1. Hip Hop & The Crack Epidemic

2. Heroin & Cocaine James Brown – King Heroin Cocaine – Kurtis Blow, LL Cool J, J-Ski Love Glamour Expensive - $80-90,000 /kg

3. Freebase aka Crack Ability to smoke it – more potent Complicated chemical process Freeway Ricky Ross – baking soda instead of ether Mass production – cheap - $10 a rock

4. 1984 Ronald Raegan – US president Recession – Tax breaks for rich, cutbacks for poor

5. Dealers Snoop, RZA, Biggie, Raekwon, Ice-T, Jay-Z Role models Scarface – Tony Montana – Rags to riches story

6. Media Hype More addictive – crazy things to get it Violence/crime – few neighborhoods in big cities Media frenzy – focus on black neighborhoods - fear of black threat

7. War On Drugs Violence – shootouts – becoming an epidemic Ronald Raegan – war on drugs Demonized - More punishment, evil Long prison terms – 5 yrs for 5 grams – 100:1 “Just say NO” - Hollywood

8. Music Dealer became very rich – loaned $ to kids to press records Too $hort, Schooly D, BDP (KRS One) – rappers became reporter – opposite from media Fashion – gold chains, Gucci, MCM, LV

9. LA Gangs Drugs from Nicaragua – fast food style work Crack multiplied gangs – Crips/Bloods Weapons in the hood – Uzi, AK-47 LAPD – police militarization – Batteram NWA – story tellers

10. Late 80s – Early 90s Crack wiping out black America Public Enemy – Baseheads – zombies COPS – TV show George Bush Sr – Increased prisons – mass incarceration Police out of control – 1992 – Rodney King

11. Prisons 1986 laws – largest prison population in the world Disproportionally black 2010 – Obama reduced ratio – 18:1 2014 – trying to reduce sentences