupac rip offs (Those two and Biggie were okay) but in 1993/94 you had groups like Dayton Gang, Dogg Pound gangstas, cashmoneyclick etc (Well from a 1994 source magazine I found) and today you still have all these gangsta rappers.

If you look at themes from 94 like songs by Da Brat and Dogg Pound its the same shit as now, jeeps, rims, bling bling, ho's, drugs, alcohol, shooting people with gats. Nothing has changed sans the beepers changing to iphones and ipads.

And the cculture has crossed over to ghetto culture, names like Shaniqua and Boomshika are clearly derived out of late 1980s rap music (Shaniqua was a 1989 flop by Pimp singer Oran Juice Jones). This shit has got to run out of steam, its enough that even here most 12 and 13 year old kids want to be gangstas and imitate the swear word laden lyrics of songs by Gucci Mane, 50 cents and some of these other clowns, yet they can't spell their own name or talk about a book. One of my friends an English said about 8 of her kids at a low income school when asked to dicuss their favourite book, bought rap CD liner notes and discussed the literary merit of "Shooting motherfuckers from the roofs of trap houses" and crap like that.

The gangsta rap culture has led to an increase in youth crime, you still see tagging grafitti everywhere completely in the style of 1994.

My questions are

1. Why is this crap still stylish 20 -25 years later

2. Why does it suck in 10 -16 years so well?

As you know I think its the worst music ever to be made (After death metal) and if anything its set society back 25 years.

Angry kids will be around forever and they gotta listen to something.

I kinda forgot about it for a while until I saw the scuffle over Chief Keef getting dropped by Interscope around the time of Sandy Hook. He got put in jail for an interview with Pitchfork magazine (aka nerdy white music news online.) I wonder whose idea it was to interview a dude on probation at a shooting range.

Hmm this could get interesting..

But here's my

It's easy to call something "hood" or "ghetto" when you've never lived in one. For the people living in those types of conditions, it's normal for them. Dropping out of school at 16 to sell drugs and hang out on the street corner is a harsh REALITY for A LOT of our black males. Did you know that in New York public schools only a THIRD of black males graduate from high school? As a black male my heart aches for my race sometimes. That's a hell of a lot of our black brothers not getting a high school diploma and we all know you won't amout to anything if you didn't graduate high school. I really wish our country wasn't such a social heirarcy sometimes, but that's another issue entitely and I'm getting off topic lol.

About the "gangsta rap" culture: My belief is that as long as there are "gangstas" and gang bangers there will always be market for that type of music. Yes, that culture is glorified in rap music and you even have "studio gangers" (Rick Ross, anyone ) that don't make the issue better.

Why is it still popular? Because that type of life style is very real and it's praised in a way that it shouldn't be. Also, PEOPLE KEEP BUYING IT. Millions of dollars are made off CDs/Downloads/Concerts/TV Shows. Why would they discontinue something that makes so much money, even if it was at the expense of an entire race of people?

Terrib3Towel said:

Hmm this could get interesting..

But here's my

It's easy to call something "hood" or "ghetto" when you've never lived in one. For the people living in those types of conditions, it's normal for them. Dropping out of school at 16 to sell drugs and hang out on the street corner is a harsh REALITY for A LOT of our black males. Did you know that in New York public schools only a THIRD of black males graduate from high school? As a black male my heart aches for my race sometimes. That's a hell of a lot of our black brothers not getting a high school diploma and we all know you won't amout to anything if you didn't graduate high school. I really wish our country wasn't such a social heirarcy sometimes, but that's another issue entitely and I'm getting off topic lol.

About the "gangsta rap" culture: My belief is that as long as there are "gangstas" and gang bangers there will always be market for that type of music. Yes, that culture is glorified in rap music and you even have "studio gangers" (Rick Ross, anyone ) that don't make the issue better.

Why is it still popular? Because that type of life style is very real and it's praised in a way that it shouldn't be. Also, PEOPLE KEEP BUYING IT. Millions of dollars are made off CDs/Downloads/Concerts/TV Shows. Why would they discontinue something that makes so much money, even if it was at the expense of an entire race of people?

