Conscious hip hop

Conscious hip hop

Conscious hip hop or socially conscious hip-hop is a form of hip hop that focuses on social issues. It is not necessarily overtly political, but it discusses social issues and conflicts. Themes of conscious hip hop include religion, aversion to violence, African American culture and advancement, the economy, or simple depictions of life in the projects/ghetto that reveal the struggle of ordinary people. Grandmaster Flash's "The Message" was an early and hugely influential political and conscious hip hop track, decrying the poverty, violence, and dead-end lives of the black youth of the time.

The audience for conscious rap is largely underground.cite paper|title=Gender in Hip Hop: A Research Study|author=Thompson, Amanda |date=2004-05-06|url=http://humboldt.edu/~soc/2004Thompson.pdf|format=PDF|publisher=Humboldt State University|accessdate=2006-06-09] Most conscious hip hop artists have not attained the same level of commercial success as mainstream hip-hop [cite paper|title=Todd Boyd’s Lessons on the Rise of Hip Hop: Move Civil Rights and Historical Context Out of the Way|author=Brown, Roxanne L|publisher=The Center for Black Diaspora|url=http://condor.depaul.edu/~diaspora/html/students/BrownEssay2004.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=2006-06-09] , though there are some notable exceptions to this.

Like many cases within music, the umbrella term was originally coined by music audiences and critics rather than the actual artists themselves and has produced considerable backlash in regards to the labeling. Some of the most prominent artists affiliated with the term have openly criticized and deregarded it. Rap artist Mos Def once stated:cquote|They keep trying to slip the 'conscious rapper' thing on me...I come from Roosevelt Projects, man. The ghetto. I drank the same sugar water, ate hard candy. And they try to get me because I'm supposed to be more articulate, I'm supposed to be not like the other Negroes, to get me to say something against my brothers. I'm not going out like that, man." [ (cite web|url=http://misnomer.dru.ca/2003/12/conscious_hip_hop_vs_gangsta_rap.html|title=misnomer:Conscious Hip Hop vs Gangsta Rap?] Similarly, Talib Kweli confirmed in a recent interview with "VIBE" magazine that the title of his next album will be "Prisoner of Consciousness," a reference to his constant labeling as a "conscious rapper".

ee also

*Alternative hip hop
*Hardcore hip hop
*Political hip hop
*Abstract hip hop
*Acid rap
*Underground hip hop

External links

* [http://www.ugo.com/music/top-11-conscious-rappers/ UGO's Top 11 Conscious Rappers]

References


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