“The attitude and style expressed in the hip-hop “identity” keeps blacks down. Almost all hip-hop, gangsta or not, is delivered with a cocky, confrontational cadence that is fast becoming a common speech style among young black males. Similarly, the arm-slinging, hand-hurling gestures of rap performers have made their way into many young blacks’ casual gesticulations, becoming integral to their self-expression. The problem with such speech and mannerisms is that they make potential employers wary of young black men and can impede a young black’s ability to interact comfortably with co-workers and customers. The black community has gone through too much to sacrifice upward mobility to the passing kick of an adversarial hip-hop “identity.””

-How Hip Hop Holds Blacks Back- John H. McWhorter

It’s Bigger Than Hip Hop By: Dead Prez

Talib Kweli and Mos Def have contributed to the socially conscious discourse in different ways. Songs such as “K.O.S. (Determination)” and “Thieves in the Night” criticize the disempowered lifestyles and role models that Blacks seem to accept and the need for positive cohesion in the face of seriously divisive forces, the greatest being the drive for individual material wealth. As a solo artist, Talib Kweli wrote a song called “The Proud” where he calls into question Black patriotism to the American flag when the country seems to have deserted them. He wonders why young Black men often face the choice between wearing either military or prison uniforms.

“But don’t nobody want your jewels, cause your shit is phony
Say word? Your shit is real~?! Damn, your shit is corny
My rhymes turn a new page like Mark Foley
And touch kids like when Larry Clark gave the part to Chlo” -Talib Kweli “Holy Moly”

There are also revolutionaries who seem to have discovered rap as a tool of the cause. From Harlem, battle-emcee Immortal Technique consistently uses every chance he has with a mic to spit another attack at the White House, the military-industrial complex, and his favourite target: the ‘modern-day minstrel negroes’ who he sees as having sold their people down the river for a bag of beads and a record contract. Blackalicious are famous for bemoaning the materialism of mainstream hip hop and its failure to uplift those suffering under the yoke of the urban ghetto.

KRS-ONE (Lawrence Parker) has been speaking on behalf of Hiphop’s preservation for more than a decade. Although Hiphop has had other voices for change and cultural unity, it has been KRS-ONE (Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone) that has remained the loudest voice for Hiphop’s philosophical and spiritual awareness.

“When someone says the rich gets richer 
Visualize wealth and put yourselves in the picture 
The rich get richer, cause they want to rich 
The poor get poorer, cause their mind can’t switch from the ghetto… 
…Hip-Hop can build it’s own secret society 
But first you and I got to unify 
Stop the negativity and control our creativity 
The rich is getting richer, so why we ain’t richer? 
Could it be we still thinking like niggas? 
Educate yourselves, make your world view bigger 
Visualize wealth and put yourselves in the picture” -Edutainment By KRS-ONE

In 1990, KRS began focusing more upon Hip-Hop as a legitimate kulture, as opposed to putting most of his focus into the selling of his records. KRS realized that social change is impossible for those who do not own and control the fruits of thier creative intelligence. Many people pleaded with KRS to “…keep his mouth shut” and simply be content with his superstar status. However, KRS felt the compelling need to follow his true calling of establishing Hip-Hop as a legitimate kulture and raising the self worth of all who would listen. Going against the wishes of his friends, associates and peers, KRS recorded and published his fourth album “Edutainment.” This album sold over 500,000 copies. 

In 1993, KRS declared himself an “undaground Hip-Hop Emcee,” where his representation of Hip-Hop kulture would become more important to him than the selling of records. Some felt that KRS had no choice because of his waining record sales. However, KRS explained over and over again that, “…its not about a salary, its all about reality.” And the reality was that Hip-Hop, the kulture, was being exploited as “hip-hop” the product. KRS felt, and publicly expressed that, “…it is of critical importance that Hip-Hop as a kulture be preserved and properly documented for the empowerment of our children.”

No hip-hop luminary has worked harder than Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, the wildly successful rapper, producer, fashion mogul, and CEO of Bad Boy Records, to cultivate a gangsta image—so much so that he’s blurred the line between playing the bad boy and really being one. Combs has grown up middle-class in Mount Vernon, New York, and even has attended Howard University for a while, but portrays himself a gangsta.

I Used To Love H.E.R By: Common