Hip-Hop's Most Socially Conscious Minds

Hip-Hop is one of the world's youngest musical genres, but that does not mean that the messages of the artists are immature. Its artists have always been among the most active political and social voices in the entertainment industry. Beginning in the 1980's these messages began resounding throughout American culture, reshaping our perception of life in this country.

One of the earliest, and certainly most revolutionary, Hip Hop recordings to send shivers through American society was Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message". Released in 1982, it shocked the world, explicitly describing the tough lifestyles of the poverty stricken African Americans in US cities. Dealing with issues such as Crack Addiction, Theft, and High School Drop Outs, it ended the feel good aura surrounding Hip Hop that started with Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight".

During the second half of the 1980's two major names in Hip Hop history appeared. Due to their heavily political messages, N.W.A. and Public Enemy experienced massive popularity. Surrounded by racial tensions that culminated with the Rodney King Riots of 1992, these two groups revealed the problems they faced. The described not only their struggle with the Police, but also those from within their communities, on a daily basis. N.W.A. is revered for their songs "F*** Tha Police" and "Straight Outta Compton" which focus on the inability of African Americans to escape the Ghetto lifestyle due to racial profiling by the police and the magnetic gang lifestyle. Public Enemy is known for similar, yet more subtle, messages with their hits "Public Enemy #1" and "Fight The Power".

As Hip Hop steam rolled into the 1990's with wide spread popularity, Nas became the new social voice in the Rap world. Bursting onto the scene in 1994 amidst the superficial East-West Coast conflict, Nas instead chose to focus on the problems with accepted Black culture. His debut album, Illmatic, is recognized as one of the greatest and most innovative Hip-Hop productions in history. He helped illustrate the struggle with the numbers of African Americans in prison and the inability to escape the allure of drug dealing in songs such as "Life's A Bitch" and "One Love". 15 years later, Nas is still one of the most influential artists in the genre, releasing Hip Hop Is Dead in 2007, which chronicles the downfall of Rap and the rise of Pop-Hip Hop.

In Hip Hop today, political and social messages are rare. With artists like Soulja Boy, Kwon, and Young Joc reaching the top of the charts, it appears to be switching towards more of a club genre. Fortunately there are still a few voices left, two of which are Talib Kweli and Lupe Fiasco. Talib Kweli is most well known for "Get By", his only Top 100 single, which describes the struggles to survive in a world that pushes the Urban poor down. Lupe Fiasco is considered one of Hip Hop's new up and comers. However, unlike the rest of these artists, he does not deal with problems of inner city African Americans. Instead, he writes about the issues he faced in the middle class growing up, dealing with the struggles of succeeding in the Hip Hop industry in "Hip Hop Saved My Life" and the connotations of American society in the song "American Terrorist".

Much like the rock music of the 1960's, Hip Hop has proven to be an advocate of change and improvement within the ever advancing American society.

More Information:

Grandmaster Flash

N.W.A.

Public Enemy

Nas

Talib Kweli

Lupe Fiasco