That 'gangsta-rap' is perceived to be a sub-genre of hip hop, perhaps tells the greatest story of the role gangs have played in moulding hip hop. Gangs are a focal point of a fair portion of the hip hop we listen to, from all parts of USA but none more so that Los Angeles where we were introduced to 'Crips' and 'Bloods'. While I have grown up about as far away from LA as possible (New Zealand), my early exposure to hip hop came via Snoop Dogg and not only was I instantly given an insight into life as a Crip in Long Beach, I also grew up in South Auckland where it quickly became cool to throw up a C or a B and rock the adequate colour.

Even back then, there was an interesting relationship between the two gangs as you had a strong Crip presence on Deathrow Records and a strong Bloods presence led by Deathrow CEO Suge Knight. Of course West Coast gang-banging in hip hop wasn't restricted to these two, with the likes of the Dogg Pound, MC Eiht, DJ Quik and the Booya Tribe all representing their set.

As West Coast hip hop slowed down, much fell on the shoulders of The Game and his affilation to the red flag. The Game stood out in what was a pretty mediocre time in hip hop, so with the West Coast re-claiming its standing in hip hop, the relationship between gangs and rappers is now smacking listeners, the USA and hip hop lovers around the world in the face.

Kendrick Lamar is the leader of the West and while he doesn't represent a gang himself, his comrades on the streets are affiliated with the Bloods. Top Dawg Entertainment also features

Jay Rock who has a long connection with the Bloods, while Top Dawg himself is rarely seen without a red TDE hat on.

Also in TDE, Schoolboy Q is a Crip and his most recent work has seen him remind everyone of his gang-banging days, perhaps going harder in representing now than he did earlier in his career.

For Q, this includes bringing the homies with him. I've enjoyed keeping track of Traffic, who appeared in Kendrick Lamar's latest video 'DNA' alongside Q and steadily bangs Crip in everything he does.

Noisey Bompton outlined the relationship Lamar has with the Bloods and Noisey inlisted some help from Jay Worthy, rapper from the super funky group LNDN DRGS. Worthy represents red as hard as anyone else on the West Coast and you then have the likes of Lil L who is also Bloods and features in Noisey Bompton.

Vince Staples doesn't quite bang as hard as the others, but he certainly doesn't hide his past as a Long Beach Crip and these themes feature heavily in his music.

Staples' cousin and fellow Long Beach rapper Joey Fatts is similar in that Crip narratives feature prominently in his music and form much of his identity.

The artist who peaks my interest at this very moment is G Perico and his album 'All Blue' just dropped, clearly drawing links to his gang-banging nature.

In fact, Perico bang super hard and all his music videos feature blue or tales from life as Crip, then you've got this track with fellow Crip AD 'Crip Lives Matter'.

Nipsey Hussle is a West Coast veteran at this stage and he's not only established himself as a pioneer for independent hip hop/music, he's done so as a Crip.

Hussle has been a frequent collaborator with YG, most notably with their track 'FDT'. You'll catch the theme here as YG also reps the Bloods super hard and he's effortlessly blending his gang-banging into not only his music, but also fashion and general culture. YG has brought his crew with him, not only representing 4Hunnit in his music and reminding you where he's from at any opportunity, but also establishing it as a brand without losing any authenticity.

There are of course many other artists who are lending a helping hand in carrying the torch for the West Coast and contribute to the West Coast being home to absolute fire in terms of musical output, but we are witnessing a fairly open expression of gang-banging in what is now everyday music. The radio and music videos on the telly, no longer hold the key to exposure and now anyone, any age, from any country can hop on Youtube or Instagram and be influenced by West Coast gang culture. These artists are perhaps more open than ever about being a Crip or a Blood and they definitely have the platform to showcase that.

What is weird, or fascinating about this is that I don't view it as a bad thing at all. For starters, all the artists named above make really cool music, like not just 'dope hip hop' but on a much broader scale, they are making music that is pushing boundaries sonically and lyrically. We run a fairly tight ship in terms of the music we share and promote here at the Niche Cache and it's no coincidence that much of the West Coast music we share is gang-related because the music is well and truly worth us sharing it to the rest of New Zealand.

While these artists certainly represent their gangs, I don't view them as 'promoting gang culture'. Listen to any of these artists and you'll hear cautionary tales, you'll hear nothing but the truth about gang life and you'll be taken on a journey into why these young men join gangs.

Why these men join gangs, or feel as though gang life is their only option is the the major takeaway from all of this. These artists are simply telling their stories, from their perspective and forgive me for speaking out of turn as a kiwi; they are portraying what it's like to be them in a country that's kinda fucked up. Not only are they offering an insight into their lives and why they do what they do, they subsequently tell the stories of those around them, whether it be their families or community members who are dealt painful blow after painful blow.

I believe all of this is highly important for USA right now and while gangs in LA are nothing new, nor did they simply disapair when LA's hip hop scene fell off, we are seeing red and blue all over West Coast hip hop. Not only is the sheer volume of artists with strong gang ties notable, the quality of music is exceptional and collaborations between Crip and Blood artists are frequent.

Maybe we'll look back on this time as a key event in a shift that already feels like its underway. I can't specifically outline how or why, but the rise of gangs in West Coast hip hop via the general rise of LA hip hop feels as though it has coincided with a very important time for USA and to some extent the world.

I'll let you figure that out, until then I'll keep banging G Perico and LNDN DRGS in South Auckland.