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Should Rappers Rap About Uplifting Their Community Rather Than Killing Each Other?

SirReginald

SirReginald

Black Jew. Baruch Adonai
And should it go more into how to invest, go to school, and start a business. Should mainstream Rappers take Rap into a positive direction. I know they Raap about their lives, but now it seems that mainstream young Rappers are promoting the kill another Black man lifestyle heavily now.

Nipsey Hussle rapped about his environment, but he also promoted entrepreneurship and stem
 
Yeah I think rappers evolve(some more than others). I mean Diddy call himself brother love now. Some start on that righteousness rap like say Common or KRS One. But others stay in the lane that they feel comfortable in. It's a career just like any other person. Even though we look at them as fulfilling they dreams, alot of rappers do what they believe that have to do to get paid. I would love for all rap to be uplifting. But I think 🤔 back to when I was all about listening to mainstream rap and knew all the lyrics...its a journey( not bad or good). Life has duality. And that duality is reflected in all aspects of life.
 
I don't think any kind of music has to talk about only one subject.

Before it was gangster rap there was always street rap and reality rap.

Some ppl are good at being bad and would sound cheesy trying to make after school special music.

I think there should be equal light put on different types of rappers.

it's easier to sale an action adventure or comedy movie than a serious character study though to the masses.

if you mean like drill rappers,that's really street shit just put to song and most are barely rappers at all.

Most ppl listen to music to escape or party and don't want to hear preaching.

I say this as a creator and fan of underground lyrical hip hop.

I understand why it's not as marketable .Being Mr perfect doesn't feel realistic to most hip hop fans.

Also rap is competitive and there's also the figurative side of hip hop where killing is just another way of saying I'm a better rapper.
 
There was a meeting of industry insiders during the early 90s.

Basically it was a planned concerted effort to eliminate positive Pro-Black rap and to push gangsta rap.

In 1990/91 you had Brand Nubian, X Clan, Poor Righteous Teachers and other positive groups.

By 92/93 everybody was riding in a low rider and gang banging, smoking weed and drinking 40s.


I guess there's nothing wrong with rapping about street life, but it would be nice if there was a balance.
 
Rap became what it has for whatever reason and it's hard to change what's become the status quo.

And as a result There's too many ppl who consider conscious rap corny or the exclusive realm of the underground. It's like the antithesis of ignorant hip hop.

Mainstream Hip hop is the domain of clubs and parties. Rapping about being entrepreneurial or whatever clashes with that environment/vibe. Not many in that setting wants to hear music that's preachy, lecturing or thought provoking.

like ur not gonna hear progressive rock or free Jazz on the dance floor.

Rapping about non-threatening everyday life topics like Devin the Dude or something.. that's a different story n could work.

But the criminal shit... It's like it's become it's own brand. If ur not about that life you'll still feel like a badman listening to it. Including lil Timmy in the suburbs. The risk averse record industries got that go-to sound and lyrical content on lock.
 
Bobjones said:
Rap became what it has for whatever reason and it's hard to change what's become the status quo.

And as a result There's too many ppl who consider conscious rap corny or the exclusive realm of the underground. It's like the antithesis of ignorant hip hop.

Mainstream Hip hop is the domain of clubs and parties. Rapping about being entrepreneurial or whatever clashes with that environment/vibe. Not many in that setting wants to hear music that's preachy, lecturing or thought provoking.

like ur not gonna hear progressive rock or free Jazz on the dance floor.

Rapping about non-threatening everyday life topics like Devin the Dude or something.. that's a different story n could work.

But the criminal shit... It's like it's become it's own brand. If ur not about that life you'll still feel like a badman listening to it. Including lil Timmy in the suburbs. The risk averse record industries got that go-to sound and lyrical content on lock.
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Most of the conscious niggas really be street niggas too IRL.

In person Mos Def looks like a regular BK nigga who'll kick somebody in the face.he's also way taller than he looks on TV.

but honestly besides a few artists and songs,conscious rap which is like a branch of the underground was never a top seller overall.

In the history of rap,most hits are party songs,songs about women,or some kind of catchy jingle.

