A problem such as gang violence can in no way be discussed with a binary discourse. This is why R.H. Aly’s opinion article “Popular rap encourages gangs” disappoints us so much. It’s illogical to say those individuals that encounter the option of entering a gang find themselves with two simple options, comparing them to “night and day.” We don’t live in a black-and-white world; most of the problems within our society exist in a very gray realm.
Kids who join gangs join them for many reasons, all of them unfortunate. Many join these gangs in search of a type of familial bond, one that is absent because their parents are usually missing from home; sometimes they are forced to work two to three jobs at a time just to get by, or locked in prison, or simply gone, even dead. Usually these parents are caught somewhere in the same cycle that is hungry to claim their children.
Gang violence is a definite problem in our country. But it didn’t start with or even become more glamorized by rap music or gangsta’ rap. Gang violence has been occurring in this country since the days of Al Capone and even before that. It’s become almost a given in America that where there is poverty and a lack of opportunity or upward mobility, there will be groups of people organized with the goal of generating an economic gain, often times illegally.
Artists who perform gangsta’ rap should be seen as providing the outside world a window into these peoples’ lives. Yes, this lifestyle is glamorized in gangsta’ rap, but “The Sopranos” and “Gangs of New York” could also be said to be guilty of this offense. These are not the only examples; the major motion pictures “Scarface” and “The Godfather” predate gangsta’ rap by nearly ten years. There are many more.
Rap music is a response to a whole host of problems: gun violence, poverty, hard-core drug addiction and illegal big money capitalism in the lower and lower-middle class communities, to name a few. People born of privilege should take the message of rappers and gangsta’ rappers as an opportunity to understand a world previously unbeknownst to them.
Hopefully, if more of America can come to a better understanding of the context surrounding an individual’s decision to join or not to join a gang, we can start to provide those individuals encountering this question with a multitude of positive legitimate alternatives.
Jeff Krebssenior in anthropology
Sean Krebssophomore in international studies and education
