Four Socially Conscious Rappers: Hip-Hop Artists Striving to Make a Difference

Hip-hop has a bad rap (pun intended) as a faulted art form that glorifies drugs, violence, and stupidity and demeans women. The sad thing is that for the vast majority of the market, this is true. However, in the current world of rappers, there are some artists striving to change the norm and promote positive values through their work. Here are a few of the more popular socially conscious rappers out there.

Lupe Fiasco

A Muslim who detests the consumption of alcohol and loves video games, Lupe Fiasco is one of the freshest faces in rap. His first album, Food & Liquor (the name is supposed to hint at the struggle between the good in the world-food-and the evil---liquor) gave hip-hop a wake-up kick in the ass, though the poorly produced Neptunes track "I Gotcha" somewhat stunted its commercial success. Those in the know realize that Lupe Fiasco is an important artist; unlike many socially conscious rappers, he's got enough technical rap skills to hang with the big boys. His flow actually matches Jay-Z's on their collaborative track, and the heartbreaking He Say, She Say is as poignant as any song on the market. It's also fun to hear him spin tales about giant robots and gangster zombies, never demeaning women and absolutely never promoting the shadier side of the streets while celebrating the beauty of black culture and family.

Common

A ghetto prophet in a newsboy hat, Common Sense has been illuminating minds for a while now. His most recent album, Be, is a meditative retrospective on life and love, with deep metaphors laced over an unorthodox flow. The final track is so emotive, you're not human if a tear's not forming in your eye by the time Common brings a host of children to the center stage to tell what they want to be when they grow up; he sounds optimistic, but there's a sad tone to the whole thing.

Kanye West