Conscious Rap

Finally.......
The resurrection of conscious rap as a global epidemic. All this thanks to one major trending emcee in the game. Soulja Boy.

Hahahaaa!!!
Just fucking around. We all know that if it was not for K-Dot a.k.a. Kendrick Lamar, conscious rap would have been a mythical story told to the next generation of Hip Hop enthusiasts.

So
We can start by learning the definition of conscious rap. According to Wikipedia, Conscious Hip Hop or socially conscious Hip-Hop is a sub-genre of hip hop that focuses on social issues. So basically it's not about money, cars, clothes or hoes. It is more about what the emcee is feeling and not what they have or what they are doing.

Now. Why I give my gratitude to Kendrick for the  resurrection of conscious rap is because looking back at the year 2006, Nas released "Hip Hop Is Dead" and the Hip Hop community went into a controversial hype. One arrogant bubblegum rapper actually indirectly blamed Nas for killing Hip Hop, but I won't mention his name (Just a site). So as Nas tried to warn many emcees to get real, he was instead insulted by a bubblegum rapper. Imagine that.

For me, that was Hip Hop's last real living heart pulse and the beginning of a class of boosters and braggers that did nothing but show off and subliminally inspire their young fans to either do or sell drugs. I know this because I was there (secret neighborhood smoking spot) with my peers, rolling and smoking numerous joints, debating which label was better. Young Money, due to their swag, money, and Nicki Minaj's fat ass (No Offence). Or Maybach Music Group, due to their street life promotions, mentions of A-Grade narcotics and very violent threats. But both labels never really released material that our parents can listen to and give acknowledgement. Nothing that ever benefited anyone or anything except their bank accounts.

Although, K-Dot is not the only conscious emcee out. We have had an honor to have Tupac, Mos Def, KRS-One, Nas, Immortal Technique, Atmosphere, Brother Ali, Dead Prez, Jedi Mind Tricks, Scarface, Talib Kweli, Lupe Fiasco, Public Enemy, Common Sense, Poor Righteous Teachers, Etc banging out our stereos. Unfortunately you don't know half of them. I don't blame anyone, I don't know half of them either, I mean really Poor Righteous Teachers. But such emcees had songs that had people of similar situations actually feeling better about their lives. Like Tupac made a lot of African American feel proud to be known as Thugs because they had no choice.

So I only ask those emcees and rappers (will explain difference in next post) to keep it real. Not only for your fans. You will be surprised how speaking from your heart rather than your mind can actually relieve you.
Trust me. I made the rapper-emcee transition just last week and I feel like a brand new and improved player in this game we call Hip Hop.
Try it.

"Express Yourself"

-N.W.A. 

Keep It Real. Don't Kill Expression.
Enjoy.

Hip Hop: From The Eyes Of The Rapper To The Fan.

So I stopped rapping.
*Sighs*
For my own reasons like:
-My mum and I had beef on me rapping.
-I can't wait to blow up any longer.
-I can't be grinding hard any longer.

That's just to mention a few.

Since then, I've been listening to more artists and observing more fans' musical taste.

In Africa, mostly Southern Africa, the majority of people love and listen to house music, so finding actual hip hop heads is harder than normal. But those I know are not your average hip hop heads at all. These are what I call rap fiends.

Lil Wayne is like staple food for every hip hop head's ears out here, but Lil Wayne alone is not Hip Hop.
The fiends that I would much rather be around are more down for that old school hip hop, like Snoop Dogg (in the Death Row Record days), Jay Z (before he retired in '03) and even Weezy (during '08) for a specific reason.

I'm no implying that rap is whack nowadays. I just think that times have drastically changed from talking about factual daily neighborhood crime stories to talking about how many things you have and how rich and powerful you are.

My cousin once lectured me about my style of rapping. Taught me how effective and more appealing story telling is. That is when I first realized how most commercial rap artists brag more than anything else on their songs. Not a lot of stories and messages are being spread to the public.

And there I thought.

Children who go for outdoor camping are always anticipating the story telling part of the whole camping experience more than anything

Why?

Because that is where their imaginations are allowed to run wild in their heads. Whatever happened to Eminem and Dr Dre's concept of talking about everyday freakish situations that made us picture every word they said on their songs like Guilty Conscience?

Rappers used to make movies in every song, with every verse serving as a series of scenes. Now all we ever get out of the radio is plain pictures of many luxurious and material objects.
That's not the rap that the true rap fiends love.

When I choose to closely listen to a particular rap song, I often close my eyes, empty my mind and expect an interesting movie to play in my head. Instead I get constant liquor commercials, marijuana legalization ideas, sex fantasies and idle threats.
How is that supposed to entertain me.

If you took a group of 10 year old children out camping, made a sufficient campfire and supplied them all with marshmallows. What would be more appropriate? A good ghost story or a bragging rights contest?

I think I speak for all real rappers and true rap fiends when I say this.
BRING THE STORIES BACK!!!!

“Remind yourself. Nobody built like you, you design yourself.”

- Jay Z

Why We Do What We Do.

When I was about 7 years old. I was on my way home with my dad and two cousins in my dad's Opel Astra when one of my cousins changed the radio station and on came Skee-Lo.
For those who don't remember Skee-Lo, he was the rap artist to made the song "I Wish"

You know...............
 

I wish I was a little bit taller,

I wish I was a baller

I wish I had a girl who looked good

I would call her

I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat

and a '64 Impala

Anyway...................

So I was thinking about me back then. I would have never figured out that I would turn up into the person I am today. But I'm grateful for it all.

Throughout the 11 years that have gone by, I have had to make a lot of decisions. Some basic ones and mostly life changing ones. We have all had to make decisions. But the true question is...........
Do we know why we chose what we chose at the time.

My phone (note: I have no mp3 players or iGadgets) has a collection of playlists that I wake up and plan my day to. The playlists are set at random so if I choose anyone, this is how I let it affect my day.

• The first song is how I treat myself.
• The second song is how I treat my good people.
• The third song is how I treat everyone else.

For example.
If you ain't got no money, but you have debts that have to be paid in a very short time period. Play "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley and see how that makes you feel.

Another thing that crossed my mind was Lil Wayne's Public Service Announcement video on YouTube after the passing of one of the greatest technological pioneer, Steve Jobs.
In which he was simply explaining why we do what we do and how we should do it. This made me very proud to say that I am a Lil Wayne fan and you will find out why I say so if you follow the link below.

Lil Wayne Public Service Announcement (Full 29 Minute)

So if you choose to do what you do because a certain person/artist/band does it or because it is mentioned in one of your favorite songs. Than you have no need to be ashamed of yourself.

Embrace yourself and your decisions and help yourself reach unknown heights in whatever.

Just Remember..............
Keep Doing You.