i can't speak for anyone else but how 'real' a gangsta rapper is makes no difference to me. one of my favorite albums is the infamous by mobb deep and they were undoubtedly one of the least genuine gangsta rap groups of all time - they even met in art school for christ's sake.
i do agree with dj that gangsta rappers are different from other entertainers in that they never drop their persona. pacino ceases to be tony montana when he is not playing tony montana. sure you can cite sun ra but at least he was original. there are a million drug-lord-turned-rapper personas out there. it's not at all original, it's just perpetuating an old trope that has been proven to work.
but i think modern mainstream rappers have largely adopted the same basic criminal persona but made the music more accessible and less aggressive. and so there are tons of people who listen to that kind of rap music. the more aggressive stuff fell by the wayside because times change and musical tastes evolve.
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