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Rap, like poetry, is oral and traditionally set at a specified meter, maintains a consistent thought and is created to please the ear as well as the mind. I contend that rap music, just as traditional poetry, stands as not only as a means to express creativity on the part of African-Americans, but it also stands as an art-form that addresses an agenda that would stand to spark meaningful dialogue. In Richard Wright's essay, "Introduction: Blueprint for Negro Writing," he explicitly expresses that the untraditional means through which black literature has evolved and is not identical to European-based literature. He also insists that much black writing that existed through the mid-20th century stemmed directly from the sharing of jokes or through "burnt-out white Bohemians" producing stolen or purchased material from needy blacks.2 Whichever the case, I assert that because of these modest beginnings, black literature has had to choose a different path to legitimacy than "white" literature. Black literature is sprinkled with unconventional characteristics that have helped itself gain a status of legitimacy and cultural reverence, and therefore is compelled to maintain some aspects of those characteristics to retain some black arts authenticity.

Preface ...V
Introduction ...1
Chapter 1. Public Enemy: Did "The CNN of the Black Community" Move Too Swiftly Towards Idealistic Pluralism? ...18
Chapter 2. N.W.A. The Fathers ofGangsta Rap: Social Demons or
Ghetto Narrators? ...38
Chapter 3. Tupac Shakur: Black Victim or Strong Soldier? ...62
Conclusion ...80
Bibliography ...83
Discography ...89
Acknowledgements ...91