Gang Profiles
Chicano Music: An Influence on Gang Violence and Culture
Other than a few very early articles on the Chicano/Latino Rap evolution in underground media sources, I was the first person to publically and critically analyze Chicano/Latino rap and its role in violence among young people. I was preceded by many knowledgeable sources on the national Black rap scene before Latino rappers “blew up”. I have been accompanied in recent years by credible gang experts like Ernest Cuthbertson and Edwin Santana. My own interest in the subject began in the late 1970s when the Hip-Hop craze spread from New York City to other areas of the United States and out to the West Coast.
Hip Hop was devised by young artists in the “Big Apple” as an alternative to street gang culture and was also supported by many people in the community including Probation Officers and Gang Intervention Workers. They tried to prevent the “Gangs of New York” violence that had been going on for 150 years. Hip Hop culture washed away many Latino and Black street gangs like Savage Nomads, Dirty Dogs, and Black Skulls. Within this movement evolved one of four elements known as “Rap”. Rhyming to sample beats was a reflection of the streets without violence. Conflict was solved through MC battles.
I was a part of the Disco Era in Seattle, WA, and remember hearing Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight”, Curtis Blow’s “The Breaks”, Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five’s “The Message” in the early 1980s in my hometown of Yakima. I first became familiar with “Kid Frost” and his Spanglish lyrics on a demo tape from a Marine Corps buddy who was in “Black Tie Productions” and played at events in the L.A. area where Frost also first performed around 1984. My uncle was, and is still, in a well known Latino band in the L.A. area. Later, I saw a few Hip-Hop movies come out like “Beat Street” and “Breakin’” where the “B-Boys” did not look or dress very “gangster”. They were “B” movies that were almost laughable were it not for the music soundtrack, the latter which included a relatively new L.A. rapper named “Ice-T” on the cut “Reckless”.
Over the years, I’ve met individuals with 6th grade educations who are very intelligent in street knowledge and life in general. You can have a Doctor’s Degree and still have no common sense, morality, or any good sense in family values. Pancho McFarland is a Assistant Professor of Sociology at Chicago State University who wrote a book in 2008 called “Chicano Rap; Gender and Violence in the Post-Industrial Barrio”. McFarland is a self-proclaimed Chicano Nationalist. He states gang violence has decreased, actually it is the murder rate that has decreased in recent years. Just look at 50 Cent, shot nine times and still lives! Medical Trauma Centers around the nation take the credit for much of this. If paramedics get there in time, they can keep just about anybody alive. While overall crime has decreased in the last ten years in most U.S. cities, gang crime is still very high.
But I ask if in fact crime has gone down, then why has the use of violence in rap lyrics gone up? If rap just reflects violence in society, isn’t this an exaggeration of real life in tha’ Hood? McFarland says he studied 470 Chicano/Latino rap songs and over 70% of them contained violence. Much of gangster rap is also materialistic and sexist. Very few of these songs talk about how to be a good father figure or husband. Perhaps that is just ok behavior to display as claimed by gang and music experts like Professor McFarland? Unfortunately, some young Chicanos today believe they have to look/act gangster to show they’re proud of their culture and say they don’t want to be a punk/nobody’s fool? To some gang and non-gang members, all Cops are Bad, they say all Cops discriminate and brutalize people. This is a grossly exaggerated stereotype. Wouldn’t this be like some Cops saying, all Mexicans are Bad? The fact is a few people act bad in all professions.
Recently, there has been a growing movement by “Hardcore Gangsta’ Rappers” against “Studio Gangsters”. Often these are real gangsters with little to no vocal skills, and sometimes poor lyrical skills, that dis(respect) rappers who talk about the gangster lifestyle but haven’t really lived it. Charlie Row and Hi-Power Soldiers are an example of this. Increasingly, there has also been racial conflict embedded in songs. This may be in part due to a reflection or perceived tension of Black vs. Brown problems in Los Angeles, shown intensely in California prisons as pushed by the Mexican Mafia’s agenda. Chino Grande even calls out Snoop Dogg on YouTube for making the song “Vato” with Cypress Hill rapper B-Real. He says, “Snoop, you ain’t no motherf---ing vato!”, while he and his homeboy are sitting on a couch mean mugging. Towards the end of his drib he takes off his shirt to show his muscles and numerous gang tattoos in a menacing manner. Some so-called artists may go out and commit violence in order to get that “Street Cred”.
