Political hip hop
Encyclopedia
Political hip hop is a sub-genre of hip hop music
that developed in the 1980s. Inspired by 1970s political preachers such as The Last Poets
and Gil Scott-Heron
, Public Enemy were the first political hip hop group. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
released the first well-known sociopolitical rap song in 1982 called "The Message", which inspired numerous rappers to address social and political subjects.
There are hundreds of artists whose music could be described as "political": see the List of political hip hop artists page for a partial list.
was an ideology underlying the militant wing of the North American civil rights movement
in the 1970s and early 1980s. It played a role in early political hip hop and continues to be a theme for many contemporary political hip hop artists. Prominent black nationalist artists include Tupac Shakur
, Public Enemy, N.W.A, Brand Nubian
, Sister Souljah
and Big Daddy Kane
.
has been an element of social movements worldwide and is seen in Hip Hop. Two overtly Marxist groups in the English language have been Marxman
and The Coup
. Both groups also incorporate Revolutionary Nationalism into their message, Irish Republicanism
for Marxman and Black Nationalism
for The Coup. Sun Rise Above
is another, lesser known, Marxist artist. For these artists, class struggle
and anti-imperialism
are major recurring themes.
is relevant in hip hop culture. Like Marxist hip hop, class struggle
and anti-imperialism
are major themes in anarchist hip hop music along with anti-parliamentarianism and a strong emphasis on intersectionality
and the connections between different movements. The need for community-level grassroots organization and opposition to political hierarchy and illegitimate authority are also common themes. Unlike Marxist acts, several of which have been signed to major labels, anarchist artists have generally followed a DIY ethos which has led them to remain independent such as Sole (artist)
.
Prominent anarchist hip hop artists include: Emcee Lynx
, Comrade Malone and Direct Raption.
in general but prefer not to explicitly identify with either Marxism or Anarchism and instead advocate various other forms of socialism
. Hip hop acts that describe their politics as "socialist" include Dead Prez
, the Blue Scholars
, and Sun Rise Above
. Immortal Technique
identifies himself as a socialist who promotes anti-imperialism
, equality, peace and human rights
. Looptroop Rockers
is an anti-authoritarian, anti-capitalist hip hop project from Sweden. Gatas Parlament is an anti-American, anti-capitalist hip hop project from Norway. Askari X, a rapper hailing from Oakland, CA, has also expressed his loyalty to the African People Socialist Party (APSP). At Versaris, a hip-hop band from Catalonia, expresses both their adherence to both revolutionary socialism and catalonian independence.
nationalists like the
Iron Sheik
have obvious fundamental disagreements about a wide range of issues, but both use hip hop music and culture as a vehicle to express themselves and spread their ideas. As hip hop becomes increasingly widespread, artists from many different countries and backgrounds are using it to express many different positions, among them political ones. The nature of hip hop (as with much music) as an opposing force to the establishment lends itself to such a use.
, Browny Loco, Commandante, Tohil
, Genocide
, Big Will, Elegal, Tolteca, Immortal Technique
, Kemo The Blaxican, Divary, MRK
, and Zack de la Rocha
.
that focuses on social issues
. It is not necessarily overtly political, but it discusses social issues and conflicts. Themes of conscious hip hop include religion
, aversion to violence
, culture, the economy
, or simple depictions the struggles of ordinary people. Grandmaster Flash
's "The Message" was an early and hugely influential political and conscious hip hop track, decrying the poverty, violence, and dead-end lives of the black youth of the time.
The audience for conscious rap is largely underground
. Most conscious hip hop artists have not attained the same level of commercial success as mainstream hip-hop , though there are some notable exceptions to this such as KRS-One
, Mos Def
, Talib Kweli
, Lupe Fiasco
, Lowkey
, Immortal Technique
, J.Cole
, Kendrick Lamar
, The Roots
, Tupac Shakur
, Nas
, OutKast
and Common.
Like many cases within music, the umbrella term was originally coined by music audiences and critics rather than the actual artists themselves and has produced considerable backlash in regards to the labeling.
