Gangsta Rappers

Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, emerged in the mid- to late 1980s as a controversial hip-hop subgenre whose lyrics assert the culture and values typical of American street gangs and street hustlers. Many gangsta rappers flaunt associations with real street gangs, like the Crips and Bloods. Gangsta rap's pioneers Ice-T in 1986, and especially N.W.A in 1988 and the rise of Tupac Amaru Shakur in 1992. In 1992, via record producer Dr. Dre, rapper Snoop Dogg, and their G-funk sound, gangsta rap took the rap genre's lead and became mainstream, popular music.

Gangsta rap has been recurrently accused of promoting disorderly conduct and broad criminality, especially assault, homicide, and drug dealing, as well as misogyny, promiscuity, and materialism. Gangsta rap's defenders have variously characterized it as artistic depictions but not literal endorsements of real life in American ghettos, or suggested that some lyrics voice rage against social oppression or police brutality, and have often accused critics of hypocrisy and racial bias. Still, gangsta rap has been assailed even by some black public figures, including Spike Lee, pastor Calvin Butts and activist C. Delores Tucker.

1985–1988: Origins and early years

Schoolly D and Ice-T

Philadelphia rapper Schoolly D is generally considered the first "gangsta rapper" or one of the first "gangsta rappers", significantly influencing the more popular early gangsta rap originator, Ice-T. Ice-T was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1958. As a teenager, he moved to Los Angeles where he rose to prominence in the West Coast hip hop scene. In 1986, Ice-T released "6 in the Mornin'", which is regarded as one of the first gangsta rap songs. Ice-T had been MCing since the early '80s, but first turned to gangsta rap themes after being influenced by Philadelphia rapper Schoolly D and his 1985 album ''Schoolly D''. In an interview with PROPS magazine, Ice-T said:

:Here's the exact chronological order of what really went down: The first record that came out along those lines was Schoolly D's " P.S.K." Then the syncopation of that rap was used by me when I made "6 in the Mornin'". The vocal delivery was the same: ' ... P.S.K. is makin' that green', ' ... six in the morning, police at my door'. When I heard that record I was like "Oh shit!" and call it a bite or what you will but I dug that record. My record didn't sound like P.S.K., but I liked the way he was flowing with it. P.S.K. was talking about Park Side Killers but it was very vague. That was the only difference, when Schoolly did it, it was "... one by one, I'm knockin' em out." All he did was represent a gang on his record. I took that and wrote a record about guns, beating people down and all that with "6 in the Mornin'". At the same time my single came out, Boogie Down Productions hit with '' Criminal Minded'', which was a gangster-based album. It wasn't about messages or "You Must Learn", it was about gangsterism.

In 2011, Ice-T repeated in his autobiography that Schoolly D was his inspiration for gangsta rap. Ice-T continued to release gangsta albums for the remainder of the 1980s: ''Rhyme Pays'' in 1987, ''Power'' in 1988 and '' The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech...Just Watch What You Say'' in 1989. Ice-T's lyrics also contained strong political commentary, and often played the line between glorifying the gangsta lifestyle and criticizing it as a no-win situation.

Schoolly D's debut album, ''Schoolly D'', and especially the song " P.S.K. What Does It Mean?", would heavily influence not only Ice-T, but also Eazy-E and N.W.A (most notably in the song "Boyz-n-the-Hood") as well as the Beastie Boys on their seminal hardcore hip hop inspired album ''Licensed to Ill'' (1986).

Boogie Down Productions

Boogie Down Productions released their first single, "Say No Brother (Crack Attack Don't Do It)", in 1986. It was followed by "South-Bronx/P is Free" and "9mm Goes Bang" in the same year. The latter is the most gangsta-themed song of the three; in it, KRS-One boasts about shooting a crack dealer and his posse to death (in self-defense). The album '' Criminal Minded'' followed in 1987, and was the first rap album to have firearms on its cover. Shortly after the release of this album, BDP's DJ, Scott LaRock was shot and killed. After this, BDP's subsequent records were more focused with the inadequate rationale removed.

