In the late 80s, a group of high school dropouts, drug dealers, and ex-cons spoke out against racial injustice and police brutality.
At gangsta rap\'s peak, two of its biggest names--Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls--would be murdered, and the surviving superstars would have to make peace before their music collapsed in its own violence.
Exhaustively reported and masterfully written, Original Gangstas is a monumental work of music history that will offer news-making stories about a legendary group of artists, some living, some dead..
In the process, hip-hop burst into mainstream America at a time of immense social change, and became the most dominant musical movement of the last thirty years.
He shows how N.
W.
A.\'s shocking success lead to rivalries between members, record labels, and eventually an all-out war between East Coast and West Coast rappers.
Dre, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Shakur.
Music journalist Ben Westhoff shows how this group of artists shifted the balance of hip-hop from New York to Los Angeles.
Their names remain as popular as ever--Eazy-E, Dr.
And they quickly redefined pop culture across the world.
They gave a voice to disenfranchised African Americans across the country.
Their explosive popularity put their Los Angeles neighborhood of Compton on the map.
They did it through hip-hop.
In the late 80s, a group of high school dropouts, drug dealers, and ex-cons spoke out against racial injustice and police brutality
