Gangstas,Thugs, and Hustlas: Identity and the Code of the Street in Rap Music CHARIS E. KUBRIN, George Washington University Recent years have witnessed a resurgence of movies of the 1970s, which glorified blacks as crim- sociological research on identity, culture, and vio- inals, pimps, pushers, prostitutes, and gangsters. lence in inner-city black communities (Anderson Mainly associated with West Coast artists (Keyes 1999; Bruce, Roscigno, and McCall 1998; Fagan 2002:4), gangsta rap is considered a product of the and Wilkinson 1998; Krivo and Peterson 1996; gang culture and street wars of South Central Los Kubrin and Wadsworth 2003; Kubrin and Weitzer Angeles, Compton, and Long Beach, and the resur- 2003; Sampson and Wilson 1995). This work por- gence of the retromack culture (pimp attitude and trays a black youth culture or “street code” that style) of East Oakland (Perkins 1996:18). Since its influences the identity and behavior of residents, early pioneers were gang members, gangsta rap particularly with respect to violence. Typically relates to the life experiences of the rappers them- ethnographic in nature, this literature describes how selves, and its lyrics portray gang and ghetto life the code supplies compelling elements of local cul- from a criminal’s perspective (Krims 2000:70). ture, a culture of the streets in which violence is ren- dered accountable and even normative. Gangsta rap departed from earlier rap forms, which were often characterized as socially con- One complementary medium for studying scious and more politically Afro-centric (Keyes these issues that has not been fully exploited is rap 2002:88, 158–59; Martinez 1997; Perkins 1996:19). music, a genre consistently noted for its focus on Even today, gangsta rap differs from other types of masculinity, crime, and violence. An aspect of hip- rap mainly in that it is the musical expression of hop culture (Guevara 1996:50; Kelley 1996:117; ghettocentricity, an expression that engages the Keyes 2002:1; Krims 2000:12), rap is “a musical “black youth cultural imagination that cultivated form that makes use of rhyme, rhythmic speech, and varying ways of interpreting, representing, and street vernacular, which is recited or loosely chant- understanding the shifting contours of ghetto dislo- ed over a musical soundtrack” (Keyes 2002:1). Rap cation” (Watkins 2001:389). Scholars agree that emerged from the streets of inner-city neighbor- other rap forms reflect a generic concern for chron- hoods, ostensibly as a reflection of the hopes, con- icling the “black” experience, while gangsta rap is cerns, and aspirations of urban black youth. When specifically interested in the black underclass in the the genre first appeared in the 1970s, critics predict- ghetto (Keyes 2002:122; Rose 1994:12, 114; Smith ed a quick demise, but rap music flourished and has 1997:346). Today gangsta rap purportedly provides reshaped the terrain of American popular culture. an insiders’ look into black urban street life via crime and violence (Keyes 2004:4; Kitwana Rap music has undergone major transforma- 1994:19).¹ tions in the last two decades. One of the most signif- icant occurred in the early 1990s with the emer- Sociological scholarship on identity, culture, gence of “gangsta rap.” The St. James Encyclopedia and violence in inner-city communities has largely of Popular Culture identifies gangsta rap as the overlooked rap music. Much of the existing litera- most controversial type of rap music, having ture assumes that the street code is a product of received global attention for “its vivid sexist, neighborhood processes and neglects additional misogynistic, and homophobic lyrics, as well as its sources such as popular culture which may reflect, violent depiction of urban ghetto life in America” reinforce, or even advocate street-code norms. This (Abrams 2000:198). Its roots can be traced to early study builds on the existing literature through a con- depictions of the hustler lifestyle and blaxploitation tent analysis of rap music that explores how the Kubrin, Charis E. 2005. "Gangstas, Thugs, and Hustlas: The Code of the Street in Rap Music," Social Problems 52(3): 360-378. 1 2 Gangstas, Thugs, and Hustlas code is present not only in “the street,” but also in Weitzer 2003). The social, political, and economic rap music. This research, however, does not suggest forces that have shaped these conditions include, that rap directly causes violence; rather, it examines among other things, globalization and deindustrial- the more subtle discursive processes through which ization (Rose 1994:21–61; Wadsworth 2004; rap helps to organize and construct violent social Wilson 1996), residential segregation (Keyes 2002: identity and account for violent behavior. 