Ears Wide Open: soulful consciousness

Though we discussed Lil' Wayne, 50 Cent, Jay-Z and other popular 'gangsta' rappers and the sort of messages they spread to their mainstream white suburban crowds, there exists socially conscious hip hop that was forgotten in class discussion and that I briefly touched upon.

As mentioned in the reading, the African diaspora has wiggled its way into the music scape for hundreds of years. Most recently, a rather socially conscious hip hop has emerged. Topics of the genre are much like slam poetry in a sense, always commenting on religion, "resistance 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" (wikipedia).

The audience for conscious hip hop is largely underground, as most of the artists within the genre do not gain much commercial and mainstream success. Artists like Common, Brother Ali, Talib Kweli, Saul Williams, the Pharcyde, Nas, and KRS-One were not all big names as they are recognized now and are part of this socially aware rap genre.

The coining of the term was founded by the listeners and audience of the music and as a result, some of the biggest artists affiliated with the genre have been openly critical of its labeling.

Mos Def, the 'white person's rapper,' once commented on the labeling of the genre:
"They've got their little categories, like 'conscious' and 'gangsta'. It used to be a thing where hip-hop was all together. Fresh Prince would be on tour with N.W.A. It wasn't like, 'You have got to like me in order for me to like you.' That's just some more white folks trying to think that all niggas are alike, and now it's expanded. It used to be one type of nigga; now it's two. There is so much more dimension to who we are."

Obviously Mos is socially conscious even when it comes to him including those outside of his genre and explaining that they are all part of the conglomerate and message of hip hop.

Mos Def's latest album, The Ecstatic, even begins with a quote on the track "Supermagic" from the famous African American human rights activist, Malcolm X in saying: "You're living at a time of extremism, a time of revolution. A time where there's got to be a change. People in power have misused it, and now there has to be a change and a better world has to be built. And the only way is going to be built is with extreme methods."


These lines suggest that the socially conscious hip hop movement uses their words as leverage for support and inspiration of the listeners. Political, well versed, and hearty rap will continue to make its own path into the hearts of those who are conscious as to what they are listening to.