Gangsta is the music of gangsters

Gangsta is literally a "gangster rap", that's how the term is translated from English. This phenomenon is a kind of hip-hop. In the music of this style, the texts are associated exclusively with the life of poor neighborhoods, a frankly criminal community.

The terrible truth

Gangsta is a rhymed plot taken from the life of an African-American ghetto. Many compositions turn into philosophical parables. American teenagers learn these "stories" by heart. Hooliganism in the street, fateful disassembly, the death of loved ones and the delights of selling drugs - that's far from a complete list of stories that turn into quatrains and simple refrains.

Here, the unprintable vocabulary and slang of the African-American population are abundantly applied. The rappers themselves believe that gangstas are aggressive (truthful) words that rightly scandalize the "rotten" American society, forgetting about the Afrom youth. In recitatives of this kind, the cruelty of the police is also glorified. For example, rapper Snoop Dog says 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 noisy depressive quarters of the "City of Angels". In its gates and alleys, as a rule, the black population lives compactly. The founder of "street songs" is the Ice-T. In the early 80's on the soundtrack of Cold Wind Madness rapper first read a text about his neputevuyu youth. Within four years, the talent developed the theme. There was a well-known in certain circles track "Six In Je moning".

At the same time the hits of the troubadour of the youth gangs Skuli Dee were born. At the same time Eric "Izi-I" Wright and his "brigade" NWA sounded for the first time on CDs. Their album "Niggaz Life" became the leader of the hit-parade "Billboard Two hundred".

The East of America was "awakened" with its revelations "Bugi Down Productions" and "Dzhus Cru". And yet their style is even now 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 "gang of artists" organized by him, performed the lyrics much more emotionally than rappers from the West. Because of this, they (as well as their followers) have become much more successful. At the same time, their musical direction was also borrowed by white musicians. The first to use it was "Run the Boys". As a result, by the end of the 90's it was possible to notice that the gangsta is a completely commercialized direction.

Aristocrats

Groups such as Jay-Z, P. Diddy and 50 Cents can be called a part of American show business. The words acquired positive shades, some even glamorous. Problems of crime and a tough satire on society lost popularity. Their place was occupied by the odes of frivolous "gangsters," enjoying aristocratic life. Some of the "street fighters" generally shouted in all the media - "the style is already dead."

Gangsta Rap uncovered a rivalry in the atmosphere of hip-hop. In the 1990s, a split was born in this genre. Between the rappers of the East Coast and the West Coast there were contradictions, which spilled over into an undeclared war. To spite glamorous "gangsta rappers", "Westerners", even becoming well-known and wealthy, still led an antisocial way of life. For example, Tupac Shakur, already in adulthood, was accused many times of firing from hooligan motives. In late November 1994, he was shot at by bandits hired by competitors. On that day, he came to New York to record his next album.

War

The competition of "Easterners" and "Westerners" was heated with "jabs" in the lyrics of the tracks. As a result, it turned into a gunshot war. In the battles, the main leaders of the parties - Christopher Wallace and Tupac Shakur - perished. After this critics consider the genre "dead", and the creativity of his followers - "a pitiful parody of the classics."

At the moment, a gangsta rap, or, rather, what was left of it, broke out of the United States into the world. To many musicians, he is attractive as a successful commercial project. After all, the same Snoop Dogg earns more money than any state official. A few years ago the style in question was taken over by Europe, including Russia.

Local Features

In our country, gangsta music is strongly mixed with the popular hip-hop style - R'n'B. In Russia, the "couplets of gangsters" are represented by the work of "Caste", Moscow Crips Criminal Gang, Dirty Monk and many other groups celebrating the hard life of the city's outskirts and the concept of so-called real boys. There is even a version of the gangsta rap of the popular music format. It's about the lyrics of the singer 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, refer to such rap as to religion. Note that against this direction there were performances by African Americans. Especially successful pensioner Delores Tucker, who accused the rappers of absolutely all the troubles. She filed a lawsuit against the relatives of the deceased Tupac, accusing him of the fact that one of his albums spoiled her life.