What Rappers are in a Gang?
Since rap comes with gangster life, is it believed that all rappers are in a gang? However, this isn’t true. If you doubt this fact, we have a proven list of what rappers are in a gang and the gangs they belong to. Find out where your favorite rapper belongs.
Some popular and upcoming rappers have publicly and lyrically declared their religion in one way or another. Some rappers are Christians, while others are not; neither are they gang members of the very popular gangs in the US.
Gang culture has influenced the American subject with conviction through presence in the hip-hop music scene, including the themes, appearance, and background of many of the rappers.
Regardless of whether they are a positive or negative influence, gangs and their experiences have made their contributions to the music industry which pregnant with issues cut across urban life.
Which are the Most Popular Gangs in the United States?
There are some gangs in American that have become popular, notable gangs, and they are depicted in music, movies and even in media. Some of the most recognized gangs in the United States include:
1. Crips
It began in the late 1960s in Los Angeles with the Crips, one of the largest gangs in the United States, dressed in blue.
2. Bloods
The Bloods were created in reaction to the Crips, and like them are an American criminal gang founded in Los Angeles. They make use of red colouring and are bitter enemies of the Crips gang.
3. MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha)
Being started by the Salvadorean immigrants in Los Angeles, MS-13 is a very violent gang that has expanded both in the United States and in Central America.
4. Latin Kings
The Latin Kings was founded among Latin American immigrants in Chicago as a pro-Hispanic society but later transformed into a gang that deals with gangland business, including drug sales and the use of violence.
5. Gangster Disciples
Originating from Chicago, the Gangster Disciples areisms are present in the region and more notably have a well-defined structure in the Midwestern United States.
6. Vice Lords
The Vice Lords are another gang which originated in Chicago in the 1950s and are involved in the most elaborate drug business.
7. 18th Street Gang
This gang is also known as “Barrio 18.” It also originated in Los Angeles, and members come from all backgrounds from different Latin American countries.
8. Hells Angels
The biker gang that has been involved in organized crime throughout the United States; the Hells Angels comprise a tightly-knit group.
9. Black P. Stones
This gang originated in the great city of Chicago and currently also dominates Los Angeles; the gang is affiliated with the Bloods.
10. Nuestra Familia
Mainly functioning on the prison’s territory, it was initially established for Hispanic inmates of California.
Every one of these gangs has a different history, and they all had varied ranges of operations, but many of the gangs listed here began in one city and are now present in many parts of the United States.
These gangs represent the so complex and multifaceted role that gang cultures play in the socio economic contexts that many artists are derived from.
What is Gang Rap Called?
Gang rap, also known as Drill or gangsta rap, is a subgenre of hip-hop music that originated in the 1980s, with some authorities citing Scarface as its first real example, the first being more west coast than anything else.
Gangsta rap is based on the theme of ghettos, striving to bring the problems of crime, violence, poverty, and police violence to the fore. This genre came to the mainstream market through icons such as N.W.A. since the raps deliver the frustration and the anger from the black oppression.
Gangsta rap that can range from deep and heavy, it also reflects the difficult situations in which it is embedded.
It seems that gangsta rap has reflected the share of criticism for the promotion of violence and illegality, however, artists underline that it is an imitation of their experience.
Proponents of gangsta rap music have argued that these musician’s use their music to have a positive effect in drawing attention; artists such as Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., and Ice-T have used the music to bring attention to socio-political problems facing the inner city, for instance.
List of 20 Rappers in Gangs
Here is a list of 20 rappers who have documented gang affiliations, with a brief description of their connections:
1. Snoop Dogg: The rapper supports the Crips, and more specifically the Rollin’ 20s from Long Beach.
2. The Game: Identified with Cedar Block Piru, which is a subset of the Blood faction from Compton.
3. Ice-T: A member of the Crips, much of his music contains an introspection of his early life in the gang.
4. YG: Currently an active gang member of the ‘Bloods’, he boasts of it in many of his songs.
5. Nipsey Hussle: This was a Rollin’ 60s Crips from LA who encouraged people to improve the community before his death.
6. Lil Wayne: This star uses his music to make references of association with a specific gang known as the Bloods.
7. Cardi B: Freely claimed to be a member of the Bloods, she was raised in Bronx, New York.
8. Schoolboy Q: He freely claims association with the Hoover Crips, a street gang based in Los Angeles.
9. E: Linked to the Kelly Park Compton Crips set, Eazy-E played an enormous role during gangsta rap’s infancy.
10. Toddy Tee: Although he really want to have a career in rapping, he wants to be associated with trap music because his trap group known as GS9 from Brooklyn, New York which has landed him into various troubles with law.
11. Mozzy: He is a rapper from the Oak Park Bloods in Sacramento where most of his songs give an insight on the hood life.
12. Jay Rock: Connected to the Bounty Hunter Bloods of Nickerson Gardens in Los Angeles.
13. YoungBoy Never Broke Again (NBA YoungBoy): Affiliated to the Bottom Boy Gorilla (BBG) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
14. King Von: Associated with the Black Disciples a gang from Chicago and frequently spoke about street life in his songs.
15. Chief Keef: He is connected to the black disciples gang from the Black area of Chicago; his songs have got that poetry he grew up with.
16. 2Pac (Tupac Shakur): Tupac although not directly affiliated with a gang became friends with the Mob Piru Bloods later in his life.
17. Kyrgyzstan: Internet celebrity, poet, and rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine was associated with the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, which put him on the map legally.
19. MC Eiht: MC Ray Dog is also one of the Tragniew Park Compton Crips and notably he makes references to the gang in his track.
20. Freddie Gibbs: Originally connected to the Vice Lords, sometimes raps about life on the streets.
These rappers involve with gangs in various ways ranging from affiliation that include being affiliated to a gang to being in gangs. Most of these artistes have turned their lives into their music, using their experiences to paint graffiti of the real life as it is in some of the worst parts of America.
But because gang culture is really only one phenomenon, it is nonetheless persistent and provides space for the representation of experiences of life under gang violence.
