The Oakland Raiders football team and organization began in the 1960's. They were a NFL team that were known for their violent antics and rough around the edges. In 1982, the Raiders head coach, Al Davis, moved the Oakland Raiders to the city of Los Angeles. During this time period the music genre of rap was finding a new home in Los Angeles as well. A rap group, N.W.A, began their rise of popularity in the city and around the world and an accidental merger was made between the Raiders and N.W.A, changing both rap culture and football culture for ever.
“N.W.A wore Raiders gear as if it was there logo, this today is a reason why the Raiders are associated with the Gangster image, that and being based in Oakland” (Bleacher Report). As N.W.A became more popular their style became more popular everybody wanted Raiders gear because they wanted to be associated with N.W.A. They wanted to embody the same toughness that N.W.A. so aptly reflected. This caused many problems in L.A., schools had to ban the Raiders gear The Raiders name and logo became synonymous with gang life and violence in L.A. People wore the jerseys because “it stood for being hard, being a rebel, and being "thugged out" as some would say. You see it in music videos, TV, all over pop culture. “There are Raiders fans all over the world, even non Raider fans wear Oakland gear, just to represent that California lifestyle” (Bleacher Report).
The atmosphere at football games dramatically changed. The Raiders became a hood team, it was like the streets decided to stop for a minute to watch a football game. Fans fought other fans and there had to many police intervention at games. The Raiders always played with a chip on their shoulder when they were out on the field, but they were not used to fans doing the same thing. The Raiders hardcore image they represented became too overwhelming for themselves and in 1994 the Raiders decided to move back to Oakland.
The negative connotation that was affiliated with the Raiders made their fan basis even stronger. Even though in the late 80's to early 90's the Raiders were having average seasons, the merchandise was exploding through the roof. From 1984 to 1991 their merchandise sale went from three million dollars to three billion dollars in just seven years. Other teams decided to change their jersey colors as well. The L.A. kings changed their colors from a gold and purple color to a black and silver color. That slight change caused their merchandise sales to expand rapidly.
The change brought to the Raiders fan basis derived from the N.W.A reality rap.The Raiders were very popular during the 1980's and will continue to be popular because of the "F**K YOU" message they promoted in association with N.W.A. The rap culture merger with the Raiders caused the Raiders to become more than a football team. The became a symbol of the streets.
The negative connotation that was affiliated with the Raiders made their fan basis even stronger. Even though in the late 80's to early 90's the Raiders were having average seasons, the merchandise was exploding through the roof. From 1984 to 1991 their merchandise sale went from three million dollars to three billion dollars in just seven years. Other teams decided to change their jersey colors as well. The L.A. kings changed their colors from a gold and purple color to a black and silver color. That slight change caused their merchandise sales to expand rapidly.
The change brought to the Raiders fan basis derived from the N.W.A reality rap.The Raiders were very popular during the 1980's and will continue to be popular because of the "F**K YOU" message they promoted in association with N.W.A. The rap culture merger with the Raiders caused the Raiders to become more than a football team. The became a symbol of the streets.