*Please do not use this as reference to actual statistics or prevalence of gang violence. This is just me going back in time and explaining what I saw that you may have have not.
As I am rummaging through some great classic hip hip rappers of our time and being goofy picking out new tees for my friend Chris and I, I started to recall the day when these rappers weren't just amazing artists but also the start of a horrible war between two sides of the country. Most of you kids my age, who had real perfect pretty lives in the suburbs weren't affected, but us city kids saw it all right in front of out eyes laid out daily.(that statement was used to REALLY dramatise the effects and lines between city and suburb haha) We had friends in both gangs and watched our friends and colleges promote violence, not love. Today violence is still very prevalent but gang violence in the early 90's was at it's peak with two very large groups with members equaling each over 35,000; The Crips & The Bloods.
Growing up in the city is different then growing up in a suburbs in many ways. Pittsburgh, for example, is where I grew up. Within Pittsburgh there are a ton of inner city neighborhoods. With the school district there were many different inner city schools. Just for example.....I think when I was in high school, I pretty much had the option of going to 9 different schools? That sound right? But the time I would like to talk about is '93-'96. These were my middle school years. And these were also the hype years of Death Row Records, home to Cali's finest including Dr. Dre(The Cronic, 1992), Tupac, Snoop Dogg, and Suge Knight. Now on the other side of the country you had, I wanna say Tommy Boy Records or maybe it was already bad Boy Entertainment ran by Diddy??? which is prob wrong so don't quote me on that, reppin' NYC's best including The Notorious B.I.G., Wu Tang Clan, and Nas. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Row_Records
That gives you all the info you'll need right there on who repped who and who switched and all that. "Death Row is the label that pays me" is still something you'll hear on my personal BEST RAP ALBUM EVER PRODUCED-The Cronic 2001. But let's get back to the main area that I'm trying to explain here; Inner city Pittsburgh, PA.
I lived in the North. My middle school was in the Hill District(right?), and Capa was in Homewood(right?. Or maybe switch those around but anyways let's go with the Hill District and it being Blood territory. Now although there were Bloods that attended Rogers School for the Creative and Performing Arts, there were also members of the Crips that were bussed in from different parts of the city in the north. At school everything was cool, from what I remember, but it was after school or in 8th period where things would start to get crazy.
It was a daily thing that occurred everyday around 3pm. I actually had a class at the end of the school which faced the main street where Bloods would begin to attack our classroom by throwing bricks at the gated up windows that led into my classroom. It didn't phase us at all but I think sometimes it would get rowdy with there's in the class trying to fight from inside the classroom(usually members of the crips). But like I stated earlier, there were no dividers in the school I don't believe. I know I had friends and acquaintances in both gangs. As did most. But it was the mission of getting the kids from the north onto their bus after school safely that became an issue. And of course I just had to live in the North. Now I'm just going to tell the scariest time that I can remember then let this go but I just wanted ya'll to get a feeling of what, when this fight between these two groups, basically led by the best of the best hip hop moguls, affected my daily life just in Pittsburgh, PA. I cannot even imagine what it would have been like to live in LA and NYC. Sometimes our bus would be shook so hard our backpacks would start falling and the protocol was to get underneath the seat in front of you. Bricks would be thrown, windows would be broken, and it was over all just NOT COOL. I totally believe in people believing in something but I am not a believer of gang violence from having to experience it hands on. And there I was this little rocker chick with my green hair and smashing pumpkins tee and neon orange fishnets. I do want to make this clear though.....yeah sure my parents could have yanked me out, sent me off to private school, and taken me out of a program I loved, but they didn't even though at times they often wanted to. I was safe in school though and even though we had some crazy times, overall we were all VERY safe and protected from the activity outside of us.
If you were to ask me today if growing up then, and being around that, or growing up today and being around what goes on today in school......I would hands down and say 'give me my hip hop old school crips and bloods gang violence any day. Now all I see is worse violence that's not even based around a belief (those crips and bloods had reasons and meanings to be doing what they were doing and they had music involved as well. I'm not saying it was okay but they had a mission and it was a horrible mission which left 2 genius rap moguls dead, but whatever it was they didn't mess with just anybody.) Today kids are shooting kids for absolutely no reason, little girls are pregnant, boys are taught it's ok to abuse girls, and kids are drinking and taking drugs at an alarming young age. It's disgusting and yes it does make me question if I want kids growing up in this country in this age. I really couldn't tell you? It's way worse off now. As for the Crips and the Bloods.......I wouldn't have had my experience with the whole thing any other way. RIP 2pac and Biggie. You left music behind that will NEVER be forgotten. Kids of this era......what the hell do you have to leave behind?
Peace & Love,
S
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