In spite of people like McFarland who make excuses that violent rap is just a harmless vent for poor male Chicanos in barrios (they’d likely be considered upper middle class in many other poor countries), it has been proven by past example that some youth will act out on violent lyrics they hear. For example, Andreas Raya, was an AWOL Marine who never saw combat in Iraq, yet he went on a personal mission in Ceres, CA, to gun down cops. His own family was obviously in denial, but in his locker were numerous items and photos showing association with Nortenos 14 gangs. Also, in his personal property was a book by Sir Dyno of “Dark Room Familia” called “Midst of My Confusion”. DRF is the same rap company that made the song, “Die You Fu--ing Pig” with lyrics like “I wanna’ hear my motherf---ing Glock go pop!” and repeated chorus line, “Die You Fu--ing Pig!”. Police later found a CD player in the poncho Raya wore the night he killed Ceres PD Sgt. Howard Stevenson and gunned down other Officers. The player held a gangster rap CD titled "Season of Da’ Siccness" and it is dominated by lyrics about killing people.
In an ironic twist, Robert “Huero” Gratton, the producer and promoter of Dyno’s work on the Generation of United Nortenos (G.U.N.) CD was killed in a car accident on Hwy 14 in July, 2008, in Palmdale, CA, located in Southern California. The self-professed NF Captain Gratton was allegedly backed up by the Nuestra Familia prison gang which advocated doing something about their “frustration of the Skrapa Invasion” or broken down as Surenos encroaching on Norteno territory. Gratton later turned police informant. Another key figure who marketed rap, Ryan “Woodie” Wood committed suicide in 2007.
There are newer rap styles that come out as the movement evolves. Some Latino Rappers have been a part of these trends like Latin Thizz by Julio “Gold Toes” Sanchez. A rapper named Jose “Conejo” Martin belonged to a L.A. gang called Harpy’s. Wanted for murders, he extols his criminal life on the run, and makes personal analogies to Al Capone. He raps with Texas rapper Capone, not to be confused with San Gabriel Valley rapper Capone-E. Another rapper “Cuete” (Spanish slang for a “Gun”, and not the same individual as another rapper called “Lil Cuete”) hails from Redondo Beach, CA, and was in a gang called North Side Redondo (NSR). He has no real criminal record but advocates for violence against law enforcement. On his 2008 release “Heat Under The Seat”, 8th Track, is a song called “Death On A C.O.” It is very disturbing due to making reference to killing a Correctional Officer. Violence on Police Officers has gone up and I think it is safe to say that songs like this have a role in it and that is no little exaggeration. This is not having an understanding of violence in society, but garbage that can infect minds of unstable individuals. People like McFarland make excuses and justify these lyrics as a way to fight against police repression. Some groups, like the appropriately named Psycho Realm, promote open war against the State rather than work hard to improve the system.
Of course, as my two previous rap articles indicate, not all Chicano/Latino rappers are Gangster Rappers. I’ve listened to a variety of material from all music styles. Some is not violent, many have catchy samples, complex and intelligent lyrics, and can even teach young people a thing or two about life. Daddy Yankee mixed Spanish and English lyrics with a Reggaeton beat and became very successful and crossed over on charts. Artists like Columbian Shakira mix songs with Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean who was with the Fugees. One of my favorite artists of all time, spiritual Carlos Santana, used Wyclef raps and talent. MTV Tr3s videos use Spanish and English showcasing many Latino Rappers.
Today there are Asian rappers, Native American rappers, and Whites who also rap. Of course, gangster rap is not the cause of all violence in the U.S., but it plays a part. Violence has and will go up and down over the years due to a variety of social, economic, and environmental factors. The focus of my rap articles and books; “Varrio Warfare” and “Prison Gangs in America”; however, was to show violence in lyrics and talk about violence on the street and in prison. I do not feel these types of songs do much to help young Raza, but will help get more killed and incarcerated. I was born in the barrio and raised in and near the Projects. I’ve fought against gang violence most of my life. I played a trumpet in my youth and was in Seattle’s All-City Band. I’ve helped kids do colorful murals in barrios and community centers. I’ve written and taught youth how to write poetry. I karaoke now and then and often people are amazed I can actually sing!
I’ve done community work in California and across the nation to combat violence. I’ll keep monitoring rappers out there and will continue to expose those who advocate violence. Several of the gangster rappers I’ve talked about even threatened me with legal action or insinuated that I might end up hurt. In the end, I think I must’ve worried them that I might hurt their standings with young people or decrease sales they tried build up based on their gangster image. If you are a positive rapper and really interested in helping the culture of Hip Hop and making your community, this world, a better place for families to live in, then I commend you for your hard work and studio skills.
Keep on doing what you’re doing…PEACE/PAZ!
Gabe Morales, aka “El Tecolote”
Copyright © 2008 Gabriel Morales. All Rights Reserved.
