Thug Life Army

Albuquerque New Mexico has three hundred years of history that begins with the Spanish inquisition. New Mexico is also the home to a well loved and liked regulator Billy The Kid.

As we enter a new generation and era the tables have turned towards Latin Hip Hop. Most children in the barrios of New Mexico have embraced the urban lifestyle breathing and believing what they have heard on the local radio stations.

The dream for most impoverished children would be to become a rap artist like Tupac (2Pac), Eazy-E, Fat Joe and many more. We have seen the rise of independent artists in our communities and the number of Chicano, Latino rappers has doubled since the time Latino rap was introduced to us, with one thing in mind for the young bright children of our streets, The Bling.

In our online study we have been able to see that 80% of rappers in our community lie on 80% of their rhymes. Most rappers of today feel the need to fabricate their lifestyle as a person who might make more than six figures or fabricate the fact that they have come from the streets. All this fabrication of who one may be, is so that they can appeal to the commercial hip-hop and rap scene, a style that has become unfamiliar with the true essence of rap and why it was formed.

Rap was formed to allow young suppressed individuals to express themselves and speak about the strife and survival that comes from with-in the ghettos and barrios of our American streets, now it's a growing trend for individuals to become a person that they dream of becoming and put this hypocritical music together and call it rap/hip hop losing the true meaning and essence of Americas Rap.

Most rappers rap about committing criminal acts and lay down a self confessed album about selling drugs and committing murder, but as we have researched  in the life a person who has been incarcerated, it’s not the way that you should portray your self because you are considered a person of a lesser standard a “SNITCH”. Volunteering to much information is a rule that has been in place since the Greek Armies and also in the prohibition days.

When an individual has composed a song that is not compiled of true facts it causes a new problem with individuals that have lived as a victims of society and have also been incarcerated, you are then a person who has not gained credibility and become what convicts call a “BUSTER”. One who lies to become apart of something their not.

Hip-Hop music can make you feel good and realize that you are not alone, we are lucky as Americans to have hip-hop available to us and should really evaluate the essence of this music and also respect it by keeping it real.