hip hop

nationality

American

occupation / innovator as

musician

songwriter

poet

voice

singer

race / ethnicity

African American

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is, at its essence, a folk music, because it speaks the language that people are still speaking at ground zero, it speaks the language that people speak on the streets.

is best when conscious; when dealing with the community, something uplifting, something positive. However, the best rappers came to be about being a tough guy (Tupac, Biggie, Jay-Z) or later about partying, sex, having fun (Drake, Kendrick Lamar Wale, J. Cole).

The history of conscious hip-hop is interesting. The best MCs in the world have always — when I first came in the business — always needed to have something conscious, something dealing with the community, something uplifting, something positive. Even if the majority of the content was negative, you had to have that. And that changed over time. You had Tupac and Biggie came out, and then you had Jay-Z. And the best rapper became about who was the tough guy, you know? Who's busting they gun off or something like that. And now you have Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Wale, J. Cole. They're talking a lot about partying; you know, sex, having fun. And those are the guys who are considered the best. People consider conscious rap now, in hip-hop circles, to feel condescending or feel like not a part of the mainstream. So the challenge for me is, "How do I be as good or better than these rappers out here?" and "How do I stay relevant with my music still being considered conscious?"

Talib Kweli

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