Hip Hop was devised by young artists in the “Big Apple” as an alternative to street gang culture and was also supported by many people in the community including Probation Officers and Gang Intervention Workers. They tried to prevent the “Gangs of New York” violence that had been going on for 150 years. Hip Hop culture washed away many Latino and Black street gangs like Savage Nomads, Dirty Dogs, and Black Skulls. Within this movement evolved one of four elements known as “Rap”. Rhyming to sample beats was a reflection of the streets without violence. Conflict was solved through MC battles.
I was a part of the Disco Era in Seattle, WA, and remember hearing Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight”, Curtis Blow’s “The Breaks”, Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five’s “The Message” in the early 1980s in my hometown of Yakima. I first became familiar with “Kid Frost” and his Spanglish lyrics on a demo tape from a Marine Corps buddy who was in “Black Tie Productions” and played at events in the L.A. area where Frost also first performed around 1984. My uncle was, and is still, in a well known Latino band in the L.A. area. Later, I saw a few Hip-Hop movies come out like “Beat Street” and “Breakin’” where the “B-Boys” did not look or dress very “gangster”. They were “B” movies that were almost laughable were it not for the music soundtrack, the latter which included a relatively new L.A. rapper named “Ice-T” on the cut “Reckless”.
Over the years, I’ve met individuals with 6th grade educations who are very intelligent in street knowledge and life in general. You can have a Doctor’s Degree and still have no common sense, morality, or any good sense in family values. Pancho McFarland is a Assistant Professor of Sociology at Chicago State University who wrote a book in 2008 called “Chicano Rap; Gender and Violence in the Post-Industrial Barrio”. McFarland is a self-proclaimed Chicano Nationalist. He states gang violence has decreased, actually it is the murder rate that has decreased in recent years. Just look at 50 Cent, shot nine times and still lives! Medical Trauma Centers around the nation take the credit for much of this. If paramedics get there in time, they can keep just about anybody alive. While overall crime has decreased in the last ten years in most U.S. cities, gang crime is still very high.
But I ask if in fact crime has gone down, then why has the use of violence in rap lyrics gone up? If rap just reflects violence in society, isn’t this an exaggeration of real life in tha’ Hood? McFarland says he studied 470 Chicano/Latino rap songs and over 70% of them contained violence. Much of gangster rap is also materialistic and sexist. Very few of these songs talk about how to be a good father figure or husband. Perhaps that is just ok behavior to display as claimed by gang and music experts like Professor McFarland? Unfortunately, some young Chicanos today believe they have to look/act gangster to show they’re proud of their culture and say they don’t want to be a punk/nobody’s fool? To some gang and non-gang members, all Cops are Bad, they say all Cops discriminate and brutalize people. This is a grossly exaggerated stereotype. Wouldn’t this be like some Cops saying, all Mexicans are Bad? The fact is a few people act bad in all professions.
Recently, there has been a growing movement by “Hardcore Gangsta’ Rappers” against “Studio Gangsters”. Often these are real gangsters with little to no vocal skills, and sometimes poor lyrical skills, that dis(respect) rappers who talk about the gangster lifestyle but haven’t really lived it. Charlie Row and Hi-Power Soldiers are an example of this. Increasingly, there has also been racial conflict embedded in songs. This may be in part due to a reflection or perceived tension of Black vs. Brown problems in Los Angeles, shown intensely in California prisons as pushed by the Mexican Mafia’s agenda. Chino Grande even calls out Snoop Dogg on YouTube for making the song “Vato” with Cypress Hill rapper B-Real. He says, “Snoop, you ain’t no motherf---ing vato!”, while he and his homeboy are sitting on a couch mean mugging. Towards the end of his drib he takes off his shirt to show his muscles and numerous gang tattoos in a menacing manner. Some so-called artists may go out and commit violence in order to get that “Street Cred”.
In spite of people like McFarland who make excuses that violent rap is just a harmless vent for poor male Chicanos in barrios (they’d likely be considered upper middle class in many other poor countries), it has been proven by past example that some youth will act out on violent lyrics they hear. For example, Andreas Raya, was an AWOL Marine who never saw combat in Iraq, yet he went on a personal mission in Ceres, CA, to gun down cops. His own family was obviously in denial, but in his locker were numerous items and photos showing association with Nortenos 14 gangs. Also, in his personal property was a book by Sir Dyno of “Dark Room Familia” called “Midst of My Confusion”. DRF is the same rap company that made the song, “Die You Fu--ing Pig” with lyrics like “I wanna’ hear my motherf---ing Glock go pop!” and repeated chorus line, “Die You Fu--ing Pig!”. Police later found a CD player in the poncho Raya wore the night he killed Ceres PD Sgt. Howard Stevenson and gunned down other Officers. The player held a gangster rap CD titled "Season of Da’ Siccness" and it is dominated by lyrics about killing people.
