Stressed Out: How 'Mind Playing Tricks On Me' Gave Anxiety A Home In Hip-Hop
This story is part of American Anthem, a yearlong series on songs that rouse, unite, celebrate and call to action. Find more at NPR.org/Anthem.
Editor's note: This story includes story includes brief mentions of suicide.
When HBO's drama The Sopranos began airing in 1999, the idea of a mob boss seeking therapy was revolutionary. But Tony Soprano wasn't the first gangster to expose his sensitive side to the world: That distinction came nearly a decade earlier, thanks to three gangstas of a different stripe.
The year was 1991. John Singleton's Boyz n was playing on the big screen. Rodney King's beating by LA cops was on virtual loop on the small screen. And "," by the Houston rap trio Geto Boys, was bumping out of nearly every car with speakers in the trunk, putting a voice to the angst and paranoia that defined what it meant to be a young black man in America at the time.
