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