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

[konceptjones]

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.

Bruh, BDP had a three album run that all went gold: By Any Means Necessary, The Blueprint, and Edutainment. De La's first album went gold that year (it eventually went platinum) and the next joint was also gold. ATCQ first album went gold, their next three joints were all platinum. And then there's Cube's first few solo albums which were heavy on the conscious shits; Amerikkka's Most, Kill At Will, and Death Certificate were all platinum.

And you gotta remember that "big seller" is relative. In the late 80's/early 90's, 200k units sold was enough to be labeled as a big seller. Shit, 100k was good enough to get you a second album and cats like Paris, X Clan, Poor Righteous Teachers, Shinehead, King Sun, etc all sold well over that 100k mark.

 

[Kzzl]

To answer the OP, I'd say yes.
Also agree that it's about making good music while providing a good message.
Silk Sonic had me jamming to a 30 second commercial about rum.
Anything can be made into a great song.

How you do that and what actually takes off is what I can't figure.
It always baffles me what's in the top selling these days when I care to peek.

 

[Stomp Johnson]

Not if that shit is trash. Bc I ain't listenin if yo shit gobbage.

 

[Dwayne]

Not enough balance

 

[BlackRain]

Bruh, BDP had a three album run that all went gold: By Any Means Necessary, The Blueprint, and Edutainment. De La's first album went gold that year (it eventually went platinum) and the next joint was also gold. ATCQ first album went gold, their next three joints were all platinum. And then there's Cube's first few solo albums which were heavy on the conscious shits; Amerikkka's Most, Kill At Will, and Death Certificate were all platinum.

And you gotta remember that "big seller" is relative. In the late 80's/early 90's, 200k units sold was enough to be labeled as a big seller. Shit, 100k was good enough to get you a second album and cats like Paris, X Clan, Poor Righteous Teachers, Shinehead, King Sun, etc all sold well over that 100k mark.

Being a big seller is relative...but you can't ignore that 100k albums sold in 1995 is way different and wouldn't be considered a successful album on a major label. So you can't just disregard that context at all. It actually speaks more to my point that even though many were the huge platinum plus sellers as their counterparts they still managed to carve out a nice career for themselves. But just from a straight business perspective there was not gonna be any label who put the same amount of promotion and push into an act that wasn't cracking 1 million plus as somebody whose album was pushing 3-4x platinum. So as the hard-core rappers became more profitable then more money was going to go into pushing those acts.

If during the mid 90s the Native Tongue movement was pushing out double and triple platinum albums the same rare Bad Boy and Death Row were then you would've seen a bunch of those acts get the same push. It's partially on the labels and but also on the public for basically telling the labels with their money which acts they supported more.

 

[Eyerone]

performative woke rap is worst than drug dealer rap


word to j cole

what exactly does j cole do in his raps that make people think he’s woke or particularly aware or knowledgeable about anything?

serious question. Dude has like 6 albums and outside of talking about how shitty Fayetteville is, how down bad his friends are/were, his mom’s substance abuse issues & how they affected his childhood and his college life…what is woke about dude?

he don’t be on social media preaching or telling people what they should be doing or enlightening people on what they should know.

so what is it exactly that is “woke” about j cole?

 

[konceptjones]

Being a big seller is relative...but you can't ignore that 100k albums sold in 1995 is way different and wouldn't be considered a successful album on a major label. So you can't just disregard that context at all. It actually speaks more to my point that even though many were the huge platinum plus sellers as their counterparts they still managed to carve out a nice career for themselves. But just from a straight business perspective there was not gonna be any label who put the same amount of promotion and push into an act that wasn't cracking 1 million plus as somebody whose album was pushing 3-4x platinum. So as the hard-core rappers became more profitable then more money was going to go into pushing those acts.

If during the mid 90s the Native Tongue movement was pushing out double and triple platinum albums the same rare Bad Boy and Death Row were then you would've seen a bunch of those acts get the same push. It's partially on the labels and but also on the public for basically telling the labels with their money which acts they supported more.

Mid 90's eh? You know it was still pretty uncommon for rap albums to go platinum in '95, right? Gold was still the bar at that time and with that:

ATCQ: Beats Rhymes and Life - Platinum
Queen Latifah: Black Reign - Gold
The Fugees: The Score - 7x Platinum plus a 3x platinum single (Killing Me Softly) and two platinum singles.
KRS ONE: I Got Next - Gold
Rakim: The 18th Letter as well as The 18th Letter/Book Of Life joint - Gold

And, if you're real with yourself, you can throw in Pac's first three albums 'cause dude was genuinely a conscious rapper up to that point.

I mean... The Score alone is enough to show that conscious shit could sell multi-platinum. Take that a step further and The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which to date has outsold everything Puffy has ever put out except "Life After Death" as well as everything Death Row released except (arguably) "All Eyes On Me", should be a shining example of what a good conscious album could be and how well it can sell.

 

[BlackRain]

what exactly does j cole do in his raps that make people think he’s woke or particularly aware or knowledgeable about anything?

serious question. Dude has like 6 albums and outside of talking about how shitty Fayetteville is, how down bad his friends are/were, his mom’s substance abuse issues & how they affected his childhood and his college life…what is woke about dude?

he don’t be on social media preaching or telling people what they should be doing or enlightening people on what they should know.

so what is it exactly that is “woke” about j cole?

His fans deemed him that and created this narrative that if you dislike his music or call it boring then you must not be smart enough to understand it. That's why people were laughing so hard last summer when Cole and No Name had their back and forth and his whole premise was "I'm not as smart as yall fans make me out to be" because it went against this narrative they'd built up around him

 

[All_Might]

If it ain't about pwussy and bands, i ain't listening

 

[Mister B.]

Not enough balance

This. That’s why I gave up on the radio.

If it ain't about pwussy and bands, i ain't listening

Unfortunately, also this. That’s why I gave up on hip-hop crowds.

 

[Phillykingransom]

The industry don't want no conscious rap.

People like that ratchet rap shit.

violence, sex and money is what the majority of people want to hear when it comes to music.

I just wish rappers were more creative with shit to rap about that it was hot and you could listen to it all the time.

 

[dodge]

I’m against telling any grown man what they “should” do in regards to major life decisions but I never once believed that one of the main causes of violence in black communities were due to gangsta rap.

All it did was create more fake ass, wannabe niggas claiming shit that they’re not just to make a quick buck and to be popular. A lot of niggas live vicariously through a nigga who did some REAL SHIT. If anything, mainstream gangsta rap HUMILIATES us more than destroys us..it makes us look like a joke more than anything….I’m speaking in regards to mainstream gangsta rap. I know that they’re are real G’s in the game but with a FEW exceptions they don’t make it to superstar status without having to switch it up a bit. Or they have serious protection

Gang violence, crime and drugs go way back further in our community than the 80s-90s rap era… so even if we promoted positive music and it became popular not much would change. It just wouldn’t be as mainstream or seen as entertainment in the eyes of the public.

But of course, a positive message is much more productive than telling someone they’re gonna shoot you in the face..

 

[dodge]

never forget

 

[Dwayne]

A lot of rappers market themselves to the younger generation so it can be problematic with what they say and promote