Gangsta is literally "gangster rap", that's how the term is translated from English. This phenomenon is a kind of hip hop. In music of this style, the lyrics are connected exclusively with the life of poor neighborhoods, an openly criminal community.
Scary truth
Gangsta is a rhymed plot taken from the life of an African American ghetto. Many compositions turn into philosophical parables.
American teenagers memorize such “stories”. Street hooliganism, fatal showdowns, the death of loved ones and the charm of selling drugs - this is not a complete list of stories turning into quatrains and unpretentious refrains.
Unprintable vocabulary and slang of the African American population are abundantly used here. Rappers themselves are convinced that gangstas are aggressive (truthful) words that rightly scourge "rotten" American society, forgetting about afro-youth. In recitations of this kind, police brutality is also praised. For example, rapper Snoop Dogg claims that the terrible truth gives rise to vivid impressions of people, not allowing them to fall out of reality.
Start
Gangsta rap first appeared in the bustling depressed neighborhoods of "City of Angels." In its gateways and alleys, as a rule, the black population lives compactly. The founder of "street songs" is considered Ice-T. In the early 80s, on the Cold Wind Madness soundtrack, the rapper read the text for the first time about his unlucky youth. Four years later, the talent developed the theme. The track “Six in the moon”, famous in certain circles, appeared.
At the same time, hits of the "troubadour" of youth gangs of Skuli Di were born. Then, for the first time, Eric “Easy-E” Wright and his “team” NWA sounded on CDs. Their album “Niggaz Life” became the leader of the “Billboard Two” charts.
The East of America was “woken up” by its revelations “Boogie Down Production” and “Jesus Crew”. And yet their style, even now, is considered to be Los Angeles. The fact is that in New York gangsta songs have acquired several other features. In the 90s, Christopher Wallace (best known as Notorius BIG), as well as the “band of artists” organized by him, performed texts much more emotionally than rappers from the West. Because of this, they (as well as their followers) have become much more successful. Then their musical direction was borrowed by white musicians. The first to use it were Best Boys. As a result, by the end of the 90s it was possible to notice that the gangsta is a completely commercialized direction.
Aristocrats
Bands such as Jay-Z, P. Diddy and 50 Cents can be called part of American show business. Words acquired positive shades, some even glamorous. The problems of crime and tough satire on society have lost popularity. Their place was taken by odes to frivolous "gangsters" enjoying an aristocratic life. Some of the "street fighters" generally shouted in all the media - "the style is already dead."
Gangsta rap has exposed a confrontation that has matured in a hip-hop atmosphere. In the 1990s, a split was born in the field of this genre. Between rappers of East Coast and West Coast, contradictions arose that spilled over into an undeclared war. In spite of the glamorous "gangsta rappers" "Westerners", even becoming famous and wealthy, they still led an antisocial lifestyle. For example, Tupak Shakur already in adulthood many times was accused of shooting from hooligan motives. At the end of November 1994, bandits hired by competitors shot at him. That day he came to New York to record his next album.
War
The competition between the “Easterners” and “Westerners” was heated up by “injections” in the texts of the tracks. As a result, it turned into a gunshot war. The main leaders of the parties, Christopher Wallace and Tupac Shakur, died in the battles. After that, critics consider the genre "dead", and the work of its followers - "a miserable parody of the classics."
At the moment, gangsta rap, or rather, what is left of it, has broken through from the USA to the world. It is attractive to many musicians as a successful commercial project. After all, the same Snoop Dogg makes more money than any government official. A few years ago, the style in question captured Europe, including Russia.
Local features
In our country, gangsta music is very mixed with the popular hip-hop style - R'n'B. In Russia, “gangster couplets” are represented by the works of “Caste”, Moscow Crips Criminal Gang, Dirty Monk and many other groups singing the hard life of the city outskirts and the concept of the so-called real boys. There is even a gangsta rap version of the popular music format. We are talking about the texts of the artist Serega.
Residents of the United States of America are ambivalent about the work of gangsta rappers. Human rights organizations have always tried to ban their activities. At the same time, people from the lower classes, especially African-American, regard such rap as religion. Note that against this direction there were speeches from the side of African-Americans. Particularly successful pensioner Delores Tucker, who accused the rappers of absolutely all troubles. She filed a lawsuit against the relatives of the late Tupac, accusing him that one of his albums ruined her life.