Original Gangstas cover art

Original Gangstas

The Untold Story of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, and the Birth of West Coast Rap

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Original Gangstas

By: Ben Westhoff
Narrated by: J. D. Jackson
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About this listen

 "Raw, authoritative, and unflinching ... An elaborately detailed, darkly surprising, definitive history of the LA gangsta rap era." -- Kirkus, starred review

A monumental, revealing narrative history about the legendary group of artists at the forefront of West Coast hip-hop: Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Shakur.

Amid rising gang violence, the crack epidemic, and police brutality, a group of unlikely voices cut through the chaos of late 1980s Los Angeles: N.W.A. Led by a drug dealer, a glammed-up producer, and a high school kid, N.W.A gave voice to disenfranchised African Americans across the country. And they quickly redefined pop culture across the world. Their names remain as popular as ever -- Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, and Ice Cube. Dre soon joined forces with Suge Knight to create the combustible Death Row Records, which in turn transformed Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur into superstars.

Ben Westhoff explores how this group of artists shifted the balance of hip-hop from New York to Los Angeles. He shows how N.W.A.'s shocking success lead to rivalries between members, record labels, and eventually a war between East Coast and West Coast factions. 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. At gangsta rap's peak, two of its biggest names -- Tupac and Biggie Smalls -- were murdered, leaving the surviving artists to forge peace before the genre annihilated itself.

Featuring extensive investigative reporting, interviews with the principal players, and dozens of never-before-told stories, Original Gangstas is a groundbreaking addition to the history of popular music. Americas History & Criticism Music Social Sciences Hip-Hop Thought-Provoking

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Critic reviews

"I trust Ben Westhoff. I trust him to report a story and I trust him to tell a story, and that's exactly what he's done here in Original Gangstas. He's taken what's always felt like an almost impossibly knotted string of storylines and plot points in gangsta rap, the most turbulent version of the most popular music on the planet, and turned them into an airtight and unflinching book. Original Gangstas is as resolute as the people and ideas it sets out to profile, and that is no small feat."—Shea Serrano, New York Times bestselling author of The Rap Year Book
"Scrupulously researched with many incisive revelations, this may be the best book ever written about the hip hop world."—S. Leigh Savidge,Academy Award nominee and co-writer of Straight Outta Compton
"A provocative, multifaceted portrait of essential rap pioneers who ushered the hip-hop music scene to greatness.... As raw, authoritative, and unflinching as the music his narrative chronicles, Westhoff comprehensively uncovers the factual roots of the gangsta rap movement and admirably credits those whose footprints paved the way for the younger rappers emerging today.... An elaborately detailed, darkly surprising, definitive history of the LA gangsta rap era."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"[Adds] fresh detail to the oft-told stories ...[A] history that won't settle for easy heroes or villains."—Rolling Stone
"Original Gangstas is as real as it gets if you want to know the so-called 'gangsta rap' scene. Ben Westhoff refrains from using rumors and innuendos, and instead reports the facts, and he tells all sides of this music movement. The book goes into depth about many stories I'd only previously heard via the streets. As the first DJ to play almost everyone mentioned in the book, I found Original Gangstas compelling reading. Thank you, Ben Westhoff, for this great book!"—Greg Mack, "The Godfather of Hip Hop Radio," former KDAY DJ, current host of the nationally syndicated "The Greg Mack Show"
"Invaluable... [Westhoff's] book will stand as a comprehensive guide to an inner-city movement that conquered the world."—Publishers Weekly
"Original Gangstas takes readers to the source, the battered communities and difficult lives that spawned an unlikely musical revolution. Eazy and Dre, Tupac and Snoop-Westhoff admires his subjects' music talent but isn't afraid to expose their darkest secrets. His research is exhaustive, while his prose is concise, and the result is an unforgettable history of the last time music was ever really dangerous."—Stephen Witt, author of How Music Got Free
"Original Gangstas shows how the rap West was won. A social and cultural study to read along with a head nodding-soundtrack 'fo sho.'"—Chuck D, Public Enemy
All stars
Most relevant
This book is first rate informative, insightful and, as strangely as it may sound given the subject matter, an enjoyable to read.

really good read

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This really was interesting and made me want to listen to more as the story progressed.The most interesting for me was the section on 2Pac👍🏼

Great 👍🏼

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Ben Westhoff manages to present two decades (and more) worth of testinmonies, inside storys, interviews and lives into a staggeringly detailed and engrossing timeline of the emergence, rise and fall of gangsta rap in South Central Los Angeles and beyond.

This isn't just 'the inside story', this is 'inside the inside story', with details that not even the most ardent of hip-hop fan would know about.

Charting the details of many players including Ice Cube, Dr Dre, Eazy E, Tupac Shakur, Suge Knight and hundreds of other rappers, lawyers, personalities, hangers-on and money-grabbers.

I don't think I will read another book as well-researched, engrossing, captivating and historically accurate as this book.

In my experience, the best narrators give you the story without adding their distracting flair, and JD Jackson provides exactly that, with a few attempts at impressions during quotes which add a bit of variety to the narrative.

A MUST-READ for anyone with even the a vague interest in rap and hip-hop.

Possibily the most well-researched book I've read

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this is a great story told and surprised to learn a new perspective if 2pac and suge saga too

memories of old skool. god i miss 2pac. go get it

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The definitive history of West Coast Gangster Rap.
Superbly well researched, magnificently narrated and with a story that kept moving.

The definitive history of West Coast Gangster Rap

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