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
that developed in the 1980s. Inspired by 1970s political preachers such as The Last Poets
The Last Poets
The Last Poets is a group of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s African American civil rights movement's black nationalist thread...
and Gil Scott-Heron
Gil Scott-Heron
Gilbert "Gil" Scott-Heron was an American soul and jazz poet, musician, and author known primarily for his work as a spoken word performer in the 1970s and '80s...
, Public Enemy were the first political hip hop group. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was an influential American hip-hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. Composed of one DJ and five rappers Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was an influential American hip-hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in...
released the first well-known sociopolitical rap song in 1982 called "The Message", which inspired numerous rappers to address social and political subjects.
There are hundreds of artists whose music could be described as "political": see the List of political hip hop artists page for a partial list.
Ideologies
Explicitly political hip hop is related to but distinct from conscious hip hop because it refers to artists who have strong and overt political affiliations and agendas, as opposed to the more generalized social commentary typical of conscious hip hop. It can also be used to include political artists of all ideological stripes, whereas the term conscious hip hop generally implies a broadly leftist affiliation or outlook.Black nationalism
Black nationalismBlack nationalism
Black nationalism advocates a racial definition of indigenous national identity, as opposed to multiculturalism. There are different indigenous nationalist philosophies but the principles of all African nationalist ideologies are unity, and self-determination or independence from European society...
was an ideology underlying the militant wing of the North American civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
in the 1970s and early 1980s. It played a role in early political hip hop and continues to be a theme for many contemporary political hip hop artists. Prominent black nationalist artists include Tupac Shakur
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
, Public Enemy, N.W.A, Brand Nubian
Brand Nubian
Brand Nubian is an American hip hop group from New Rochelle, New York, consisting of three MC's: Grand Puba , Sadat X and Lord Jamar , and two DJs: DJ Alamo and DJ Sincere...
, Sister Souljah
Sister Souljah
Sister Souljah is an American hip hop-generation author, activist, recording artist, and film producer. She gained prominence for Bill Clinton's criticism of her remarks about race in the United States during the 1992 presidential campaign...
and Big Daddy Kane
Big Daddy Kane
Antonio Hardy better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who started his career in 1986 as a member of the rap group the Juice Crew. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential and skilled MC's in Hip Hop...
.
Marxism
MarxismMarxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
has been an element of social movements worldwide and is seen in Hip Hop. Two overtly Marxist groups in the English language have been Marxman
Marxman
Marxman were a four-piece Marxist hip-hop group with two MCs formed in London in 1989.Their lyrics expounded socialism and an end to economic and social injustice...
and The Coup
The Coup
The Coup is a political hip hop group based in Oakland, California. It formed as a three-member group in 1992 with emcees Raymond "Boots" Riley and E-Roc along with DJ Pam the Funkstress. E-Roc left on amicable terms after the group's second album but appears on the track "Breathing Apparatus" on...
. Both groups also incorporate Revolutionary Nationalism into their message, Irish Republicanism
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
for Marxman and Black Nationalism
Black nationalism
Black nationalism advocates a racial definition of indigenous national identity, as opposed to multiculturalism. There are different indigenous nationalist philosophies but the principles of all African nationalist ideologies are unity, and self-determination or independence from European society...
for The Coup. Sun Rise Above
Sun Rise Above
Sun Rise Above, also known as Sun R. A., is a hip-hop artist, notable for his leftist political views and corresponding lyrics. Sun Rise Above calls his form of music hiphopraganda...
is another, lesser known, Marxist artist. For these artists, class struggle
Class struggle
Class struggle is the active expression of a class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote "The [written] history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle"....
and anti-imperialism
Anti-imperialism
Anti-imperialism, strictly speaking, is a term that may be applied to a movement opposed to any form of colonialism or imperialism. Anti-imperialism includes opposition to wars of conquest, particularly of non-contiguous territory or people with a different language or culture; it also includes...
are major recurring themes.
