Book Review: Chicago hustle and flow: Gangs, gangsta rap, and social class

• Author: Randall G. Shelden
• Date: 01 June 2015
• Published date: 01 June 2015
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016815573306
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

Harkness, G. (2014).

Chicago hustle and flow: Gangs, gangsta rap, and social class. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. 244 pp.

$22.50 (Paperback) ISBN: 978-0-8166-9229-3.

Reviewed by: Randall G. Shelden, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA

DOI: 10.1177/0734016815573306

As the author of this book notes in the preface, the subject of social class ‘‘may be more salient than

ever’’ indeed. But it always has been an important topic in sociology and related fields. When it

comes to gangs, it has traditionally been linked to race. Almost 90 years ago, Frederick Thrasher

published what has become a classic in the study of gangs. In his book, simply called The Gang,

he made both class and race front and center in his analysis. Thrasher’s view of gang causation was

consistent with the social disorganization perspective. He noted that gangs develop within the most

impoverished areas of a city. More specifically, Thrasher noted that gangs tend to flourish in areas he

called interstitial. These areas lie within the ‘‘poverty belt’’ within a city, ‘‘a region characterized by

the deteriorating neighborhoods, shifting populations, and the mobility and disorganization of the

slum. ... Gangland represents a geographically and socially interstitial area in the city.’’ Such an

area has been called many names, such as the zone in transition, the slum, the ghetto, and the barrio.

He was referring to the city of Chicago.

Fast-forward to the present and you have an unusual study by Geoff Harkness who gives us the

connection between ‘‘gangsta rap’’ and race, class and Chicago street gangs. Harkness, an assistant

professor of Sociology at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, grew up in a relatively poor part

of Kansas City with his mother. At an early age, he became fascinated with music and when his

mother got a job with a concert promotion company, he was able to get front row seats at many con-

certs, including Van Halen and Duran Duran. His first job was at a record store stocking shelves. He

eventually learned to play and guitar and soon joined a punk band. Eventually, he ended up in Los

Angeles where he continued to get involved in the music business and became fascinated with gang-

sta rap (he attended many rap concerts). Upon enrolling in a sociology class at a community college,

he was assigned to read articles related to rap music and the connection to the rioting following the

Rodney King episode. In his words, ‘‘I’d found my calling.’’ He pursued his graduate studies in

sociology at Northwestern University in Chicago where he spent many years hanging out with var-

ious rap groups as he conducted fieldwork for his dissertation, which evolved into this book. The

methodology he used for this study reminds me of some of the classic ethnographies such as ‘‘Street

Corner Society’’ but with a modern twist, using various social networks like MySpace and Face-

book. He interviewed a total of 135 participants, mostly rappers but a few producers. A total of

23 were active gang members, although most once belonged to gangs but eventually evolved into

making rap music. His fieldwork lasted for 6 years.

For me this booktook me to a part of the social sceneI knew nothing about, but I foundmyself cap-

tivated by the subject. It was quite a learning experience for me. His uniquecontribution comes from,

among other things,the distinction between ‘‘backpack’’ and ‘‘gangsta’’ stylesof rap. These two ideal

types reflectdifferent class and to someextent racial backgrounds.Backpackers are more likelyto be of

mixed racial backgrounds (35%White, 26%Black, and 28%Latino) and of a slightly highe r social

class. Their rap styles and lyrics emphasize ‘‘social responsibility, racial unity and gender equality.’’

In contrast, gangstas are mostly Blacks andLatinos (40%each) and come from a lowerclass back-

ground. Gangstas ‘‘are nihilists whose lyrics are brimming with violent and misogynistic themes.’’

Harkness also notes that each of these types display different styles of dress that reflect the dif-

ferent class backgrounds. While gangstas display flashy styles (e.g., baggy pants, ostentatious jew-

elry, etc.), backpackers wear blue jeans, T-shirts, and polo shirts.

242 Criminal Justice Review 40(2)