On the song m.A.A.d city in Kendrick Lamar’s 2012 studio album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City he states;
“If Pirus and Crips all got along/ They'd probably gun me down by the end of this song
Seem like the whole city go against me/
Every time I'm in the street, I hear— YAWK! YAWK! YAWK! YAWK!” (Kendrick & Schoolboy Q, 2012).
The “YAWK” is Schoolboy Q’s signature ad-lib, which is also a gang reference to his former days as a Hoover Crip. It was put in the song to imitate the loud blast of gun shots during both Kendrick and Schoolboy Q’s childhoods. (Rap Genius) For a long time and I have been entertained by the gang references that are continuously made on hip hop records. I choose to work on this topic because I want to gain a better understanding of the connection between hip hop culture and gang culture.
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Respect is a cherished value, so disrespecting a gang or gang member violates a cherished norm. (Carlie, 2002)
Every social structure has a common language, both verbal and non-verbal. Government officials have one, brotherhoods have one. (Carlie, 2002) Gangs likewise have their own typical vernacular. One prime example that showcases this comes in the form of the Bloods vs the Crips rivalry. Boods are not allowed to say words that start with C’s, they have to replace them with B’s and the Crips have to do the opposite.
An example quote for Bloods would be, “What's Brackin (cracking) B.” or “Bhocolate Bhip Bookies Blood.(chocolate chip cookies)” and for crips “What’s crackalackin.” and so on and so forth. However jokily their vernaculars sounds, they take these rules very very seriously. Graffiti and throwing up gang signs are also forms of languages between gang members. Gang signs are meant to intimidate and offend other gang groups. Which usually leads to retaliations and therefore death of a rival gang