Do rappers actually live the gangster lifestyle that they rap about?

There’s plenty of so called “gangster rappers” but would any real gangster rap about their past or current living? Isn’t that literally just self incriminating?

Let’s look at the definition of a gangster:
“A member of a gang of violent criminals.”

Now, let’s look at the definition of a rapper:
“A person who performs rap music.”

There’s plenty of so called “gangster rappers” but would any real gangster rap about their past or current living?

A lot of people stand behind an illusion of what they believe people want to see and some even start to believe the lie.

A real killer moves in silence, right? Or at least they should otherwise all they’re really doing is incriminating themselves. Who wants to do that? The less people know the better, right?

I’ve followed Hip Hop (the culture) for over two decades now and from the 90’s when gangsta rap came out, that’s most probably the realest and most authentic era.

Plenty of rappers were involved in gangs and music was a primary escape to get out the game. A lot of these artists never really got big. They were either “too raw” and “not marketable enough” or they told stories from their environment - which weren’t fake, it just wasn’t them.

These guys could be called ‘story tellers’. They might have even grown up around certain people or were affiliated. Kinda like an actor playing a role in a movie. They become the character.

You’ve all heard that saying “Actions speak louder than words”. No real gang member would last doing what they do and continue rapping about it.

So back to the original question. Yeah, there’s most definitely a good few. You just won’t ever hear from them again because:

1. They’re incarcerated for life.

2. They’re not alive anymore.

A short list:

• C Murder - Life without parole.
  Master P’s brother. He…