California's Hoodlife Tours: The History of Gangster Rap

Hodari Sababu, founder of Hoodlife Tours in Los Angeles, takes tourists through the streets of Compton and other notorious neighborhoods known for inspiring the "gangster rap" craze and gives outsiders a history lesson of the deliberate flooding of drugs into economically depressed areas, creating the present day urban crisis of gang violence. Many white youth, fascinated at the style of "gangster" rappers, and the music videos and films which glamourize the urban violence get an eye opening experience with these guided tours through some of the California's most dangerous urban communities, and come to understand the connection between economic deprivation, drug addiction, and battles for turf in areas where the income from drug sales can net millions of dollars,per week.