# Is gangsta culture in the black community dying, if so what is the reason **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 9, 2025, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gangsta-culture-in-the-black-community-dying-if-so-what-is-the-reason/1022872 "2025-09-09T02:41:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2025, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gangsta-culture-in-the-black-community-dying-if-so-what-is-the-reason/1022872/1 "2025-09-09T02:41:42Z")
I don’t know if its true or not, but is thug and gangsta culture dying off in the black community? My impression (as an outsider looking in) is that it was partly fueled by black people being locked out of mainstream society socially and economically, and trying to find social status and money in street culture. But now that black people are better integrated into society this is less of an issue as people have ways to get money and status in legitimate ways with better integration and higher education levels. Also street culture seems to involve a lot of collective internalized self hatred for black people. Black people bragging about victimizing other black people is a form of [lateral violence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_violence) as people express the collective hatred society feels for black people through victimizing other marginalized groups. But are groups like black lives matter helping to build a meaningful sense of self worth in the black community, and a culture of celebrating black people who victimize each other and keep each other down is seen as odious within this new culture of higher self worth and collective worth? ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2025, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gangsta-culture-in-the-black-community-dying-if-so-what-is-the-reason/1022872/2 "2025-09-09T07:59:55Z")
Could it be related to the decline of subcultures in general? > **[Yomi Adegoke: Has The Internet Killed Subcultures?](https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/yomi-adegoke-subcultures)** > > “These days, before a subculture has fully formed, it’s already been co-opted” > **[The Death of Subculture? It’s Tiktokification.](https://medium.com/@katieschofield126/the-death-of-subculture-its-tiktokification-002ba0084f9e)** > > The internet has become the place where subculture goes to die. > **[A farewell to subculture: the death of belonging](https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/a-farewell-to-subculture-the-death-of-belonging/)** > > Sometimes it feels like the subculture of our past have all but gone, and this has a damning effect on our sense of belonging. Here, we look into the topic. > **[The Fading Underground: The Decline of Subculture in the 21st Century — The...](https://www.theculturecrypt.com/posts/the-decline-of-subculture-in-the-21st-century)** > > Cultural expression is transforming as once-vibrant subcultures are fading due to digital connectivity… ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2025, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gangsta-culture-in-the-black-community-dying-if-so-what-is-the-reason/1022872/3 "2025-09-09T18:52:16Z")
Gangsta culture was largely the creation of middle-aged white male music executives. With the fall of the music industry, their influence has waned. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gangsta-culture-in-the-black-community-dying-if-so-what-is-the-reason/1022872/4 "2025-09-26T20:17:51Z")
We don’t actually know for sure because the office that used to gather these statistics has not done so for the past 10+ years. > **[Gangs\_2E\_Ch1.pdf](https://he.kendallhunt.com/sites/default/files/heupload/Gangs_2E_Ch1.pdf)** > > 415.05 KB > **[National Youth Gang Survey Analysis: Measuring the Extent of Gang Problems](https://nationalgangcenter.ojp.gov/survey-analysis/measuring-the-extent-of-gang-problems)** > > The NGC conducted an annual survey of law enforcement agencies to assess the extent of gang problems. This page shows data measuring the extent of gang problems. The FBI published a report with stats of gang violence from 2021-2024 but those numbers cannot easily be correlated with gang membership. [https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#factual-questions](https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#factual-questions) We know that homicides have been down since a peak in 2020 but again that’s hard to correlate to gang membership. Anecdotally I think we all notice that “gangsta culture” is less prominent in mainstream culture than it used to be, but we know gangs still exist. The FBI report says that most gang-affiliated criminal offenders are age 13-16 and most often the victim and offender know each other. It’s very much a youth culture phenomenon rather than a mainstream age-spanning cultural institution. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2025, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gangsta-culture-in-the-black-community-dying-if-so-what-is-the-reason/1022872/5 "2025-09-29T17:19:08Z")
Mostly this. I know someone who ran a nightclub in the early 2000s and they said they simply would not play what he called “fight music” because it would instantly start fights or worse. Music that glorified the “gangsta” lifestyle simply evolved to glorify partying and clubbing because those are the songs that would get played in clubs. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2025, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gangsta-culture-in-the-black-community-dying-if-so-what-is-the-reason/1022872/6 "2025-09-29T18:51:14Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Gangsta culture was largely the creation of middle-aged white male music executives. With the fall of the music industry, their influence has waned. I find this statement puzzling. It was black men / gangsta rappers who created Death Row Records, def jam records, and many other labels. Is the music industry really waning? ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2025, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gangsta-culture-in-the-black-community-dying-if-so-what-is-the-reason/1022872/7 "2025-09-29T20:01:39Z")
