Gangsta rap celebrates a world in which women are either "bitches" or "whores" and where disaffected young men have .9- millimeter-handgun solutions to minor slights. Life is a round of jail, drugs, police, gangs, parties, and sexual depravity. Death is a given, and attitude is the essence of the person. Starting with a consumer base of inner-city youth, gangsta rap has also gained big sales from suburban white kids. The music, however, reinforces racial stereotypes that African-Americans have struggled for so long to erase. Whites receive from black rap music the message that mayhem and hatred of women are intrinsic to the black urban lifestyle. Although gangsta proponents claim that the outcry against this kind of rap comes from conservative, predominantly white "watchdog" groups, some black radio stations have refused to play the music, and they have been joined in their protest by various black community groups, women's organizations, and even a female rapper. In December 1993 the National Political Congress of Black Women held a press conference to urge the music industry to stop releasing gangsta- rap records that demean women and promote crime. In February 1994, Operation PUSH called for a 40-day "fast," during which its supporters would not buy or listen to explicit, hardcore gangsta rap. Blaming rap music for an array of behavioral and attitudinal problems that negatively impact women, however, is not enough. Those who are committed to the development of a positive culture for our youth must determine why black youth are so threatened by black women and are so responsive to the attitudes and values of gangsta rappers. Based on the best answers to these questions, media personnel, legislators, and the public must develop a strategy that will influence youth toward a positive lifestyle.