Essay Tha Police

Leadership, commonly defined as the process of influencing a group to achieve a common goal, can be expressed in essentially all aspects of life. Film, history, the natural sciences, and even music can offer important leadership experiences to groups and individuals. Music, being an extremely versatile and universal concept, is an effective way for leaders to convey messages, goals, and visions to followers. Many artists and musical groups use their music to shed light on social issues and empower oppressed groups. N.W.A, also known as Niggaz Wit Attitudes, was a popular “gangsta rap” group from 1986-1991 that used their music to show the injustices that many people of color face on a daily basis (“N.W.A”). While this group sparked much controversy due to their vulgar lyrics and explicit dissatisfaction with police and legal system, their music was some of the first to show minority communities that they were not alone in their struggles.

There are many factors that play a role in how N.W.A provided leadership to their following, including socio-economic struggles, historical context, values, and culture. In their essay entitled “The Historical and Contemporary

In response to the tension between minority groups and police officers, N.W.A expresses their discontent with the system by saying “a young nigga got it bad ‘cause I’m brown and not the other color, so police think they have the authority to kill a minority” (Jackson, N.W.A, 1988). They go on to make statements like police “thinkin’ every nigga is sellin’ narcotics” to emphasize the racial profiling used by law enforcement at the time (Jackson, N.W.A, 1988). These responses sent a strong message to members of African American communities, showing them that people were paying attention to the injustice and were willing to talk about it through