This document discusses the genre of gangsta rap and its portrayal of African American culture. It argues that gangsta rap promotes racist stereotypes by frequently depicting African Americans as violent, oversexualized, and excessively materialistic. Through graphic lyrics and music videos, gangsta rap reinforces the false ideas that African American culture is defined by violence, objectification of women, and a need to flaunt wealth. While gangsta rap aims to express the realities of urban life, it actually confirms prejudiced views of African Americans held by white audiences and influences young people to emulate harmful behaviors.

1. Gangsta Rap
Chapter seven
by: Mallory Pelton

2. what is rap?
• Rap is a package of texts, grounded in a distinct musical style
that goes along with fashion, elements of personal style and
location.
• Rap has different genres associated with it but here we will talk
mostly about Gangsta rap.

3. rap and pop culture
• Rap is a major force in popular culture and is loaded with
social and political meaning.

4. visual rhetoric
• Gangsta visuals: music videos, movies, fashion, and everyday
experiences in public places.
• visuals express social codes that are well known but cannot be
spoken.
• “Gangsta is the ‘permissible’ expression verbally and visually, of
the kind of appalling racist attitudes that we have all heard but
know that we cannot and should not express”

5. Gangsta rap and African
Americans:
• It is obvious in verbal and visual signs that gangsta rap is about
African American culture.
• Even when people such as Eminem come into the context he is
still surrounded with African Americans in all his pictures painting
a picture for popular culture.

6. Gangsta rap creating a racist
ideology?
• gangsta both expresses and naturalizes a racist ideology
• It does this because it constantly shows representation of African
Americans using guns, demeaning women and selling drugs on the street
corner. This makes people associate African Americans in a negative way
when in reality there are many African Americans that do none of this.
• Claims of violence, materialism, and brutality are the main realities of
African American culture and is a falsehood perpetuated by the genre.

7. Examples of common images in
gangsta rap

8. false claim #1
(African American culture is violent)
• texts of gangsta are full of violent words and images.
• This creates people to associate African Americans as violent.
This creates a stigma against black people in their everyday life.
Some people switch sides of the street when they see African
Americans walking towards them. The sad thing is that people
who don’t know anything about African American culture except
what they see through gangsta rap will automatically associate
violence with African Americans.

9. how is violence portrayed through
gangsta rap?
• violence is conveyed visually in music video images of physical
confrontations, threatening gestures and swaggering postures.

10. effects on viewers
• Once it is all linked on television African Americans and other
cultures begin to then adapt postures, gestures and physical
aggression in public to be cool. People are told from a young age
through music that violence is cool.

11. false claim #2: African American
culture is obsessively sexual
• In gangsta rap, men regard women as sexual objects and define
them only in terms of their ability to service the sexual desires of
men.
• most songs feature the words “bitch” and “ho” as standard form of
reference for women.
• They also talk about terrible things that will be done to women.

12. effects on viewers
• This effects an image of over-sexualization in the African
American culture.
• The man is always the center piece and the women become the
objects which creates an image of men not respecting women.

13. false claim #3 African American
culture is crassly materialistic
• In almost any video or image that revolves around gangsta rap
you will notice that there is a plethora of representations of
expensive gold and platinum chains and jewelry.
• this shows that people are eager to spend money for show rather
than substance.
• Most videos in gangsta rap show big houses, nice cars and lavish
parties.

14. effects on viewers
• It reinforces an ideology of crass materialism in the African
American culture

15. conclusion
• racism in the U.S. is that whites have often stood in a position of
critique toward people of other races and their cultures.
• gangsta confirms racist attitudes in whites.
• rap generally could be an effective weapon against racism if it
choose to be.
• visual rhetoric tells us that texts position audiences in particular
points of view.

16. references
• http://blogs.bet.com/celebrities/picture-this/2011/09/06/problem-with-authority-defiant-rap-songs-
that-fight-the-powers-that-be/
• http://www.boulderweekly.com/article-3783-book-of-rhymes.html
• http://www.examiner.com/article/rant-second-hand-gangsta-rap
• http://theurbandaily.com/2012/04/20/blow-your-high-10-hip-hop-marijuana-busts/
• http://www.gopixpic.com/480/rap-and-violence-myth-or-reality/http:%7C
%7Cdangerouslee*files*wordpress*com%7C2012%7C07%7Crap_music*gif/
• http://raceandmediagroup.blogspot.com