Other early influences

The New York-based Run-DMC and LL Cool J, though originating prior to the establishment of "gangsta rap" as a cohesive genre, were influential in the formation of gangsta rap, often producing early aggressive hardcore hip hop songs and being among the first rappers to dress in gang-like street clothing. The seminal Long Island-based group Public Enemy featured aggressive, politically charged lyrics, which had an especially strong influence on gangsta rappers such as Ice Cube. The duo Eric B. & Rakim would further influence gangsta rap with aggressive, street-oriented raps, especially on the 1987 album '' Paid In Full''.

The hip hop group Beastie Boys also influenced the gangsta rap genre with their 1986 album ''Licensed to Ill'', with an early reference to being a "gangster" mentioned in the song "Slow Ride". In 1986, the Los Angeles-based group C.I.A. (consisting of Ice Cube, K-Dee, Sir Jinks) rapped over the Beastie Boys' tracks for songs such as "My Posse" and "Ill-Legal", and the Beastie Boys' influence can be seen significantly in N.W.A's early albums. The Beastie Boys had started out as a hardcore punk band, but after introduction to producer Rick Rubin and the exit of Kate Schellenbach they became a hip hop group. According to ''Rolling Stone'' Magazine, the Beastie Boys' 1986 album ''Licensed to Ill'' is "filled with enough references to guns, drugs and empty sex (including the pornographic deployment of a Wiffleball bat in "Paul Revere") to qualify as a gangsta-rap cornerstone."

1988–1995: Golden age

N.W.A. And Ice Cube

The first blockbuster gangsta rap album was N.W.A's ''Straight Outta Compton'', released in 1988. ''Straight Outta Compton'' established West Coast hip hop as a vital genre, and establish Los Angeles as a legitimate rival to hip hop's long-time capital, New York City. ''Straight Outta Compton'' sparked the first major controversy regarding hip hop lyrics when their song "Fuck tha Police" earned a letter from FBI Assistant Director, Milt Ahlerich, strongly expressing law enforcement's resentment of the song. Due to the influence of Ice-T, N.W.A, and Ice Cube's early solo career, gangsta rap is often somewhat erroneously credited as being a mostly West Coast phenomenon, despite the contributions of East Coast acts like Boogie Down Productions in shaping the genre and despite Philadelphia rapper Schoolly D being generally regarded as the first gangsta rapper.

In the early 1990s, former N.W.A member Ice Cube would further influence gangsta rap with his hardcore, socio-political solo albums, which suggested the potential of gangsta rap as a political medium to give voice to inner-city youth. Ice Cube's early solo albums and EPs, including '' AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted'' (1990), ''Death Certificate'' (1991), the ''Kill at Will'' EP (1991) and '' The Predator'' (1992) all contributed significantly to the development of gangsta rap. N.W.A's second album, '' Efil4zaggin'' (1991) (released after Ice Cube's departure from the group), broke ground as the first gangsta rap album to reach #1 on the Billboard pop charts.

West, East and South

Aside from N.W.A and Ice-T, Too Short (from Oakland, California), Kid Frost and the South Gate-based Latino group Cypress Hill were pioneering West Coast rappers with gangsta rap songs and themes. Above the Law also played an important role in the gangsta rap movement, as their 1990 debut album '' Livin' Like Hustlers'', as well as their guest appearance on N.W.A's 1991 ''Efil4zaggin'', foreshadowed the dominance of the genre in 1990s starting with Dr. Dre's ''The Chronic''.

East Coast hardcore rappers like Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick and EPMD also reflected the trend in hip-hop music in the late 1980s towards hard-hitting, angry, aggressive, and politically conscious lyrics, revolving around crime, violence, poverty, war and gunplay.

