The Birth of Gangsta Rap

Ice Cube (left) and Ice T (right)

Ice T was a gang affiliate of the Crips in Los Angeles back in the 1990s. He decided to document his life in the gang scene through rapping and making music, and his song "6 'n the Mornin'" was created. This song had been one of the first songs to ever talk about the hustle of dealing drugs and the casual violence within these gangs in LA.

"The batter rams rolling, rocks are the thing Life has no meaning and money is king"

This song was initially released in 1986 and was described as a 'gangbanger's anthem', as no other song had talked about selling drugs at the time. When you listen to the lyrics you may think that this is just a song making the gang life seem glamourous. But this is what many of these original rappers everyday lives were like, this is what they had to do to stay alive and support themselves and their family, this was their reality.