It turns out I really like The Coup, an incredibly talented duo who (like another of my favorite hip-hop acts, Digable Planets) also happen to be hardcore evangelical Marxists. I’m resigned to the fact that lots of artists I like are going to have politics I find distasteful, but seriously, do the best hip-hop groups have to be f’ing Marxists?
Dammit…
February 6th, 2007 · 5 Comments
Tags: Art & Culture
5 responses so far ↓
1 Reality Man // Feb 6, 2007 at 2:37 am
Hell yes. Just look at Dead Prez.
The funny thing is, the type of rappers white suburbanites listen to tend to almost be liberal and conservative parodies of libertarianism: an obsession with ownership and all things material, lots of extra-marital sex, a fetishization of guns and violence and so on. The problem is, most of the rap that white America ends up liking also ends up sucking.
2 Cam // Feb 6, 2007 at 12:24 pm
“The funny thing is, the type of rappers white suburbanites listen to tend to almost be liberal and conservative parodies of libertarianism: an obsession with ownership and all things material, lots of extra-marital sex, a fetishization of guns and violence and so on.”
This goes for black urbanites as well. Most blacks who are fans of hip-hop tend not to listen to The Coup, Dead Prez (with some exception here), or any rapper/rap group who’s art is largely a vehicle for expression of POLITICAL opinions.
As a rule of thumb, just follow what the hip-hop media is discussing, analyizing, reviewing, etc to see get a feel for the zeitgeist. Aside from the print outlets with a major presence – the XXL’s or The Source’s – even hip-hop blogs don’t really follow rap that’s progressive or political. Mos Def gets a little love, as do other artists with more organic styles (Sean Price/Ghostface Killa), but generally speaking it’s all G-Unit and Dipset.
Look at nahright.com for evidence. This is widely regarded by industry insiders as one of the best blogs covering hip-hop today. You’ll see he’s mostly talking about rap that’s got “an obsession with ownership and all things material, lots of extra-marital sex, a fetishization of guns and violence.”
Know why? Because that’s the rap that’s really, really good.
3 Barry // Feb 6, 2007 at 3:02 pm
They’re striving to heighten the contradictions. The worse things get, the better they are.
4 DRR // Feb 7, 2007 at 2:35 am
most of the rap that white America ends up liking also ends up sucking
Most of the rap white America listens to is the same stuff black america listens to. Neither group are particularly fond of The Coup or Digable Planets.
5 Cam // Feb 7, 2007 at 12:14 pm
For further clarification: my personal belief is that while rappers or rap groups whose music is decidedly political/focused on messages of raised consciousness/community action, etc. are probably as talented as mainstream or hardcore rappers, talking exclusively about those issues in their music gives hip-hop fans the feeling that they’re listening to a PSA. It’s just one step away from rapping about how cool doing homework is or how awesome chores can be.