44–45; Massey and Denton 1993), punitive criminal justice policy (Tonry 1995), and a legacy of slavery Theoretically, the study considers how struc- and discrimination (Hawkins 1985). The concen- tural conditions in inner-city communities have trated disadvantage found in many urban African given rise to cultural adaptations—embodied in a American communities is not paralleled in predom- street code—that constitute an interpretive environ- inantly white neighborhoods. ment where violence is accountable, if not norma- tive. It focuses on the complex and reflexive rela- An important element of such disadvantaged tionship between the street code, rap music, and communities is the opportunity structure available social identity. Empirically, the study examines how for residents. The inner city affords limited avenues rappers’ lyrics actively construct violent identities for adolescents to obtain the types of social status for themselves and for others. It explores the ways and social roles available to youth in other environ- in which violence is justified and accounted for in ments (Rose 1994:27). Street-oriented peer groups terms that clearly resonate with the code of the dominate social roles, and few opportunities exist street. I address these issues through a content for broader participation in community life, such as analysis of 403 songs on rap albums from 1992 to after-school groups, volunteer organizations, or 2000. As I will argue, the lyrics offer portrayals of supervised athletics. Alternatives to conventional violence that serve many functions including estab- status attainment are thus limited to manifestations lishing identity and reputation and exerting social of physical power or domination, verbal agility, or control. displays of material wealth (Wilkinson 2001:235). At the same time, illegitimate avenues for suc- cess abound. For many poor, young, black males, SOCIAL-STRUCTURAL CONDITIONS the opportunity for dealing drugs is literally just around the corner (Anderson 1999:114; Keyes IN INNER-CITY COMMUNITIES: 2002:184) and represents one of the most viable THE CONTEXT “job” options in the face of limited employment opportunities (Kitwana 2002:39). This is not to say Whereas studies of violent crime typically that impoverished blacks bypass hard work as a pre- have been situated within an exclusively structural requisite for success in life; young blacks, like most or subcultural theoretical framework, recent Americans who are given the opportunity to work, research argues that the causes of violence are both have demonstrated their willingness to do so socio-structural and situational (Bruce, Roscigno, (Newman 1999). But the continual demand for eco- and McCall 1998; Fagan and Wilkinson 1998; nomic and social success, coupled with limited Kubrin and Wadsworth 2003; Kubrin and Weitzer legitimate avenues and numerous illegitimate 2003; Sampson and Wilson 1995). Growing recog- avenues by which to attain it, creates a unique situ- nition of the utility of an integrative approach has ation unparalleled in white and middle-class black led researchers to consider the relationship between communities (George 1998:43). structural disadvantage, cultural and situational re- sponses to such disadvantage, and the perpetuation The prevalence of drugs—and of crack cocaine of violence within African American communities. in particular—generates more than increased illegit- imate opportunities. Crack and the drug trade create Structurally, the combined effects of poverty, neighborhood battles for the control over markets unemployment, family disruption and isolation where violence is used as social control (George from mainstream America define the neighborhood 1998:42; Keyes 2002:183). Elijah Anderson (1990) context for residents in many inner-city neighbor- explains this phenomenon in his ethnography of hoods. These “concentration effects” contribute to Northton, a poor, urban, black community: “Dealers social disorganization (Sampson and Wilson 1995) have certain corners and spaces ‘sewed up,’ marked and violence (Krivo and Peterson 1996; Kubrin and off as their own territory, and may prevent other Gangstas, Thugs, and Hustlas 3 dealers from selling either at a particular corner or graphic isolation. On the other end is a black middle even in the general area. At times these corners are and lower-middle class buoyed by increased access bought and sold, leading to turf disputes and vio- to higher education and professional employment” lence to decide who owns them. A ‘king of the hill’ (Watkins 2001:381). Although black middle-class competition may ensue, awarding the corner to residents may fare better than their lower-class whoever can claim it (p. 85). Contributing to the counterparts, Mary Pattillo-McCoy (1999) finds violence,