CLOTHING
Some gangs adhere to strict dress codes. A common gang "uniform" consists of khaki pants with sharp creases ironed down the front of each leg, a white T-shirt worn under a plaid flannel shirt, and a bandana. The way the clothing is worn and the color of the clothing varies with the individual gangs. For example, members of some Hispanic gangs wear their shirts buttoned only at the collar, while black gangs wear their shirts open.
TATTOOS
Tattoos are not a tell-tale sign that the wearer is a gang member. Though many gang members do wear tattoos, some do not. Hispanic gangs frequently tattoo their arms, hands, shoulders, stomachs, back of necks and backs. The tattoo may be small or large enough to cover the entire back or stomach. Often, the gang member will have the name of his or her gang tattooed somewhere on their bodies.
HAND SIGNS
Most gangs use hand signs to identify their gang and as a form of communication. Hand signs are also used to "flash" a warning or a threat to rival gangs. Some gangs have elaborate hand and body signals, so advanced, that they can have complete conversations without saying a word. These signs are frequently used when they don't want others to know what they are about to do.
GRAFFITI
Gang related graffiti may be the first sign that there are gangs in the community. Gangs use graffiti as their "newspapers," their way of marking boundaries and warning rival gangs. Graffiti may also be used to advertise the selling of drugs. Or as a means of erecting a memorial to a killed gang member.
Gangsta Shoes
Gangsters
Gangster is the frequently misused term for a career criminal who is, or at some point almost invariably becomes, a member of a persistent violent crime organization, such as a gang. As an adjective it can be used as an unflattering depiction of the violent and devious methods commonly used by mobsters, and the derived form gangsterism it implies such methods as practice or habit.
HIP HOP
Hip hop music, also known as rap music, is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s and since. It consists of two main components: rapping and DJing (production and scratching). Along with hip hop dance (notably breakdancing) and urban-inspired art, or notably graffiti, these compose the four elements of hip hop culture, a cultural movement that was initiated by inner-city youth, mostly Blacks and Latinos[1][2] in New York City, in the early 1970s. Though it can be referred to as an African American music, its creation and proliferation can be credited to many groups of people within the United States and around the world.
Rapping
Rapping, also known as emceeing, MCing, rhyme spitting, or just rhyming, is the rhythmic delivery of vocals, one of the central elements of hip hop music and culture. The word "rap" has been claimed to be an acronym of the phrases "rhythmic American poetry" or "rhythm and poetry." Rapping can be delivered over a beat or without accompaniment. Stylistically, rap occupies a gray area among speech, prose, poetry and song. Rap is derived from the griots (folk poets) of West Africa, Caribbean-style toasting and American blues and jazz roots.