C H A P T E R S I X

Young Voices in the Hood

Ain’t no power like the power of the youth,

’cause the power of youth don’t change!

â€" B O O K S N O T B A R S

The West Coast hip-hop scene exploded onto the pop culture stage

with a bang, literally and figuratively, in the late 1980s, powered by the melodic grooves, gangsta rhymes, and thug-life theatrics of some of the era’s most colorful pop personalities. Ice-T, Ice-Cube, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, and Suge Knight represented the West

Coast to the fullest. Whether it was the G-funk beats, pimp narra-

tives, or a shrewdly calculated outlaw image, the indelible mark they left on America’s pop ethos put West Coast hip hop on the map. By

the middle nineties the styles and trends developed in California

were undeniable forces in a hip-hop movement that was making

waves far beyond its New York epicenter. But commercial success and notoriety also subjected West Coast hip hop to the scrutinizing gaze of politicians, law enforcement o‰cials, and culture pundits who

lambasted gangsta rap, in particular, for its alleged corrupting

influence on America’s youth. Still, even as it found itself in the middle of a controversial debate about hip hop, censorship, and the

moral health of America’s young, California was also where the movement, far away from the glare of the media spotlight, was struggling to form a viable political voice and constituency.

In the mountainous terrain, vast highways, and eclectic bed of

urban and suburban communities that make up California’s Bay

Area, young people of diĆłerent colors, creeds, and cultural ancestry

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