5 Grams
Crack Cocaine, Rap Music, and the War on Drugs

A haunting look inside the worlds of crack and rap

He argues that the symbolism of crack in rap's stance towards its own commercialization represents a moral debate that is far bigger than hip hop culture, highlighting the degree to which crack cocaineoalthough a drug long in declineohas come to represent the entire paradoxical predicament of punishment in the U.S. today. This timely and innovative analysis has substantial implications for the study of crime and culture as well as the role of punishment in American society more generally, demonstrating that both crack and rap contain a profound struggle about the morality of urban life. An amazing and innovative account of how the worlds of crack and rap collide, overlap, and ultimately implode, the book takes you places you wouldn't expect, sights only rarely seen, and sounds so haunting they will be hard to forget. This is a compelling read and a needed contribution from sociology.