Naughty by Nature? Distinguishing Between Cyber-banging and Underground Battle Rap Videos

• In Event: Race, Gangs, and Criminal Justice Policy Potpourri

Abstract

Gangs have been increasing their online presence in recent years with Facebook pages, blogs, and YouTube videos. To the extent possible, police and the criminal justice system have taken advantage of this online presence to monitor gang activity and prosecute gang members caught bragging online about murders. With the anonymity of the internet, though, it is often difficult to distinguish between actual gang members and supporters or people posing as gang members. In a previous study, we demonstrated a link between six YouTube battle rap videos and homicides committed in Pittsburgh, PA. The purpose of this study is to compare the original set of battle rap videos to a new set of YouTube-based underground rap videos identified by a group of Pittsburgh street outreach workers in order to determine whether there are any characteristics that would distinguish the videos linked to violence from the videos that are simply music.

Authors

• Joseph D. Johnson, Rowan University

• Natalie Schell-Busey, Rowan University