The Houston-based group known as the Geto Boys came out around the late 1980s and made songs containing both gangsta themes of crime and violence. Early 90s, the Geto Boys gained Top 40 hit "Mind Playing Tricks On Me". The group notably released gangsta song "Scarface", a track centered on selling cocaine and killing rival gang members. The Geto Boys are also known for being the first rap group to sample from the movie '' Scarface'', a film which became the basis for various mafioso rap samples in the 1990s. Furthermore, the Geto Boys, along with Jam Master J's and Erick Sermon's group Flatlinerz and Prince Paul's and RZA's group Gravediggaz, are often cited as pioneers of "horrorcore" rap, a transgressive and abrasive subgenre of hardcore rap or gangsta rap which focuses on common horror themes, such as the supernatural and the occult, often with gothic or macabre lyrics, satanic imagery and slasher film or splatter film-like violence.

Ice-T's solo career

Ice-T released one of the seminal albums of the genre, '' OG: Original Gangster'' in 1991. It also contained a song by his new thrash metal group Body Count, who released a self-titled album in 1992. Particular controversy surrounded one of its songs " Cop Killer". The rock song was intended to speak from the viewpoint of a police target seeking revenge on racist, brutal cops. Ice-T's rock song gained controversy, with observers ranging from President George H.W Bush and his Vice President Dan Quayle, the National Rifle Association, police organizations across the nation to various police advocacy groups. Consequently, Time Warner Music refused to release Ice-T's upcoming album ''Home Invasion'' and dropped Ice-T from the label. Ice-T suggested that the furor over the song was an overreaction, telling journalist Chuck Philips "... they've done movies about nurse killers and teacher killers and student killers. Arnold Schwarzenegger blew away dozens of cops as the Terminator. But I don't hear anybody complaining about that." In the same interview, Ice-T suggested to Philips that the misunderstanding of "Cop Killer", the misclassification of it as a rap song (rather than a rock song), and the attempts to censor it had racial overtones: "The Supreme Court says it's OK for a white man to burn a cross in public. But nobody wants a black man to write a record about a cop killer."

Ice-T's next album, ''Home Invasion'', was postponed as a result of the controversy, and was finally released in 1993. While it contained gangsta elements, it was his most political album to date. After a proposed censoring of the ''Home Invasion'' album cover art, he left Warner Bros. Records. Ice-T's subsequent releases went back to straightforward gangsta rap, but were not as popular as his earlier releases.

G-funk and Death Row Records

In 1992, former N.W.A member Dr. Dre released ''The Chronic'', a massive seller (eventually going triple platinum) which showed that explicit gangsta rap could hold as much mass commercial appeal as the pop-oriented rap styles of MC Hammer, The Fresh Prince and Tone Lōc. The album established the dominance of West Coast gangsta rap and Dre's new post-N.W.A label, Death Row Records (owned by Dr. Dre along with Marion "Suge" Knight), as Dre's album showcased a stable of promising new Death Row rappers. The album also popularized the subgenre of G-funk, a slow, drawled form of hip hop that dominated the rap charts for some time.

Extensively sampling P-Funk bands, especially Parliament and Funkadelic, G-funk was multi-layered, yet simple and easy to dance to. The simple message of its lyrics, that life's problems could be overcome by guns, alcohol and marijuana, endeared it to a teenage audience. The single "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" became a crossover hit, with its humorous, ''House Party''-influenced video becoming an MTV staple despite that network's historic orientation towards rock music.

Another success was Ice Cube's ''Predator'' album, released at about the same time as ''The Chronic'' in 1992. It sold over 5 million copies and was #1 in the charts, propelled by the hit single "It Was a Good Day", despite the fact that Ice Cube was not a Death Row artist. One of the genre's biggest crossover stars was Dre's protégé Snoop Doggy Dogg (''Doggystyle''), whose exuberant, party-oriented themes made songs such as " Gin and Juice" club anthems and top hits nationwide. In 1996, 2Pac signed with Death Row and released the multi-platinum double album ''All Eyez on Me''. Not long afterward, his murder brought gangsta rap into the national headlines and propelled his posthumous '' The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory'' album (released under the alias "Makaveli") to the top of the charts. Warren G and Nate Dogg were other musicians at the forefront of G-funk. Successful G-funk influenced artists also included Spice 1, MC Eiht and MC Ren, all of them reaching decent positions on the Billboard 100, in spite of not being associated with Death Row.

