Previous chapter
Next chapter

Chapter 179: Original Gangster

Gangsta rap

Chuck D. famously calls out Elvis on “Fight The Power,” but less famously calls out fellow Anthology member Bobby McFerrin in his declaration of a new musical era. The gangsta rappers Chuck termed “black CNN” loudly broadcast truths about poverty, the police and systemic racism that made McFerrin sound anodyne, that mainstream America has barely caught up to decades later. Ice-T makes the case for radical realism, KRS-One drops knowledge as he connects the ‘officer’ to the ‘overseer’, and Geto Boys vividly illustrate the emotional cost of street life.
1. Public Enemy

Fight The Power

2. Ice-T

O.G. Original Gangster

3. N.W.A.

Straight Outta Compton

4. KRS-One

Sound of Da Police

5. Geto Boys

Mind Playing Tricks On Me

6. Ice Cube

True to the Game

7. Pete Rock & Cl Smooth

They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)

8. N.W.A.

100 Miles and Runnin'

9. Public Enemy

Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos

10. Scarface

I Seen a Man Die