The Influence Gangs have on Pop Culture
Nyla Anderson
Staff Writer
[email protected]
Social Media influences pop culture with trends, fashion, and music. Social Media also allows people to interact, even though they are far away. This includes people involved in gangs who use encrypted messages to share information. The interest in gangs has become more popular as rappers involved in them have grown.
One rapper, Blueface, has changed the rap community by explicitly rapping about his gang and using signs and dances associated with that gang. He has multiple songs that have the word “cryp” in it, which is an incorrect spelling of his gang called “Crips”. Blueface has had a growing fan base since his song “Thotiana” came out with a fun dance to do along with it.
On his instagram account, he posts videos of himself doing gang signs and doing the C-walk, a dancing sensation that is now seen all over social media, in schools, and on the streets.
Most people don’t know the history of the C-Walk, or Crip Walk. The dance was made only for gang members to show representation or just to use during Crip rap. Most of the time, the way a gang member would move their feet was to spell Crip, or sometimes their street or neighborhood. Gang members would also add more gang signs to the dance that can signify what area they represent.
Teenagers and smaller children with access to social media are doing these signs and this dance without knowing the true meaning, which is dangerous. In areas where gang activity is present, a person C-walking could unknowingly endanger themselves. A child may be doing the C-walk in the driveway of their home thinking they’re making a harmless dance video, and then become a target for violence or harassment.
Gangs are not a joke, and they should not be treated as entertainment. People should be free to listen to what music they like and watch any video, but people must also be cautious of where their actions take place.