Mafioso rap

Mafioso rap is a hardcore hip hop subgenre founded by Kool G Rap in the late 1980s. East Coast mafioso rap was partially the counterpart of West Coast G-funk rap. Mafioso rap is characterized by references to famous mobsters and mafiosi, racketeering and organized crime (particularly the Sicilian Mafia, the Italian-American Mafia, African-American organized crime, and Latin American organized crime or drug cartels). Though a significant amount of mafioso rap was grittier and more street-oriented, focusing on street-level organized crime, other mafioso rap artists frequently focused on lavish, self-indulgent, materialistic, and luxurious subject matter associated with crime bosses and high-level mobsters, such as expensive drugs, cars, and champagne. Though the genre died down for several years, it re-emerged in 1995 when Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon released his critically acclaimed solo album, '' Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...'' That year also saw the release of '' Doe or Die'' by Nas' protégé AZ and the release of the album ''4,5,6'' by subgenre originator Kool G Rap. His album featured other mafioso rap artists, including MF Grimm, Nas, and B-1. These three albums brought the genre to mainstream recognition, and inspired other East Coast artists, such as Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G., and Nas to adopt the same themes with their albums ''Reasonable Doubt'', '' Life After Death,'' and ''It Was Written'', respectively.

East Coast gangsta rap was popular by the late 1990s, and there were more modern mafioso rap albums such as Ghostface Killah's '' Fishscale'', Jay-Z's '' American Gangster,'' and Raekwon's '' Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II''. Many rappers, such as Conejo, Mr Criminal, T.I., Rick Ross, Fabolous, Jadakiss, Jim Jones, and Cassidy have maintained popularity with lyrics about self-centered urban criminal lifestyles or "hustling". Lil' Kim's mafioso album ''La Bella Mafia'', released in 2003, was a commercial success, receiving platinum certification. In 2020, Belgian rapper CHG Unfadable released the mafioso rap album ''Lifestyle'' featuring Kool G Rap, AZ, and the first Italian-American mob rapper, The Shark. After a long slump in the popularity of mafioso rap, music collective Griselda re-popularised nostalgic mafioso rap and the boom-bap rap style of the '80s and '90s with artists such as Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, Benny the Butcher, and Daringer.

East Coast hardcore hip hop and the East Coast–West Coast feud

Meanwhile, rappers from New York City, such as Wu-Tang Clan, Black Moon and Boot Camp Clik, Onyx, Big L, Mobb Deep, Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., DMX and The LOX, among others, pioneered a grittier sound known as hardcore hip hop. In 1994, both Nas and The Notorious B.I.G. released their debut albums ''Illmatic'' (April 19) and ''Ready to Die'' (September 13) respectively, which paved the way for New York City to take back dominance from the West Coast. In an interview for ''The Independent'' in 1994, the Wu-Tang Clan's GZA commented on the term "gangsta rap" and its association with his group's music and hip hop at the time:

It is widely speculated that the ensuing "East/West" battle between Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records resulted in the deaths of Death Row Records' 2Pac (who was 25 years old) and Bad Boy Records' The Notorious B.I.G. (who was 24 years old). Even before the murders, Death Row had begun to unravel, as co-founder Dr. Dre had left earlier in 1996; in the aftermath of 2Pac's death, label owner Suge Knight was sentenced to prison for a parole violation, and Death Row proceeded to sink quickly as most of its remaining artists, including Snoop Dogg, left. Dr. Dre, at the MTV Video Music Awards, claimed that "gangsta rap was dead". While Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Entertainment fared better than its West Coast rival, it eventually began to lose popularity and support by the end of the decade, due to its pursuit of a more mainstream sound, as well as challenges from Atlanta and New Orleans-based labels, especially, Master P's No Limit stable of popular rappers.

