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‘These were tough dudes – and notoriously romantic’: why lowrider soul, LA’s music and car subculture, still thrives
Lowriding cars are synonymous with rap, but their Chicano drivers prefer sweet soul music. The scene’s movers and musicians explain how they went from being police targets to esteemed cultural cornerstones
Later, Black LA films (Boyz n the Hood) and music videos (Snoop Dogg, Dr Dre) prominently featured lowriders, the camera passing lovingly over the cars’ customised paint jobs and hydraulic systems that allowed them to bounce. ‘Those old R&B songs spoke to our depths’ … Luis J RodriguezLowrider soul constitutes a paradox: lovelorn ballads aren’t what you might expect these often extremely macho drivers to listen to. In October 2023 the California State Assembly rescinded all remaining laws prohibiting lowriders – these statutes had been on the books for decades and allowed the police to penalise drivers, revoke licences and even impound their cars.
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