Rats, along with monkeys, are an archetypal motif that Banksy uses across his works. An iconic subject, Banksy in his 2005 book Wall and Peace, writes “[Rats] exist without permission. They are hated, hunted and persecuted. They live in quiet desperation amongst the filth. And yet they are capable of bringing entire civilisations to their knees. If you are dirty, insignificant and unloved then rats are the ultimate role model.”

Gangsta Rat shows a sitting rat wearing a New York Mets baseball cap sporting a heavy chain medallion sitting next to a boom-box stereo. Above the rat are the letters iP.O.W which appear to be freshly sprayed and runs down the sheet. In hip-hop culture, of which graffiti can be considered part, there are 7 elements: b-boying, beatboxing, djing, graffiting, mc'ing, stunting and trapping - the rat embodying hip-hop can be seen to channel stunting, djing and graffiting. Aesthetically, the work showcases Banksy’s typical stencil stencil with a firm nod to his early free-hand style.