Guns and Gangs: A Deadly Duo

Guns and gangs: serious social order issues that plague Canadian society. It is also the label the Toronto Police Service has fastened upon one of its high-profile crime-fighting squads. Rodrigo Bascuñán and Christian Pearce offer an interesting study of the prevailing gun culture in Enter the Babylon System: Unpacking Gun Culture from Samuel Colt to 50 Cent. Their purpose is to challenge the prevailing view that hip-hop music causes crime and to deepen their readers’ appreciation of the larger societal crisis with respect to guns. The main purpose of this work is to focus attention on the gun industry and to mount an argument that powerful individuals and corporations are more responsible for the explosion of guns in our society than the hip-hop culture. These authors are devotees of the hip-hop world and, therefore, bring a sense and sensibility that is immersed in the rhymes and rhythms of this manifestation of expression. They are also engaged as co-owners...