Anarchism
AnarchismAnarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
is relevant in hip hop culture. Like Marxist hip hop, class struggle
Class struggle
Class struggle is the active expression of a class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote "The [written] history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle"....
and anti-imperialism
Anti-imperialism
Anti-imperialism, strictly speaking, is a term that may be applied to a movement opposed to any form of colonialism or imperialism. Anti-imperialism includes opposition to wars of conquest, particularly of non-contiguous territory or people with a different language or culture; it also includes...
are major themes in anarchist hip hop music along with anti-parliamentarianism and a strong emphasis on intersectionality
Intersectionality
Intersectionality is a feminist sociological theory first highlighted by Kimberlé Crenshaw . Intersectionality is a methodology of studying "the relationships among multiple dimensions and modalities of social relationships and subject formations"...
and the connections between different movements. The need for community-level grassroots organization and opposition to political hierarchy and illegitimate authority are also common themes. Unlike Marxist acts, several of which have been signed to major labels, anarchist artists have generally followed a DIY ethos which has led them to remain independent such as Sole (artist)
Sole (artist)
Tim Holland, known as Sole, is an alternative hip hop artist and a co-founder of the Anticon collective/label. Sole is known for his dense and often dark stream-of-consciousness style of rapping. His verses are often filled with abstraction, metaphor and sarcasm while avoiding or deconstructing...
.
Prominent anarchist hip hop artists include: Emcee Lynx
Emcee Lynx
Lynx, or Emcee Lynx is an anarchist hip hop artist in Vallejo, California who has achieved significant popularity and name-recognition in the West Coast hip hop and underground hip hop scenes and among anarchists and other radicals around the world...
, Comrade Malone and Direct Raption.
Socialism
Many other artists object to capitalismCapitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
in general but prefer not to explicitly identify with either Marxism or Anarchism and instead advocate various other forms of socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
. Hip hop acts that describe their politics as "socialist" include Dead Prez
Dead Prez
Dead Prez stylized as dead prez is a hip hop duo from the United States, composed of stic.man and M-1, formed in 1996 in New York City, New York. They are known for their confrontational style, combined with socialist lyrics focused on both militant social justice and Pan-Africanism...
, the Blue Scholars
Blue Scholars
Blue Scholars is a hip hop duo based in Seattle, Washington, created in 2002 while the members, DJ Sabzi and MC Geologic, were students at the University of Washington....
, and Sun Rise Above
Sun Rise Above
Sun Rise Above, also known as Sun R. A., is a hip-hop artist, notable for his leftist political views and corresponding lyrics. Sun Rise Above calls his form of music hiphopraganda...
. Immortal Technique
Immortal Technique
Felipe Andres Coronel , better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper of Afro-Peruvian descent as well as an urban activist. He was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Harlem, New York. Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics...
identifies himself as a socialist who promotes anti-imperialism
Anti-imperialism
Anti-imperialism, strictly speaking, is a term that may be applied to a movement opposed to any form of colonialism or imperialism. Anti-imperialism includes opposition to wars of conquest, particularly of non-contiguous territory or people with a different language or culture; it also includes...
, equality, peace and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
. Looptroop Rockers
Looptroop
Looptroop Rockers is a hip hop group from Västerås, Sweden. The members are rappers Promoe , Supreme , DJ/Producer Embee and CosM.I.C...
is an anti-authoritarian, anti-capitalist hip hop project from Sweden. Gatas Parlament is an anti-American, anti-capitalist hip hop project from Norway. Askari X, a rapper hailing from Oakland, CA, has also expressed his loyalty to the African People Socialist Party (APSP). At Versaris, a hip-hop band from Catalonia, expresses both their adherence to both revolutionary socialism and catalonian independence.
Other
Other political hip hop artists advocate a wide range of positions, and often disagree with one another. Zionist hip hop acts like Golan and Subliminal, and PalestinianPalestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
nationalists like the
Iron Sheik
have obvious fundamental disagreements about a wide range of issues, but both use hip hop music and culture as a vehicle to express themselves and spread their ideas. As hip hop becomes increasingly widespread, artists from many different countries and backgrounds are using it to express many different positions, among them political ones. The nature of hip hop (as with much music) as an opposing force to the establishment lends itself to such a use.
Hispanic political hip hop scene
Political rappers of Hispanic descent include Sick Jacken & Cynic, Strate Crooked, OlmecaOlmeca
Olmeca is a genus of bamboo known from southern Mexico and comprising 2 species. Both have large fleshy fruits - a characteristic unique among New World bamboos, and rhizomes with long necks and very open clumps....
