Is Gangsta Rap just black noise? Or does it play the same role for urban youth that CNN plays in mainstream America? This provocative set of essays tells us how Gangsta Rap is a creative "report" about an urban crisis, our new American dilemma, and why we need to listen.
• A chronological account of development of rap music going back to the era of slavery
• Drawings and editorial cartoons
• A multicultural bibliography containing sociological, historical, and legal materials
• A glossary of many key terms such as "structural racism" and "governmentalism"