Friday Is A Gangsta Mellow Day

Enjoy this nice jam from back in the day, it is Ice Cube's, "It Was A Good Day". When you don't have to use an AK (47), I must say, it is a good day. Have a GREAT weekend little gangstaz!

Sometimes Our Minds Do Play Tricks On Us

The Geto Boys were a rap group from Houston, Texas, consisting of Scarface, Willie D, Bushwick Bill, and D.J. Ready Red. They earned notoriety for their lyrics which cover controversial topics such as misogyny, gore, psychotic experiences, and necrophilia. Despite this, critic Alex Henderson argued that the group "comes across as much more heartfelt than the numerous gangsta rap...wannabes who jumped on the gangsta bandwagon in the early ’90s."

"Mind Playing Tricks on Me", featured on their 1991 album We Can't Be Stopped. The lyrics used within describe various mental states such as hallucination, delusion and paranoia. The sample used in the song is 'Hung Up On My Baby' by Isaac Hayes from his 1974 film Tough Guys. It was the only number-one Hot Rap Singles ever released by the Geto Boys. It reached #23 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the highest charting single by the Geto Boys. It was also certified Gold by the RIAA.

My personal favorite part of the video is when Bushwick Bill is beating up the guy and then he realizes its all in his mind. The previous post "Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta" was also sung by the Geto Boys.

Does It Feel Good To Be A Gangsta?

Answer: Fo' Sho'

This short video illustrates how gangsta culture transcends to the larger American culture. "Damn It Feels Good to Be A Gangsta", written by The Geto Boyz is used in a scene in the movie, "Office Space."

Eazy E, Real MuthaF@#$%^ Gz

 Here is a great hit called "Real Muthaphuckkin G's" (alternatively "Real Compton City G's"). This song was written in 1993 as a response to Dr. Dre's, "Dre Day". Prior to the release of this song, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E were friends and were members of the rap group N.W.A.
What is most significant about this song is that there are actually gangstas rapping. On verse two, Dresta raps. Dresta's brother, B.G Knocc Out, raps on verse three.
We learn by listening to this song that because Dr. Dre was under contract of Eazy-E, that as he was rapping and dissing Eazy-E, he was actually contributing to Eazy's income. This song was Eazy-E's biggest hit, it went 5X platinum, more than 5 million singles sold.

Welcome to Gangsta Plaid

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all my peops to Gangsta Plaid. This blog will highlight a special niche that I followed and I may have been a part of some years back. (Actually I was never part of the gangsta scene.) I want you to know right from the start, though this blog is called Gangsta Plaid, I personally abhor all real violence and the pain that people feel because of gang violence. So I do not support real violence. However, that is not to say that there have not been great songs that were considered 'gangsta' back in the day. Any references to any racism, sexism, homophobia, violence, drugs, alcohol, gang activity are the responsibility of the artist or artists that rapped or sang about them.

I hope that you appreciate Gangsta Plaid for all that it is worth, a repository of gangsta-inspired culture that in turn would affect American culture and capitalism.

For the first post, I think the most appropriate introduction should be the classic, 'Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang' by rappers Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg in 1992. This was from the multi-platinum album 'The Chronic'. Enjoy.