Southern and Midwest gangsta rap

Houston first came on to the national scene in the late 1980s with the violent and disturbing stories told by the Geto Boys, with member Scarface achieving major solo success in the mid-1990s. After the deaths of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls and the media attention the murders generated, gangsta rap became an even greater commercial force. However, most of the industry's major labels were in turmoil, bankrupt, or creatively stagnant, and new labels representing the rap scenes in new locations sprang up.

Master P's No Limit Records label, based out of New Orleans, became quite popular in the late 1990s, though critical success was very scarce, with the exceptions of some later additions like Mystikal (''Ghetto Fabulous'', 1998). No Limit had begun its rise to national popularity with Master P's ''The Ghetto Is Trying to Kill Me!'' (1994), and had major hits with Silkk the Shocker ('' Charge It 2 Da Game'', 1998) and C-Murder ('' Life or Death'', 1998). Cash Money Records, also based out of New Orleans, had enormous commercial success beginning in the late 1990s with a similar musical style but utilized a quality-over-quantity business approach unlike No Limit.

Memphis collective Hypnotize Minds, led by Three 6 Mafia and Project Pat, have taken gangsta rap to some of its darker extremes. Led by in-house producers DJ Paul and Juicy J, the label became known for its pulsating, menacing beats and uncompromisingly thuggish lyrics. However, in the mid-2000s, the group began attaining more mainstream popularity, eventually culminating in the Three 6 Mafia winning an Academy Award for the song "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp" from ''Hustle & Flow''.

The chopped and screwed genre was developed in Houston, Texas, the location which is still most associated with the style. DJ Screw is credited with the creation of and early experimentation with the genre. DJ Screw began making mixtapes of the slowed-down music in the early 1990s and began the Screwed Up Click. This provided a significant outlet for MCs in the South-Houston area, and helped local rappers such as Big Moe, Lil' Flip, E.S.G., UGK, Lil' Keke, South Park Mexican, and Z-Ro gain regional and sometimes national prominence.

Narco-rap

Narco-rap is a music scene, similar to the early underground gangsta rap scene, that emerged in north-eastern Mexico and southern Texas. Its lyrical content, popular among Latino youth, is violent and focuses on the power of drug cartels and the gruesomeness of the Mexican drug war. Narco-rap emerged in the urban areas of Tamaulipas, a Mexican state currently subject to a turf war between Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel. Narco-rappers sing about the life of mobsters and the reality of the cities under the cartel's rule. Some of the key players of the genre are Cano y Blunt, DemenT and Big Los.

1995–2009: Bling era

Before the late 1990s, gangsta rap, while a huge-selling genre, had been regarded as well outside of the pop mainstream, committed to representing the experience of the inner-city and not "selling out" to the pop charts. However, the rise of Bad Boy Records, propelled by the massive crossover success of Bad Boy head Sean "Puffy" Combs's 1997 ensemble album, '' No Way Out'', on the heels of the media attention generated by the murders of 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G., signaled a major stylistic change in gangsta rap (or as it is referred to on the East Coast, hardcore rap), as it morphed into a new subgenre of hip hop which would become even more commercially successful and popularly accepted.

The earlier, somewhat controversial crossover success enjoyed by popular gangsta rap songs like " Gin and Juice" gave way to gangsta rap's becoming a widely accepted staple on the pop charts in the late 1990s. For example, between the release of The Notorious B.I.G.'s debut album ''Ready to Die'' in 1994 and his follow-up, the posthumous '' Life After Death'' in 1997, his sound changed from a darker, tense production, with lyrics projecting desperation and paranoia, to a cleaner, more laid-back sound, fashioned for popular consumption (though the references to guns, drug dealing and life as a thug on the street remained).

