Social Awareness in hiphop (help-r)
don_gigante
259 Posts
so, im writing a research paper on "the history of social awareness (ie: AIDS, gang violence, black-on-black crime, drugs/crack, police brutality, teen pregnancy, etc) in hiphop"...basically documenting the highs and lows and tossing in a bit of analysis along the way, starting w GMF's the message back in '81/'82 up to today...ive started a list but could use a lil help as some years are easier than others....88-93 is full of examples; while 95-2005 is sorta thin on examples....my only listing for this timespan is Black Star-Respiration...im sure theres more, im just drawing blanks right now....any suggestions much appreciated...
Comments
"social awareness" doesn't necessarily = "positive messages that build community, enhance spiritual awareness and discourage black-on-black crime."
If you're using "The Message" as a template, there's plenty of rap records from the decade you mentioned that aren't considered "conscious", "aware", or "positive" that nonetheless address urban social realities with aplomb.
If I were you, I'd spend some time listening to the records rather than quizzing soulstrut posters (who honestly don't know that much about it anyway).
Not trying to sound harsh, just saying.
This dude seems to be up on the social awareness on the hip-hop tip. http://www.daveyd.com/
define "social awareness"
Jedi Mind Tricks is more like "awareness of the illuminatus trilogy"
2Pac?
Ghostface Killah "All I Got Is You" is not Social Awareness?
Vinnie= one to grow on???
What????
Honestly, people still do this??? Dude 1994 called they want their academic pursuits back.
Jay-Z
SOCIALLY AWARE AS F*CK
actually i have an immortal technique cd layin around somewhere...ill see if i can dig it up...dead prez is a good ex...however, i tend to conjure images of them "runnin up on crackers in they city hall" for some reason...seems a bit too violent and radical for my purposes...ill dig up their cd as well...will look into JMT and DaveyD also....
thanks
yea, im in the master's program...its a research seminar class...we have the whole semester to write a 25 page paper w primary/secondary sources w full documentation...the sort of paper that is supposed to turn into a Ph.D dissertation next year...but yes, Mos Def "Mr Nigga" could work as an ex...b/w I miss the bong rip slack years as an undergrad
I understand your frustration, but dude is just looking for some help with his paper and examples of "socially aware raps," whatever that is. I simply recommended artistes like Dead Prez or Immortal Technique because they're known for putting out revolutionary/socially conscious raps. Of course that doesn't mean they speak for or represent the mindset of the common black man. I would agree that someone like Bun B more accurately depicts the struggles of the street. But I dont know if his collective work could be characterized as socially conscious. Perhaps specific songs from him would be helpful...
Reflection Eternal "Good Mourning"
Reflection Eternal "Africa Dream"
Common "The Corner"
Common "The People"
Common "Forever Begins"
Common "Black Maybe"
Kanye "Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix)"
Nas "I Can"
To the extent that "socially aware hip-hop" is that which laments or at least addresses an urban blight - teen pregnancy, drug addiction, violent crime, decay, police brutality, lack of representation politically - I don't see how you can exclude rappers that "more accurately depict the struggles of the street" (whatever that means). There's just racks and racks of material out there. From Nas to Spice 1. Almost every MC in the last 20 years has written something addressing a social ill, even if they don't have a reputation for it. If the original poster is in a masters program, he's going to need to do a bit more than pick up some titles from soulstrut to fill in the gaps! I mean really. We always complain about how shoddy hip-hop writing generally is. It should be a challenge to anybody writing or thinking seriously about this subject to entertain examples of stuff they might not personally be into. If you're a big BlackStar fan, look into some Scarface. If you're into Jedi Mind Tricks, why not check out some Trick Daddy. It's never been easier.
If you want the money answer, The Coup has been putting out records consistently for the last 10-15 years and they're all "Socially Aware".
i agree. 25 pages isn't even enough to tackle the subject of the problematic definition of "socially conscious," and that would be the first thing you would need to do in order lay out your argument for the reader.
This is a potential dissertation paper?
I think JP's core point is a good one (even if I don't share his need to bang my head into a computer about it): for the purposes of your paper, I think it'd be an excellent idea to first tackle what you even mean by "socially conscious."
From the sound of it, you're really talking about hip-hop "protest songs" or, to put it more prosaically, "rap songs with an unambiguous, politically left, social critique function". The field of such songs gets really narrow - even something like "THe Message" wouldn't really qualify, in my mind, as a literal protest song since it's more about social realism than it is a specific, articulated critique.
Personally, I think the far more interesting paper would be to explore the idea of "social consciousness" via social realism in hip-hop - basically, the point JP is making about how talking about ghetto life is often a critique in and of itself.
I'm not quite as dismissive but if I were your advisor, I'd want to know what you think the overall relevance of this specific topic would be to your discipline. It's well tread in a lot of the hip-hop scholarship out there already.
It seems a pretty futile exercise to document "rap songs with an unambiguous, politically left, social critique function" (hereby dubbed RSWAUPLSCF), one that's been done plenty of times and (in my biased opinion) misses the hip-hop forest for the trees.
[digression for the sake of levity] I would hang out in a hip hop forest. [/digression for the sake of levity]
Edit: Yep, he did.
STOP TEASING THE DUDE AND JUST POASTS SOME "SOCIALLY AWARE" RAPS!
And I dont think the dude is trying to change the landscape of hiphop journalism. He's just trying to get pass his course - LET THE MAN EAT!