Quote:
Originally Posted by Quzor
Unfortunately, I don't think rap will ever be able to escape the niche it's fallen into now, insofar as the words are concerned. It seems to me that, initially, rap was about the expression of feelings, and the want to be recognized for the work these artists were putting into their art, when other forms of music were still dominating the air waves. As rap began to come more into the mainstream, people realized that they could bank on this growing popularity with simple things like a good beat and occasionally striking lyrics. Suddenly, as the money started rolling in, rap artists began living the high life. When you look at where many of these people came from, and how hard they worked to get where they are now, it's not too surprising to think that their art may have been manipulated by what they were acquiring; it was what they were in search for all along. Of course, this is purely speculation on my part, but I think it's human nature to want to celebrate the things you earn after working so hard to get them.
As for recommendations of a non-material nature, I'd highly suggest Saul Williams' album Amethyst Rock Star. He's more of a slam poet, but with some beats behind it, his poems make for amazing hip hop. I'd also suggest MC Paul Barman's Paullelujah and, if you can find them, the Immortal Technique albums Revolutionary Vol 1 & 2. Again, I don't think you're ever going to be able to completely escape the materialization of the music itself (J5 isn't particularly materialistic, but even some of their songs deal with those things), but these are a few of the artists I've found who seem to focus less on the material things, and more on the message.
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Immortal Technique is recommendable in very regulated doses. While his lyrics are about as anti-materialistic as you can get, a lot of his social views are extreme and aren't for the faint of heart (his albums are called "The Revolutionary" for a reason).
For the more mainstream acts, you can look into:
Lupe Fiasco
Talib Kweli
The Roots
Common
Pharoahe Monch
More obscure artists:
Atmosphere
Sage Francis
sol.illaquists of sound
Glue
Del Tha Funkee Homosapien / Deltron
Tonedeff
There are plenty of other tasteful rappers that I didn't mention, but I'll start you off with these guys to give you a good gateway to expand on.