Why does Hip Hop rip off the Italian Mafioso culture?

[EDouble]

Maybe because the shit has nothin to do with race

 

[aloivas]

would you idolise someone who hated white people and made constant references to their inferiority, etc.?

 

[DeeezNuuuts83]

A lot of the hip-hop artists that use references to the mafia culture are typically involved with crime (or at least try to sell themselves as such). The mafia culture--the most well-known form of organized crime--has always been a guilty admiration of Americans, white and black alike. In the '70s, '80s and '90s, it grew more and more popular and appealing, thanks to various movies (The Godfather Trilogy, Scarface, Casino, Goodfellas, Carlito's Way, etc.) created throughout the years. And what music genre was developing during the same period of the release of these movies? Hip-hop. A lot of the aspiring hip-hop rappers of yesterday saw a lot of parallels between their own lives and what they saw in the movies, although to different degrees: drug dealing, robbery, homicides, rivalries, money laundering, etc. Obviously most rappers who were actually living the "street life" weren't as organized as the mafia, it was something that they aspired to be, much like how young adults trying to be entrepreneurs in the computer world look up to Bill Gates. So perhaps that is why that it is mostly rappers and not rock-n-roll or pop singers who, in their music, assume the character of a don, capo, underboss, button, and so forth.

However, the use of mafia references is usually either an exaggeration or metaphor in reality. Tupac, who seemingly was the most successful at using the mafia image (especially as a marketing tool), obviously wasn't a mob boss, but he was the leader of a rap revolution and had connections with Suge Knight, who himself had considerable pull with several Blood gangs and is arguable the person involved in the rap game who is most like an actual mob figure. Unfortunately, after Pac's death, it became the cool thing to do... not just to be a thug, but to be a don, a mob figure. So following Pac's death, we saw a lot of clones who couldn't pull off the mafia image as successfully or as believable... you can find tons of examples of such in Master P's No Limit Camp and all of their various aliases and album titles... Master P's MP Da Last Don, 504 Boyz's Goodfellas, C-Murder's Bossalinie, Silkk the Shocker's Made Man, Gambino Family's Ghetto Organized, Young Bleed's My Balls and My Word, etc. So unfortunately the whole mafia thing has been completely saturated, even though references are still made here and there.

 

[greezi']

The mafia culture is cool. It grew from the gutter in the early years of Amerika. Hip-Hop culture identified with the Mafioso shit cus they struggled through the same prejudices as they did.

 

[_carmi]

at the end of the day most of them are fakers. aint nothing new. they all wanna be more interesthing. aint nothing wrong with that.

 

[KAMIKAZI]

at the end of the day most of them are fakers.

You have successfully described one's self.

 

[Pittsey]

I'm merely highlighting the double standards.
no one mentions rappers trying to act Italian and marketing themselves as dons / bosses etc.
BUT when a white rapper uses ghetto terms and starts talking about the hood, he gets chastised which is absolutely fine by me but how many rappers do you know that have any connections to the Italian Mafia? from Lil Kim shouting out victoria gotti, to Irv GOTTI, to little Gotti, to Reasonable doubt, to Biggies second album, to Pac calling himself a don, to Nas reworking the sopranos tune, I could go on..
no one raises an eyebrow, but the minute a white boy says "word to your momma" he's a fucking fake.
I don't want this to turn into a racist thread as I'm not racist but why the double standards?

No-one says a white rapper is fake for using hood slang, provided he comes from the hood. Same applies to black rappers. As long as you're real it's cool. Obviously hip-hop is about bravado and exageration, but don't get the facts too twisted or your card will get pulled.

However if a (famous) white rapper uses the term nigga in his lyrics it isn't acceptable. (Unless you're shit, for example Fat Joe, and then everyone excuses it with the reason he's south American).

 

[VENOMOUS]

Has anyone noticed the way, lots of hip hop artists rip off the whole gangster ideology associated with the Italian Mafia. Why call yourself a Don, a cappo or try and pretend to be a character in Goodfellas or Scarface (admittedly Cuban but still a dick ride for most rappers) Artists are always talking about black pride and attempting to come over as politically minded...

Why are you all trying to act like the ITALIAN MAFIA? It's fucking lame...get your own identity.

yeah but i bet your white and you listen to hiphop which is black culture, you just might dress "hiphop" 2.So by ur standards if your not black you shouldnt rap?


the mafia/gangster culture is admire by all cultures not just hiphop.

 

[cookiesoda]

a better question would be why do hip hop artists aspire to and claim the italian mafioso culture, when the real italian mafia leading up to the new millennium (and probably still now), were extremely prejudiced towards blacks and basically treated them like shit?

:thumb:

 

[Mr.Deuce]

hip-hop (is) actin`so...