R&B-styled hooks and instantly recognizable samples of well-known soul and pop songs from the 1970s and 1980s were the staples of this sound, which was showcased primarily in Sean "Puffy" Combs's latter-day production work for The Notorious B.I.G. ("Mo Money, Mo Problems"), Mase (" Feels So Good") and non-Bad Boy artists such as Jay-Z (" Can I Get A...") and Nas (" Street Dreams"). Also achieving similar levels of success with a similar sound at the same time as Bad Boy was Master P and his No Limit label in New Orleans, as well as the New Orleans upstart Cash Money label.

Many of the artists who achieved such mainstream success in the 2000s, such as Jay-Z, DMX, then 50 Cent and G-Unit, originated from the gritty 1990s East Coast rap scene and were influenced by hardcore artists such as The Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan and Nas. Mase and Cam'ron were typical of a more relaxed, casual flow that became the pop-gangsta norm. By contrast, other rappers like Eminem and DMX enjoyed commercial success in the late 1990s by rapping about ever-more macabre tales of death and violence, maintaining commercial relevance by attempting to be controversial and subversive, growing on the Horrorcore rap style born in the late 1980s.

2009–present: Mainstream decline, rise of drill and trap

By the late 2000s, alternative hip hop had secured its place within the mainstream, due in part to the declining commercial viability of gangsta rap. Industry observers view the sales race between Kanye West's ''Graduation'' and 50 Cent's ''Curtis'' as a turning point for hip hop. Kanye West emerged the victor, selling nearly a million copies in the first week alone, proving that innovative rap music could be just as commercially viable as gangsta rap, if not more so. Although he designed it as a melancholic pop album rather than a rap album, Kanye's following ''808s & Heartbreak'' would have a significant effect on hip hop music. While his decision to sing about love, loneliness, and heartache for the entirety of the album was at first heavily criticized by music audiences and the album was predicted to be a flop, its subsequent critical acclaim and commercial success encouraged other mainstream rappers to take greater creative risks with their music. During the release of '' The Blueprint 3'', New York rap mogul Jay-Z revealed that next studio album would be an experimental effort, stating, "... it's not gonna be a #1 album. That's where I'm at right now. I wanna make the most experimental album I ever made." Jay-Z elaborated that like Kanye, he was unsatisfied with contemporary hip hop, was being inspired by indie-rockers like Grizzly Bear, and asserted his belief that the indie rock movement would play an important role in the continued evolution of hip-hop.

In the 2010s, a new form of gangsta rap known as drill emerged from the Midwest, gaining popularity via rappers such as Lil Durk, Chief Keef, Lil Reese, King Von, Polo G and G Herbo. West Coast rapper Vince Staples is part of the new generation of rappers that is influenced by G-funk. Being from the same area as Snoop himself, Staples has a sound that is lyrically in comparison to gangsta rap, though also containing elements of conscious rap. His 2015 album ''Summertime '06'' reflects the "challenges of racism, injustice, and violent fallouts in his childhood neighborhood". Other gangsta rappers who have maintained success in recent times include Rick Ross, Jeezy, Nipsey Hussle, Gucci Mane, Freddie Gibbs, Meek Mill, Ace Hood, Pusha T, YG, A$AP Ferg, Bobby Shmurda, A$AP Rocky, Jay Rock, ScHoolboy Q, 21 Savage, Denzel Curry, XXXTentacion, Ski Mask The Slump God, Smokepurpp, Dave East, Tay-K, Uncle Murda, Casanova, Lil Baby, Da Baby, Blueface, Roddy Ricch, NBA Youngboy, NLE Choppa, Pop Smoke, 22Gz, SpotemGottem, Pooh Shiesty, Key Glock, Rowdy Rebel, Young Dolph, 9lokkNine, Moneybagg Yo, Lil Loaded, 42 Dugg, YBN Nahmir, Fredo Bang, BlocBoy JB, and Juice WRLD.