In those rare occasions,talented artists find a way to package that and make it marketable like kendrick , Cole, or The Fugees.

The world is shitty so most ppl talk about shitty shit.
 
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J. Cole rapped and raps about this and gets shitted on for his wardrobe.

They can’t even be positive if they wanted to. The general audience is immune to positivity.

Yes, rappers should uplift each other, but this dumbass population won’t let them.
 
Loch121 said:
Most of the conscious niggas really be street niggas too IRL.

In person Mos Def looks like a regular BK nigga who'll kick somebody in the face.he's also way taller than he looks on TV.

but honestly besides a few artists and songs,conscious rap which is like a branch of the underground was never a top seller overall.

In the history of rap,most hits are party songs,songs about women,or some kind of catchy jingle.

In those rare occasions,talented artists find a way to package that and make it marketable like kendrick , Cole, or The Fugees.

The world is shitty so most ppl talk about shitty shit.
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I said this back on the IC, like waaaay back, but them ATCQ dudes was supposed to be street goons in real life.
 
konceptjones said:
Oh, you mean like they used to back in the 80's and early 90's???

Yeah. We had that black empowerment and uplifting on wax. Folks decided crack and shiny suits were more interesting around the mid-90's and now we're here.
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You know they rapped about drugs and shiny ass jewelry in the 80s too right? Or did you think "White Lines" was about repainting the the streets?
 
But it wasn't so disproportionate. The first hip hop track was like funk. Fatback band. Not really empowering, but feel good dancing type joints. Id love to see that in the mainstream again. The fun shit. Most of this stuff just dark and cold now. There's a place for it but like another poster said, balance is the ideal.
 
Bobjones said:
But it wasn't so disproportionate. The first hip hop track was like funk. Fatback band. Not really empowering, but feel good dancing type joints. Id love to see that in the mainstream again. The fun shit. Most of this stuff just dark and cold now.
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It's all perspective because some would say there's too much fun and not enough serious shit in the mainstream
 
BlackRain said:
It's all perspective because some would say there's too much fun and not enough serious shit in the mainstream
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I was late with my edit but I agree with what another poster wrote. We'd do well with some balance. The mainstream music industry doesn't really work out like that unfortunately.
 
BlackRain said:
You know they rapped about drugs and shiny ass jewelry in the 80s too right? Or did you think "White Lines" was about repainting the the streets?
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White Lines was an anti-drug song and everybody knew that.

The 80's had balance. There were party joints, positive conscious tracks, hood shit, battle the unknown mc joints, etc. All of which got spins.

The 90's started out that way, but by '94-95 crack sellin, mafioso-type "gangster" joints got traction, then the whole "shiny suit era" hit and it was pretty much a wrap for conscious hip hop.

I mean... Even KRS had Puffy on a remix in '97. You had to know the shit was over, to the point where I remember being surprised as fuck that Black Star's "Respiration" lasted as long as it did on the Rap City countdown the following year.
 
konceptjones said:
White Lines was an anti-drug song and everybody knew that.

The 80's had balance. There were party joints, positive conscious tracks, hood shit, battle the unknown mc joints, etc. All of which got spins.

The 90's started out that way, but by '94-95 crack sellin, mafioso-type "gangster" joints got traction, then the whole "shiny suit era" hit and it was pretty much a wrap for conscious hip hop.

I mean... Even KRS had Puffy on a remix in '97. You had to know the shit was over, to the point where I remember being surprised as fuck that Black Star's "Respiration" lasted as long as it did on the Rap City countdown the following year.
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Conscious rap was never this big seller some people want to rewrite history to make it seem. There's a reason alot of that shit was deemed "underground hip-hop". Plus to be honest alot of that was boring and just not good music. There's way to talk about conscious shit and still make good songs. Problem is some conscious rappers simply didn't make entertaining music. You can put positive uplifting shit in your songs and still keep them entertaining. Yes there was a promotion of "gangster rap" because it became a top seller and that's how business works...but the conscious rappers who were actually dope and could still make good music were able to build long lasting careers.
 
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