I still hear "gangsta rap" being discussed and talked about, and seemingly people still think it is an exciting new topic, or that pointing out that it is misogynist or violent is a startling new revelation. This annoys me. It annoys me because "gangsta rap" is now almost twenty years old, and the reaction to it, both in hip hop culture, and in the larger culture, has been going on just as long. To frame further discussion, we have to frame what exactly "gangsta rap" is, and perhaps what it is not.
The discussion is compounded by the fact that any discussion of rap music, or any art form created by a less dominant culture, is tinged with the question of projection. That is, the dominant "white" culture has its own self image, and thus chooses to project its shadow and/or anima on to the less dominant culture's art forms. An entire discussion of this is outside the scope of this node, but it should be kept in mind that many attitudes towards hip-hop are colored by projection.
The wuwu being out of the way, let us discuss the different levels of "gangsta" and how they may be viewed from within hip hop culture.
- All rap and hip-hop music is intrinsically violent, anti-human, misogynist, materialistic and self-destructive. A belief that, although not stated, is held, perhaps subconsciously, by a large number of people. Sometimes groups or rappers that intentionally keep a "clean" profile (such as Will Smith or Arrested Development) are given a pass, but it is assumed that most rap or hip-hop music is violent by nature. I think most people willing to pay attention to hip-hop would say that there is nothing inherently violent about using percussion and rhyme as your major musical tools.
- Rappers become "gangsta" when they talk about violence, even if in only a metaphorical way. This is a tricky thing for outsiders to understand at first, but one of the central aspects of the hip-hop culture is competition, and that competition is often phrased in metaphors of violence. So, for example, when the Genius rhymes "doing artists in like Cain did Abel", he is not literally talking about stabbing people to death, but rather about defeating his opponent with his stylistic prowess. Likewise, when Opio from Hieroglyphics raps
"If you fencing with these you get stabbed in the heart
Me, I'm like the Highlander
Tapping the soul of my enemies, capturing their energies"
the listener should understand that Opio is not really an immortal Scottish energy vampire. In hip-hop culture, this metaphorically violence is understood to be only metaphorical, but this can cause confusion to those not used to this cultural pattern.
- The next level is the first level that people actually inside hip-hop culture will start to have debates about. That is the difference between hardcore hip-hop and gangsta rap. Hardcore hip-hop is music about the streets, which seeks to reveal and talk about the realities of Urban America. Hardcore hip-hop can run the range from political, conscious rapping to sordid, unapologetic street tales. Public Enemy and Boogie Down Productions are considered to be two golden age hardcore groups, although almost no hip-hop fan would call them a gangsta rap group. More ambiguous are later hardcore artists, such as Mobb Deep, Nas and The Wu Tang Clan. Most hip-hop fans would say that these artists were influenced by the years when gangsta rap was prominent, but are not themselves gangsta. Part of this has to do with the fact that most of these artists portray violence as a grim, terrible thing, and are somewhat repentant about both their real or theatrical violence. However, some hip-hop fans, and many people in the more dominant culture, would not hesitate to call this type of rap "gangsta".
- Finally, we get to what almost everyone, including those involved, would clearly consider "gangsta rap": groups from Southern California, from the late 80s to early 90s, most of whom were closely related to each other and shared a musical style. Most of these groups were descended from the seminal group NWA, and were signed to either Ruthless or Death Row Records. These include Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Ice T, Easy E, Snoop Dogg, and later Nate Dogg, Warren G and Tupac Shakur. It should be noted that in hip-hop circles, "gangsta rap" is not known so much for its subject matter, but for its sound, which is much more melodic and hook driven than hardcore hip-hop. Indeed, the lyrical content from "gangsta rap" is often much more light than hardcore hip-hop. For example, consider the chorus for Snoop Dogg's "Gin n Juice".
Rollin down the street, smokin indo, sippin on gin and juice
Laid back
Note that while it isn't a good idea to drive a motor vehicle while smoking pot and drinking alcohol, it certainly doesn't compare with grimness with, say, (at random), Nas on "Small World".
Enter your brain through your skull
Another thug dies
Picture your soul into the infinite black hole
Where many souls go cuz of a fo' fo' blast
Nas' vocals and music are also much grimmer than the average West Coast rapper. Thus, "gangsta rap" is known in hip-hop circles for being both lighter musically and lyrically than hardcore hip-hop. The major point of course, is that this style of music is what is considered universally to be gangsta rap.
There are many other contributing factors to whether a particular artist can be considered "gangsta". Some totally innocent artists may have a following of actual "gangstas", and may unfortunately have fights or shootings break out at their show, harming their reputation. Some artists that are not particularly lyrically or musically hard may have actual past or present ties to organized crime. Another factor is the fact that rap can be very ambiguous. Because coming out and preaching against violence may not be the most effective, some rappers deal with it by giving morality tales that may either glamorize or condone violence, depending on your viewpoint.
The most important thing is to think about what you are labelling and why. I have given a level of four distinctions, from what is considered certainly gangsta rap to what only the most blind person would call gangsta rap. This will aid you in further discussions.