Gangsta rap's pioneers have met success in other forms of pop culture as well. In 2016, N.W.A was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They were followed up by the late Tupac Shakur in 2017 who was inducted as the first solo hip hop act, under his first year of eligibility as a nominee. Other Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Hip-Hop Acts include the 2007 induction of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, who are considered pioneers of expanding the sound of Hip-Hop from disco inspired partying, to street reality that inspired social change. The 2009 induction of Run-D.M.C to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened the door for more Hip-Hop inductions, as they were followed up by the 2012 induction of Beastie Boys, and the 2013 induction of Public Enemy.

Criticism and debate

The explicit nature of gangsta rap's lyrics has made it heavily controversial. There is also debate about the causation between gangsta rap and violent behavior. A study by the Prevention Research Center of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation in Berkeley, Calif., finds young people who listen to rap and hip-hop are more likely to abuse alcohol and commit violent acts.

Critics of gangsta rap hold that it glorifies and encourages criminal behavior, and may be at least partially to blame for the problem of street gangs. Although this view is often stereotyped as that of white conservatives, it has been shared by members of the black community, most notably Bill Cosby.

Those who are supportive or at least less critical of gangsta rap hold that crime on the street level is for the most part a reaction to poverty and that gangsta rap reflects the reality of lower class life. Many believe that the blaming of crime on gangsta rap is a form of unwarranted moral panic; The World Development Report 2011, for instance, confirmed that most street gang members maintain that poverty and unemployment is what drove them to crime; none made reference to music. Ice Cube famously satirized the blame placed on gangsta rap for social ills in his song " Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It". Many gangsta rappers maintain they are playing a "role" in their music like an actor in a play or film, and do not encourage the behavior in their music.

Moreover, English scholar Ronald A.T. Judy has argued that gangsta rap reflects the experience of blackness at the end of political economy, when capital is no longer wholly produced by human labor but in a globalized system of commodities. In this economy, gangsta rap traffics blackness as a commodifiable effect of "being a nigga". In other words, gangsta rap defines the experience of blackness, in which he locates in gangsta rap's deployment of the word "nigga", in this new global economic system as "adaptation to the force of commodification". For Judy, ''nigga'' (and gangsta rap) becomes an epistemologically authentic category for describing the condition of being black in the modern "realm of things".

Despite this, many who hold that gangsta rap is not responsible for social ills are critical of the way many gangsta rappers intentionally exaggerate their criminal pasts for the sake of street credibility. Rick Ross and Slim Jesus among others have been heavily criticized for this.

Hip-Hop Minister Conrad Tillard

In the 1990s and early 2000s, Nation of Islam Minister Conrad Tillard, known as the "Hip-Hop Minister," was an outspoken critic of hip hop lyrics that he perceived as degrading and dangerous to Blacks.Trumaine W. Mitchell (June 16, 2020)
"The Underclass Culture Wars: Underclass Ideology AndThe Underclass Culture Wars: Underclass Ideology And Neoliberalism In The Era Of Gangsta Rap Censorship, 1993-2000,"
''Theses and Dissertations''.David M. Newman, Jodi O'Brien (2008)
''Sociology; Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life Readings''
Rahiel Tesfamariam (March 15, 2013).

''The Washington Post''. He said such lyrics suggested "that we are penny-chasing, Champagne-drinking, gold-teeth-wearing, modern-day Sambos, pimps and players." He criticized hip-hop lyrics that portrayed American black communities as degenerate. He believed that in seeking to emulate the lyrics in gangsta rap, young Black Americans became victims of mass incarceration, violence, sexual exploitation, and drug crime.

In the 1990s, he started an organization called A Movement for C.H.H.A.N.G.E. ("Conscious Hip Hop Activism Necessary for Global Empowerment"), to advocate for "conscious hip hop activism".

After the drive-by shooting murder of rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996, Tillard organized a "Day of Atonement" event to advocate against violent themes in hip-hop music, to promote unity, and to celebrate Shakur's life. He invited rap group A Tribe Called Quest

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