By Calvin Scudder
Society has no problem accepting that to understand medicine, you must first learn the language of medicine. You don’t walk into a hospital, hear “myocardial infarction,” and pretend you understand it because you’ve seen a heart before. You learn the terminology. You learn the context. You learn how the language reveals the problem.
Yet when it comes to gangs, many officers still rely on surface indicators: colors, tattoos, hand signs. That’s not intelligence. It’s decoration.
If you truly want to understand gangs, you must first learn the language of gangs.
Every criminal subculture has its own language. Gangs are no different. Slang, coded phrases, lyrics, hashtags, emojis and inside references are how they communicate identity, loyalty, intent and threat. This language evolves constantly, and if you are not immersed in it, you are always behind.
| RELATED: What every young cop gets wrong about gangs
As a young gang officer, I spent time listening to music created by active gang members and analyzing their lyrics. I wasn’t consuming it for entertainment. I was studying language, threats, affiliations and admissions tied directly to the violence impacting our communities.
One day, a supervisor walked by my desk and asked, “How can you listen to that stuff?” Before I could respond, he told me to turn it off, warning it could lead to an internal complaint. What he failed to understand was that I wasn’t listening for me. I was studying a group of people who victimize our communities at an overwhelming rate.
When an officer says, “I don’t listen to that garbage,” what they are really saying is, “I am choosing to be ignorant of my adversary.” I do not listen to Dallas drill music because I like it. I listen to understand the language, identify moniker names and track emerging groups.
Music is intelligence, not entertainment
Gang members do not write music for you. They write it for each other. Lyrics are not just art; they are status updates, clout chasing, confessionals, warnings and sometimes admissions.
Drill, trap and regional gang music are not abstract or metaphorical. They routinely reference specific sets, blocks and neighborhoods, often naming territories with precision that rivals any map.
Lyrics openly document ongoing beefs and rivalries, recount who is at war with whom and why. Past shootings and retaliations are revisited in detail, sometimes celebrated, sometimes used as warnings. Weapons are not just mentioned; they are described, along with tactics, ambush styles and methods of approach. Even drug trafficking is woven into the narrative, with references to supply sources, distribution methods and the economics of the trade.
The same applies on the extremist side. Hardcore white supremacist music, prison-based power music and ideological propaganda tracks are not random noise. They are indoctrination tools. They reinforce identity, justify violence and normalize criminal behavior.
You are not listening to agree. You are listening to understand.
Investigators who dismiss this are the same ones who miss threats until they turn into bodies.
If you don’t know the language, you miss the threat
Gang members rarely say, “I am about to commit a murder.” They say:
“We sliding.”
“It’s up.”
“Catch him lacking.”
“On sight.”
“Spinning the block.”
Those are not slang terms. Those are operational indicators.
If you don’t know what they mean, you don’t recognize pre-incident indicators. You don’t see escalation. You don’t understand motive. You don’t connect cases.
That’s how shootings get labeled “random.” They’re not random. You just didn’t understand the language.
Culture drives behavior
Gangs are not just criminal enterprises. They are identity groups. Music, language, clothing, social media and symbolism all reinforce belonging.
That culture shapes:
- Who they target
- How they retaliate
- What they value
- What they fear
If you don’t understand the culture, you misread behavior.
An officer who understands gang language hears things differently in interviews, Title III intercepts, jail calls, traffic stops and street contacts.
How to build real gang fluency
This is not complicated. It requires discipline. Criminal organizations are converging. Gangs work with cartels. Extremist groups recruit in prisons. Organized crime uses the same online platforms as street gangs. The language overlaps. The symbols blend. The ideologies cross-pollinate.
- Listen to the music — not casually, but analytically.
- Follow artists and local rappers connected to gangs in your area.
- Track lyrics that reference violence, locations or rivalries.
- Study regional slang. What means one thing in Chicago means something else in Dallas. For example, in Dallas the term “striker” is slang for a stolen vehicle.
- Pay attention to social media captions and comments. That’s where real communication happens.
- Talk to your gang unit — not just about who they are, but how they communicate.
Cartel music as strategic messaging
If you think cartel music is just cultural flavor, you are already behind.
Narcocorridos, trap corridos and cartel-aligned artists are not entertainers. They are narrators of power. These songs glorify traffickers, celebrate executions, document smuggling routes and reinforce cartel mythology. In many cases, they are commissioned, approved or tolerated by the organizations themselves.
Cartel music routinely references:
- Specific plazas and corridors
- Known traffickers and lieutenants
- Methods of execution and intimidation
- Smuggling techniques and concealment methods
- Weapons platforms and convoy tactics
These lyrics are cultural reinforcement and psychological warfare. They normalize brutality. They build legend. They recruit.
If you work gangs, narcotics or organized crime and you are not familiar with this music, you are missing context when subjects reference it or use it online. You are also missing early indicators of alignment and radicalization.
White supremacist music as ideological conditioning
Hardcore white supremacist music, prison power music and extremist propaganda tracks are not fringe noise. They are ideological weapons. These songs reinforce identity, dehumanize perceived adversaries, glorify violence and normalize criminal behavior. This is not edgy counterculture. This is conditioning.
White supremacist music has been documented as a recruitment and radicalization tool. Lyrics frame minorities as subhuman, government as the enemy and violence as necessary and honorable. The repetition matters. Over time, those messages normalize hatred, validate aggression and create a narrative where violence is expected.
If you don’t understand these references, you miss red flags in interviews, jail calls, social media posts, tattoos and housing decisions inside detention facilities. You also miss recruitment pipelines.
Many extremist recruits are not pulled in by manifestos. They are pulled in by music first. The music makes the ideology feel normal, acceptable and justified. That is how radicalization works.
And here’s the uncomfortable truth: most officers are completely ignorant of this space — not because it’s hard to learn, but because it’s uncomfortable to acknowledge. Discomfort is not a defense strategy.
Final thought
No doctor would treat a patient without understanding medical terminology. No pilot would fly without understanding aviation language. Yet law enforcement continues to work gangs without understanding gang language.
That is unacceptable.
If you want to disrupt violence and dismantle criminal networks instead of reacting to them, you must become fluent in the language of the streets.
Because if you can’t understand what they’re saying, you will never understand what they’re planning next.
Roll call discussion
- Where are we currently missing warning signs because we don’t understand language or context?
- How often are music, slang and social media reviewed as intelligence sources?
- Do investigators share a consistent understanding of current regional terminology?
- What processes do we have to track and update evolving gang language?
About the author
Sergeant Calvin Van Scudder has spent over 16 years with the Dallas (Texas) Police Department specializing in violent crime, gang investigations and proactive enforcement strategies.
He currently supervises the Violent Crime Unit, provides training to law enforcement agencies nationwide, and is the author of “Gangs Uncovered.” He is also the owner and lead instructor of Sentinel Training Group, LLC.