Right. When I hear the term gangsta culture I think gangsta rap. The names that come to mind include Notorious BIG, Tupac Shakur, Suge Knight, Dr. Dre, and so on. Not just as the top artists, but as the music executives who ran things. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gangsta-culture-in-the-black-community-dying-if-so-what-is-the-reason/1022872/8 "2025-09-30T08:40:49Z")
Rick Rubin is Black? ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gangsta-culture-in-the-black-community-dying-if-so-what-is-the-reason/1022872/9 "2025-09-30T10:36:36Z")
Not the first guy I thought of but since you ask no he’s not. But you knew that right so? But these guys are Russell Simmons, D.O.C. Dr Dre, heard of ‘em? ---
**Author:** ![Cmyers1980](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyers1980/32/11814_2.png) [@Cmyers1980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cmyers1980)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gangsta-culture-in-the-black-community-dying-if-so-what-is-the-reason/1022872/10 "2025-09-30T11:24:22Z")
I don’t think this is something you can measure in any reliable way besides the percentage of people in gangs. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gangsta-culture-in-the-black-community-dying-if-so-what-is-the-reason/1022872/11 "2025-09-30T11:46:41Z")
> [@chela](#): > > But these guys are Russell Simmons, D.O.C. Dr Dre, heard of ‘em? Sure. But none of them “created […] def jam records”. Rubin did. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2025, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gangsta-culture-in-the-black-community-dying-if-so-what-is-the-reason/1022872/12 "2025-10-06T22:21:58Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Right. When I hear the term gangsta culture I think gangsta rap. The names that come to mind include Notorious BIG, Tupac Shakur, Suge Knight, Dr. Dre, and so on. Not just as the top artists, but as the music executives who ran things. I more meant a culture within the black community that celebrates self destruction, celebrating black people that victimize other black people. I get the impression this culture is dying, and I didn’t know if it was because black people are better integrated into society, but also because as black people integrate better they do not internalize the hatred for black people that society at large has, and this internalized self hatred seems to be a big part of gangsta culture. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2025, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gangsta-culture-in-the-black-community-dying-if-so-what-is-the-reason/1022872/13 "2025-10-06T22:27:32Z")
You might find whatever answer you are looking for on board with more Black members than this one. There might be good Reddit you can ask. r/askablackperson maybe? ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2025, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gangsta-culture-in-the-black-community-dying-if-so-what-is-the-reason/1022872/14 "2025-10-06T22:37:40Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Sure. But none of them “created […] def jam records”. Rubin did. And isn’t Def Jam Recordings a fully owned subsidiary of Universal Music Group? [UMG’s leadership is indeed pretty heavily leaning in the direction of middle-aged white males](https://www.universalmusic.com/company/#leadership). ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2025, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gangsta-culture-in-the-black-community-dying-if-so-what-is-the-reason/1022872/15 "2025-10-11T16:34:26Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I more meant a culture within the black community that celebrates self destruction, celebrating black people that victimize other black people. It was music, it was always the music. They simply figured out glorifying things that make people spend money instead of shoot each other were a lot more profitable and stopped the gangsta shit. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2025, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gangsta-culture-in-the-black-community-dying-if-so-what-is-the-reason/1022872/16 "2025-10-11T17:21:19Z")
Death Row records was not the brainchild of white music execs. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2025, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gangsta-culture-in-the-black-community-dying-if-so-what-is-the-reason/1022872/17 "2025-10-11T17:32:23Z")
I can create a music label in my storage closet. What I can’t do is market and distribute the records (and thus control what gets out there). I’m pretty sure you and I have never heard much of the greatest music ever made, for that very reason. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gangsta-culture-in-the-black-community-dying-if-so-what-is-the-reason/1022872/18 "2025-10-13T15:15:45Z")
> [@Zoobi](#): > > You might find whatever answer you are looking for on board with more Black members than this one. There might be good Reddit you can ask. > > r/askablackperson maybe? I’m banned from reddit because I said Americans have a constitutional right to vote not guilty on a jury. Reddit is a heavily censored shithole ever since they did their IPO.