Gangstas, Thugs, and Hustlas: Identity and the Code of the Street in Rap Music

“Recent research on identity, culture, and violence in inner-city communities describes a black youth culture, or street code, that influences adolescent behavior, particularly violent behavior (360)”. One could notice that starting a family in inner city Philadelphia at this time is not the ideal place to start a child’s education.  The schools in inner city Philadelphia are full of students who one do not want to be there and use school as a place of socializing, and two students who want to be there but can not learn because their classes are continuously interrupted by students who do not care about the curriculum.   Inner city schools over the years have tried to protect their students by adding metal detectors and more security.  Although schools have upgraded their security problems there is still drug dealing and gang violence going on in and out of these inner city schools.  It is sad that a student can not go to school for what the student is meant to do which is to learn more material year by year until you are ready for the real world. After the research I have done I can debate that there is a higher prevalence of school violence in communities where people adhere to the “code of the street.”

When I was a kid I listened to the music that was played around me by my parents, family and friends. Music now a day plays a huge factor in who someone is and how they act.  As a daily listener of rap music I can admit that rap music is based on the “code of the streets” in which they talk about how men should live their lives.  “Rap is “a musical form that makes use of rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular, which is recited or loosely chanted over a musical soundtrack.” Rap emerged from the streets of inner-city neighborhoods, ostensibly as a reflection of the hopes, concerns, and aspirations of urban black youth (361)”. In inner cities “the code of the street” is the way of living and I believe that this is one of the main causes of school violence in inner city schools.  When someone is brought up around and listen to music that talks about selling drugs, killing people and being masculine that is going to give students the idea that although it is wrong it is one way you can get through life. 

  The Rap teenagers today listen to including myself, are songs written in such a way that it tells stories of someone’s life, the rapper.  These stories range depending on what is going on in the rapper’s life at that time.  When Eminem came out with his hit in Slim Shady LP and Marshall Mathers LP, he told stories about when he was abusing narcotics such as valiums. This Rap music became known as “the code of the street” because rappers proclaimed and still proclaim to their listeners that selling drugs, rapping girls, kills people and not snitching are the only rules you need to know to get through life.  This music causes its listeners to believe that the “code of the street” is the way to live their lives.  This article debated that this music does cause inner city students to live their lives based on the “code of the streets” rather than living their own lives by going to school and doing something successful with their lives.

If you go up to an African-American pre-teenager in an inner city Philadelphia area such as North Philadelphia, and ask the individual, “What do you want to do when you get older?” That individual will tell you he wants to be a rapper, athlete, drug dealer or hopefully go to college. It is sad that majority of kids in inner cities do not get to grow up in a good area where the “code on the street” has a better meaning like going to school. Growing up in an inner city neighbor only gives you one perspective of living. It is a one dimensional way of living which give parents a harder job of teaching and bringing up a child through Philadelphia education.

Source:  http://www.gwu.edu/~soc/docs/Kubrin_gangstas.pdf