Los Angeles 1990s overview

After the buoyancy and optimism of the 1980s, Black music in Los Angeles in the early ’90s turned desolate. As economic recession and crack cocaine swept through Watts and East Los Angeles, a generation of artists chose to portray their world with unfettered realism. These were tough guys acting tough, and the sound they created was called gangsta rap. Over grinding electronic samples, they rapped about cops, crack, gangs, and lust (though seldom love). Ice-T,...