Why Is Hip-Hop Considered An Alternative To Gang Culture?

Though not a family in the traditional sense, hip-hop has created a safe space for youth expression and community that spurred a family of its own. Afrika Bambaataa best represents the community that hip-hop stands for, being outspoken against gang culture and starting a group of his own actively advocating against violence. The Universal Zulu Nation, the group founded by Bambaataa, saw itself as a family and encouraged members not to start trouble. This group speaks to music as a social issue because many outsiders to hip-hop saw the music as a threat to American youth because of the graphic depictions of gang culture and inner city life present in the genre. The reality, however, is that hip-hop provided youth with an alternative to violence and to gang

Public Enemy, for example, is famous for the song “Fight the Power,” which captures African-American struggles in a society built on racism. Through their music, Public Enemy directly contributes to moral socialization, exposing uninformed youth to social issues such as police brutality or racial injustice and calling for change. While outsiders believed hip-hop served to promote gang life, those within the scene knew it was just the opposite. If anything, the graphic lyrics about gun violence and drug use served to steer people away from that lifestyle because it exposed the grim reality of maintaining this “hard” or “tough” exterior. Public Enemy was aware of its power to advocate for change and to criticize society. Hip-hop gives people a voice, and through fans, the reach of that message is growing, constantly imprinting that social consciousness and political unrest onto more and more people. Not only does the music of Public Enemy bring a moral transformation to the listeners themselves, it indirectly socializes parents as well, instilling progressive values through the young hip-hop