LA: I definitely knew what it was. I remember feeling a bit of fear when a car would pull up bumping that trademark bass/soul clap combo from G-Funk.
If you drive far South enough in Chicago, you’re bound to wind up in the bungalow belt, which has a mix of drive in businesses and drive-up one story commercial districts. The scale can easily be mixed and matched with LA. Also, the gang culture led Chicago to identify with LA.
Closer to downtown you have (or had) big apartment buildings, big screeching El trains, walk up 3 flats, and endless blocks of high rise projects, which led us to a “Monie in the middle” situation of identifying with Hip Hop, where Ice Cube was the hottest rapper on the streets, then Jay-Z years down the line. For a few years, Chicago was like an subsidiary of Ruff Ryders, then Roc-A-Fella records, then Cash Money came out and everyone was wearing large white T’s. Then came the Pink Ts from Camron and the Dipset movement. That lasted a year. Celebs from these camps would often be found on the streets of Chicago. Chicago was always a major market for Southern acts such as UGK, and Eightball and MJG. Rap A Lot records from Houston recruited some Chicago acts. Only with Drill music did you see other cities copying Chicago
Sometimes the dusty, windswept, brown and tan colored buildings and prairie grass of the Midwest give a very tundra-like vibe, especially in the slums. That’s one aspect of the Midwest that differs from the East Coast, which is packed closer together and more haphazard and clunky. Bizarre.
It’s interesting you mentioned Moorish architecture, because a major Chicago gang, offshoot of the Black P Stone Rangers, adopted Moorish philosophy (Mo’s for short), they even built a temple.
https://www.kentimmerman.com/rukn.htm
And their rivals were the more Hebrew based Folks, or Gangsta Disciples, with the 6 point Star of David as their sign.
https://www.pinterest.com/moneymakem...ter-disciples/
Then theres the Vice Lords, who operated out the “Holy City”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almighty_Vice_Lord_Nation
Speaking of Gangs, the Bay Area is the only metropolitan area in the US without a presence of Chicago-based or Los Angeles-based Black gangs. (They have Sureños and Norteños though). Crime is done independently, kind of like NYC in the 80s. In the Bay you can wear bight colorful outfits without having to worry about your safety.
Miami also has a home grown gang that went nationwide, the Haitian-based Zoe Pound.