Through the book's stories the reader will be able to trace the changes in hip-hop music and in American youth. It begins in 1992 as gangsta rap rises to prominence and ends 3 years later when the scene is dominated by it and East Coast artists return to intricate styles in an effort to reclaim a once proud, time- honored position. The author concludes that gangsta rap is destroying hip-hop music and its positive messages. He views gangsta rap as a reflection of an inner-city gang life that views violence and guns as the expression and tools of manhood. Human life is devalued and respect for society's socializing institutions is undermined. This book profiles the artists who record the music and ensure its survival and also the artists who denounce it and attempt to counter it with positive messages for youth. The impact of gangsta rap on youth is shown to extend even to Tokyo, where rap listeners wear khakis and Raiders jackets. In Brooklyn, N.Y., robbery gangs strip people of their designer clothes while repeating lyrics by Gang Starr or Wu-Tang Clan. Gangsta rap tells those who listen to it that the best way to end a problem is to shoot it. The book also shows how the musicians who express their lifestyles in gangsta rap live their lives and how some end their lives.