In an ironic twist, Robert “Huero” Gratton, the producer and promoter of Dyno’s work on the Generation of United Nortenos (G.U.N.) CD was killed in a car accident on Hwy 14 in July, 2008, in Palmdale, CA, located in Southern California. The self-professed NF Captain Gratton was allegedly backed up by the Nuestra Familia prison gang which advocated doing something about their “frustration of the Skrapa Invasion” or broken down as Surenos encroaching on Norteno territory. Gratton later turned police informant. Another key figure who marketed rap, Ryan “Woodie” Wood committed suicide in 2007.
There are newer rap styles that come out as the movement evolves. Some Latino Rappers have been a part of these trends like Latin Thizz by Julio “Gold Toes” Sanchez. A rapper named Jose “Conejo” Martin belonged to a L.A. gang called Harpy’s. Wanted for murders, he extols his criminal life on the run, and makes personal analogies to Al Capone. He raps with Texas rapper Capone, not to be confused with San Gabriel Valley rapper Capone-E. Another rapper “Cuete” (Spanish slang for a “Gun”, and not the same individual as another rapper called “Lil Cuete”) hails from Redondo Beach, CA, and was in a gang called North Side Redondo (NSR). He has no real criminal record but advocates for violence against law enforcement. On his 2008 release “Heat Under The Seat”, 8th Track, is a song called “Death On A C.O.” It is very disturbing due to making reference to killing a Correctional Officer. Violence on Police Officers has gone up and I think it is safe to say that songs like this have a role in it and that is no little exaggeration. This is not having an understanding of violence in society, but garbage that can infect minds of unstable individuals. People like McFarland make excuses and justify these lyrics as a way to fight against police repression. Some groups, like the appropriately named Psycho Realm, promote open war against the State rather than work hard to improve the system.
Of course, as my two previous rap articles indicate, not all Chicano/Latino rappers are Gangster Rappers. I’ve listened to a variety of material from all music styles. Some is not violent, many have catchy samples, complex and intelligent lyrics, and can even teach young people a thing or two about life. Daddy Yankee mixed Spanish and English lyrics with a Reggaeton beat and became very successful and crossed over on charts. Artists like Columbian Shakira mix songs with Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean who was with the Fugees. One of my favorite artists of all time, spiritual Carlos Santana, used Wyclef raps and talent. MTV Tr3s videos use Spanish and English showcasing many Latino Rappers.
Today there are Asian rappers, Native American rappers, and Whites who also rap. Of course, gangster rap is not the cause of all violence in the U.S., but it plays a part. Violence has and will go up and down over the years due to a variety of social, economic, and environmental factors. The focus of my rap articles and books; “Varrio Warfare” and “Prison Gangs in America”; however, was to show violence in lyrics and talk about violence on the street and in prison. I do not feel these types of songs do much to help young Raza, but will help get more killed and incarcerated. I was born in the barrio and raised in and near the Projects. I’ve fought against gang violence most of my life. I played a trumpet in my youth and was in Seattle’s All-City Band. I’ve helped kids do colorful murals in barrios and community centers. I’ve written and taught youth how to write poetry. I karaoke now and then and often people are amazed I can actually sing!
I’ve done community work in California and across the nation to combat violence. I’ll keep monitoring rappers out there and will continue to expose those who advocate violence. Several of the gangster rappers I’ve talked about even threatened me with legal action or insinuated that I might end up hurt. In the end, I think I must’ve worried them that I might hurt their standings with young people or decrease sales they tried build up based on their gangster image. If you are a positive rapper and really interested in helping the culture of Hip Hop and making your community, this world, a better place for families to live in, then I commend you for your hard work and studio skills.
Keep on doing what you’re doing…PEACE/PAZ!
Gabe Morales, aka “El Tecolote”
Copyright © 2008 Gabriel Morales. All Rights Reserved.
GPS also teaches about Black gangs, Asian gangs, White Supremacists, and other Security Threat Groups. We have taught gang classes to many groups, including police, corrections, probation and parole officers, juvenile workers, schools, Job Corps, church groups, etc. if you are interested in our services. We look forward to hearing from you! Take care out there!
For additional information and/or any questions about this gang or other gangs or to make any comments about this page please contact me.
Gabe Morales
Author/Trainer/Gang Specialist
Owner-Gang Prevention Services
<< Back to Gang Profiles List
For additional information and/or any questions about this gang or other gangs or to make any comments about this page please contact me.
Gabe Morales
Author/Trainer/Gang Specialist
Owner-Gang Prevention Services
<< Back to Gang Profiles List