NWA was a gangsta rap crew who told stories of the 'hustler' lifestyle where "life ain't nothin' but bitches and money." As such, they relied heavily on being as offensive as possible. The cover of their 1988 album, Straight Outta Compton, features a power-emphasising low-angle shot of the band members looking down into the camera, which places the audience in the position of the defeated enemy. A gun is pointing straight at us. Each man is wearing 'street' clothes, and one has a chunky gold necklace showing. The picture is shot in natural lighting, and the eyes of three of...
most highly prized possessions," which has a clear anti-materialist message.20 Rap has some of its roots in old African American traditions of 'toasting' - the speaking of "vernacular poetry made from street language." Toasting itself is linked to what Cross calls the "African art of rhyming over beats," which is clearly rap's birthplace.21 Ultimately, hiphop is "a community of bedrooms… In homes all over the city people gather around turntables… different perspectives are shared, microphone techniques are invented and beatbrokers collage new soundtracks for urban survival."22 Bringing people together, encouraging creativity, celebrating blackness - this is rap's true legacy.