I think you got a lot of right Terrible

I think old school gangstar rap like N.W.A and Ice-T were cautionary tales more so than exploitation.

Once The Chronic, Comptons Most Wanted, DFC, Doggystyle etc. All came out it was pure exploitation and pushing towards the gangster lifestyle looking ''cool'' and ''dope'' other than it supposed to be tales of hey don't do this it moved to yeah do it you'll get paid and get all the bitches you may even get to smack them with no consequences!

And most of today's ''gangsta rappers'' are all fake fucks

Hell the guy who made it big Dr. Dreezy was a fake fuck so guess it fits.

It still has a market regardless of its authenticity like everything else has a market. Disco for instance still has a market if just niche. So it'll never be "out of fashion" so to speak.

Timmy84 said:

It still has a market regardless of its authenticity like everything else has a market. Disco for instance still has a market if just niche. So it'll never be "out of fashion" so to speak.

I can hear disco in tons of modern songs so that's very true

Just like i hear New Wave in tons of songs nowadays to or electro-pop.

There is still a market for all kinds of music regardless of what people have thought were ''out of style''

Timmy84 said:

It still has a market regardless of its authenticity like everything else has a market. Disco for instance still has a market if just niche. So it'll never be "out of fashion" so to speak.

Thank you.

I suspect we can look at industry economics as well.

I suspect it's cheaper to make so-called gangsta rap records.

As with blues, jazz, and rock before it, this particular subgenre has cachet with the American market. As much as I dig Jay-Z's work, why, as a middle-aged man, is he STILL referring to his history selling drugs years ago? Because it sells.

Its Sweet Sweetback/Shaft/Supefly era is over. It is well into its Avenging Disco Godfather exploitation phase.

And, I disagree slightly with Terrible. Gangsta has dominated music for a generation (those born the year Straight Outta Compton dropped are old enough to be in grad school). Now it influences the culture from which it came.

And it will dominate until the next musical revolution in that culture arrives.

Terrib3Towel said:

Hmm this could get interesting..

But here's my

Did you know that in New York public schools only a THIRD of black males graduate from high school? As a black male my heart aches for my race sometimes. That's a hell of a lot of our black brothers not getting a high school diploma and we all know you won't amout to anything if you didn't graduate high school. I really wish our country wasn't such a social heirarcy sometimes, but that's another issue entitely and I'm getting off topic lol.

NYC public schools suck.They are way too overcrowded.I didn't go to school the last 2 months of 8th grade in JHS and still got promoted to 9th grade and into Highschool.

I think JHS was telling me.It's too crowded,get the fuck out of here.

Because there are still gangsters and they have been romanticized by the media, public, etc at large.

BET

aardvark15 said:

BET

wrong cause all the white boys buying gangsta rap dont watch BET

I agree with you guys in some ways. I think a lack of education of many of its fans and participants is a reality, but its not always their fault, a lot of Teachers now are either overworked or there because they are just minding unteachable kids.

I blame unsuitable education systems, which are still geared to ensure higher rates of success amongst White and Asian students and marginalise Blacks and Hispanics in the USA and Maori and Pacific Islander. Here rates of high school achievement fro Maori and PI are way below those of everyone else. Our equivalent of 10th grade is Year 11 (Formerly Form 5), and Year 12 is 11th grade and Year 13 is 12th grade.

Our High schools go from Year 9 to Year 13 and school leaving age is 16, which is usually Year 11 or Year 12 with students born January to April (School years run February - December here). These years 11 to 13 its expected they do NCEA Level 1 to 3, they replaced School certificate, 6th form cert and UE in 2000, as the old system "Failed" half of its participants, but the new system divides each subject into modules worth a certain Number of credits, so your pass is based on how many credits you get. Subjects are worth 16 to 24 credits either internally or externally assessed and its expected that you

Get 80 Level 1 credits in Year 11

Get 60 -80 Level 2 in Year 12 and up to 20 Level 1

Get 60 in Level 3 at Year 13 and up to 40 in lower levels

Bright students in Year 12 and 13 can go for Level 3 and Level 4 which is scholarship and hard.

Its easy to pass with now 75% of students on average getting an "Achieved" (C grade Pass) or more. Only 25% get Not achieved, and of the ones who do about 25% get Achieved with Merit (B) or Achieved with Excellence (A).