, Browny Loco, Commandante, Tohil
Tohil
Tohil was a deity of the K'iche' Maya in the Late Postclassic period of Mesoamerica. At the time of the Spanish Conquest, Tohil was the patron god of the K'iche'. Tohil's principal function was that of a fire deity and he was also both a sun god and the god of rain. Tohil was also associated with...
, Genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, Big Will, Elegal, Tolteca, Immortal Technique
Immortal Technique
Felipe Andres Coronel , better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper of Afro-Peruvian descent as well as an urban activist. He was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Harlem, New York. Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics...
, Kemo The Blaxican, Divary, MRK
MRK
MRK , Mrk , mrk may represent:* MRK aka Markos Ramsey Kay prolific artist and writer* the stock ticker symbol for Merck & Co.* a galaxy listed in the Markarian Catalogue, named after B. E. Markarian* the ISO 639:m language code for Malas...
, and Zack de la Rocha
Zack de la Rocha
Zacarías Manuel "Zack" de la Rocha is an American rapper, musician, poet, and activist best known as the vocalist and lyricist of Rage Against the Machine.-Early life and childhood:...
.
Conscious hip hop
Conscious hip hop or socially conscious hip-hop is a sub-genre of hip hopHip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
that focuses on social issues
Social issues
Social issues are controversial issues which relate to people's personal lives and interactions. Social issues are distinguished from economic issues...
. It is not necessarily overtly political, but it discusses social issues and conflicts. Themes of conscious hip hop include religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, aversion to violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
, culture, the economy
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
, or simple depictions the struggles of ordinary people. Grandmaster Flash
Grandmaster Flash
Joseph Saddler better known as King Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing....
's "The Message" was an early and hugely influential political and conscious hip hop track, decrying the poverty, violence, and dead-end lives of the black youth of the time.
The audience for conscious rap is largely underground
Underground music
Underground music comprises a range of different musical genres that operate outside of mainstream culture. Such music can typically share common values, such as the valuing of sincerity and intimacy; an emphasis on freedom of creative expression; an appreciation of artistic creativity...
. Most conscious hip hop artists have not attained the same level of commercial success as mainstream hip-hop , though there are some notable exceptions to this such as KRS-One
KRS-One
Lawrence Krisna Parker , better known by his stage names KRS-One , and Teacha, is an American rapper...
, Mos Def
Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
, Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli Greene , better known as Talib Kweli, is an American hip-hop artist and poet from Brooklyn, New York. His first name in Arabic means "student" or "seeker" ; his in Swahili means "true"...
, Lupe Fiasco
Lupe Fiasco
Wasalu Muhammad Jaco , better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco , is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, Lupe is the CEO of 1st and 15th Entertainment. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his critically acclaimed debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food...
, Lowkey
Lowkey
Kareem Dennis is a musician and political activist of English and Iraqi descent, better known by his stage name Lowkey. He first became known through a series of mixtapes he released before he was 18, before taking a hiatus from the music business...
, Immortal Technique
Immortal Technique
Felipe Andres Coronel , better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper of Afro-Peruvian descent as well as an urban activist. He was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Harlem, New York. Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics...
, J.Cole
J.Cole
Jermaine Lamarr Cole , better known by his stage name J. Cole, is an American rapper, singer and record producer. In 2009, he was the first artist signed to Jay-Z's label Roc Nation...
, Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar , formerly known by his stage name K. Dot, is an American rapper, and songwriter. He first gained major attention after the release of his 2010 mixtape O D. In 2011, his album Section.80, released exclusively through iTunes, instantly ranked as one of the top digital hip-hop releases...
, The Roots
The Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
, Tupac Shakur
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
, Nas
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
, OutKast
OutKast
Outkast is an American hip hop duo based in East Point, Georgia, consisting of Atlanta native André "André 3000" Benjamin and Savannah, Georgia-born Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. They were originally known as Two Shades Deep but later changed the group's name to OutKast...
and Common.
Like many cases within music, the umbrella term was originally coined by music audiences and critics rather than the actual artists themselves and has produced considerable backlash in regards to the labeling.