Gangsta: Merchandizing the Rhymes of Violence

Brooklyn-based freelance music reporter Ro has covered the gangsta rap scene for Spin, The Source, Rap Pages and Rolling Stone. This raw, gritty collection of his articles chronicles rap music from 1992 to 1995, mainly in Los Angeles and New York City. Ro asserts that hip-hop, which once unified people and steered a predominantly black and Latino audience in a more positive direction, has been perverted by gangsta rappers and exploitative record companies that package gang-culture images and lyrics promoting misogyny, violence, self-hatred, antisocial attitudes and gang-related murders. This message, spelled out in an introductory chapter, is muted when Ro profiles Kid Frost, Street Mentality, Method Man, NWA's Dr. Dre and other rap artists. In this collection, he parties, hangs out with the stars and hears their whining stories of fame and self-destructiveness. As Ro acknowledges, this is ""not an anti-gangsta rap tract,"" and because it's too close to fanzine fare, it probably won't make a difference. (July)