I say this as most schools in low income areas and schools with high Maori and PI populations generally only steer their kids to get an Achieved, which really is very easy and indicates that the student is not trying. Even still NCEA Level 1 pass rates for Asians were over 90%, Whites about 78% yet for Pacific Islanders got 54% and Maori 47%.

And that by Year 13 over 70% of Polynesians have left school, whereas 96% of Asians are still there. Still its better than in 1991 when only 23% of Maori got School certificate in Year 11 and 19% of Islanders compared to 61% of whites (Asians were not statiscised separately until 1996).

Less than 5% of Maori and Islanders tried scholarship and of these only 1% got it, compared to 23% of non Polynesian students. Either Polynesians are very dumb or the education system is still failing them, I believe the latter, so of my Island students are amongst the brightest kids I have ever met.

I mention all of this Polynesians and Maoris are the biggest rap fans, I am always taking Ipods and phones off them in class, they are surrounded by this music everywhere, most record shops have rap CD covers photocopied, and you have to go up to the counter to get the album due to the albums being stolen by Pacific Island teenagers. No other genre except sexualised R and B had this problem (No one is stealing Rammstein or Maroon 5 albums).

Also their attitude to education sucks and this is kind of promoted by rap lyrics that encourage rebellion and glorify crime, we have drive by shootings now and its always Islanders or Maoris involved. We have gangs like Cash Money Hos, Respect Drugs Crew and all this other shit, they sell P (Our name for meth) and if you drive any where and get stopped at lights, some cretin will be blasting some rap music loud and all you will hear is "Fuck, nigger, bitch" every second word"

Thats why I believe education needs to step up to the mark, plus that these people are much more violent, domestic abuse rates and child abuse amongst Maoris and Islanders are way above everyone else. Maori make up 12% of the population but 55% of all inmates.

These people have short cruel lives, poor education, live in ghettoes and listen to this garbage, you see a liquor store on every corner, shops boarded up and covered with graffiti covered roller doors every night. Its the reality described in these rap songs, having a 4wd with rims and gold chains is a dream. $2 Shops have Tupac rugs on display. Its horrible, this ain't Compton, its south Auckland.

rdhull said:

aardvark15 said:

BET

wrong cause all the white boys buying gangsta rap dont watch BET

The percentage of white people listening to rap is slowly dying, they're moving on to shit rock.

aardvark15 said:

rdhull said:

wrong cause all the white boys buying gangsta rap dont watch BET

The percentage of white people listening to rap is slowly dying, they're moving on to shit rock.

my point is still revelant

rdhull said:

aardvark15 said:

The percentage of white people listening to rap is slowly dying, they're moving on to shit rock.

my point is still revelant

True. But BET still promotes gangsta rap to it's target audience. It's a buisness

aardvark15 said:

rdhull said:

my point is still revelant

True.

I know.

I gotta disgaree with you a little bit. While there is still thug and gangsta imagery in a lot of current hip-hop (I use that term loosely), the stuff that was true gangsta rap died along with Tupac and Biggie. The stuff that's popular now is derived from the whole high lifestyle/bling bling attitude that came out of hip-hop during the late 1990's. It's still a whole bunch of "I'm awesome, and you're a bunch of haters" stuff except it's set to a bunch of generic beats and Casio keybord meloides, if there are any.

The gangsta style of rap is NOT in fashion. Curtis "50Cent" Jackson was THE last ever true gangsta rapper. Gangsta rap died after that.

That crap that Lil'Wayne.....oops, I mean Lil'Wendy is doing is shit-hop/r&b (rhythmless bullshit). And that Illuminati ho Nicki Minaj has switch to EDM & dance-pop.

TonyVanDam said:

The gangsta style of rap is NOT in fashion. Curtis "50Cent" Jackson was THE last ever true gangsta rapper. Gangsta rap died after that.

That crap that Lil'Wayne.....oops, I mean Lil'Wendy is doing is shit-hop/r&b (rhythmless bullshit). And that Illuminati ho Nicki Minaj has switch to EDM & dance-pop.

