SWAGGER-JACKING THE SPIRIT OF HIP-HOP

Rap and crack were both born 30 years ago, and more than a few rappers brag on their records about starting their labels with drug money. At nearly the same moment as Run DMC was growing to international fame in the mid-80s, crack cocaine began dominating the inner-city drug trade. Suddenly a subset of people who shared similar backgrounds was making a lot of money, either by selling crack rocks or rhyming into a microphone.