Lil Wayne stopped trying with the gangsta thing after he got found out

He was a regular rapper then after a few albums he decided he used to sell coke and gang bang

Gangsta Rap, as it was known in the 90s is gone. What you here now is "Trap Rap."

The likes of Mobb Deep, Spice 1, Eightball & MJG, Trick Daddy, Boot Camp Click are no longer relevant and have made way for Chief Keef, Furure, Meek Mill, ect.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Gangsta Rap, as it was known in the 90s is gone. What you here now is "Trap Rap."

The likes of Mobb Deep, Spice 1, Eightball & MJG, Trick Daddy, Boot Camp Click are no longer relevant and have made way for Chief Keef, Furure, Meek Mill, ect.

mjscarousal said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Gangsta Rap, as it was known in the 90s is gone. What you here now is "Trap Rap."

The likes of Mobb Deep, Spice 1, Eightball & MJG, Trick Daddy, Boot Camp Click are no longer relevant and have made way for Chief Keef, Furure, Meek Mill, ect.

And they're not very lyrical.

at least those guys told horrific stories in their raps. Listen to some Spice 1 or old Geto Boyz and tell me that shit don't sound real.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

mjscarousal said:

And they're not very lyrical.

at least those guys told horrific stories in their raps. Listen to some Spice 1 or old Geto Boyz and tell me that shit don't sound real.

Preach It!!!!

There's some gansta rap I like, I'll admit it.

But can we PLEASE stop acting like it was "better" just because it was in the 90s. It still promoted buffoonery.

There was some good gangsta rap in the 90's that were cautionary tales as mentioned.

But most even with some of the great like B.I.G & ESPECIALLY 2Pac glamorized the lifestyle more than anyone.

It's still sad that even though Pac and B.I.G were killed a lot of people still don't get it. The usual reaction i hear from people is ''He got done in by the man! keep fucking with the man'' or.. ''Pac & B.I.G went out like soldiers! true gangstas for life''

THE REASON WHY GANSTA RAP IS STILL PREVALENT IS BECAUSE WHITE RACIST RECORD EXEC KNOW THAT BLACK MEN AND WOMAN CAN NOT MAKE A PROPER DISTINCTION BWT GOOD HIP HOP THAT LIFTS YOUR SPIRITS AND BAD HIP HOP THAT THAT EXPLOIT YOUR OPPRESSION.

jackson35 said:

THE REASON WHY GANSTA RAP IS STILL PREVALENT IS BECAUSE WHITE RACIST RECORD EXEC KNOW THAT BLACK MEN AND WOMAN CAN NOT MAKE A PROPER DISTINCTION BWT GOOD HIP HOP THAT LIFTS YOUR SPIRITS AND BAD HIP HOP THAT THAT EXPLOIT YOUR OPPRESSION.

Gunsnhalen said:

TonyVanDam said:

The gangsta style of rap is NOT in fashion. Curtis "50Cent" Jackson was THE last ever true gangsta rapper. Gangsta rap died after that.

That crap that Lil'Wayne.....oops, I mean Lil'Wendy is doing is shit-hop/r&b (rhythmless bullshit). And that Illuminati ho Nicki Minaj has switch to EDM & dance-pop.

Lil Wayne stopped trying with the gangsta thing after he got found out

He was a regular rapper then after a few albums he decided he used to sell coke and gang bang

Oh good grief.

Terrib3Towel said:

There's some gansta rap I like, I'll admit it.

But can we PLEASE stop acting like it was "better" just because it was in the 90s. It still promoted buffoonery.

Excuse you, but Bloods & Crips were THE only true gangstas rappers that actually did plenty of dirt.

Remember?!?

Adorecream said:

I expect to get crucified for this, but would love it if you all had Broad enough minds not to. I stress this is one mans opinion of a musical genre. You may not agree with it and I respect, but please don't get personal.

No need to be worried about whether if they like what you have to say or not. Speak your mind boldly, be proud of it, and if they don't like it, they can kiss your ass.

As for the reason it's still in style, that's because there are bunch of dull dead asses out there who have no damn taste. It's not their fault though because they've been raised their entire lives on the bullshit with no style changes in music like we used to have.