Dead Prez

"Hip Hop" by Dead Prez from Let's Get Free (2000)

Hyperpolitical rap hasn't bounced this hard since It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988). Producer Kanye West makes sure that the bass pumps deeper and stronger than any song in contemporary hip hop: The distinct bass line is recognizable within a two seconds. Emcees M1 and stic.man trade rhymes about racial indifference and the sad state of the record industry with a poetic flare that's sparked an intense fan-base of activists much like themselves. The hardest hitting lines are provided by stic.man, when he shows his blatant distrust for the powerful white man: "Who shot Biggie Smalls? / If we don't get them, they gon' get us all / I'm down for runnin' up on them crackers in they city hall." Going further to attack mainstream hip hop artists, stic.man claims that all of they're "Records sound the same / I'm sick of that fake thug, R&B-rap scenario / All day on the radio / Same scenes in the video, monotonous material." Along with artists like Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Immortal Technique, KRS-ONE and Common, Dead Prez should be required listening for anyone interested in hip hop. Though many of the aforementioned emcees don't appreciate the label "conscious rapper," they do occupy a realm of hip hop that doesn't get the airplay it deserves based on both the talents and messages of these artists.

Uh, uh, uh, 1-2, 1-2
Uh, uh, 1-2, 1-2, uh, uh
All my dogs...

[Hook]
It's bigger than..hip..hop..hip..hop..hip..hop..hip..
It's bigger than..hip..hop..hip..hop..hip..hop..hip-hop

[M1]
Uh, one thing 'bout music when it hit you feel no pain
White folks say it controls yo' brain
I know better than that, that's game
And we ready for that - two soldiers head of the pack
Matter of fact, who got the gat?
And where my army at? Rather attack and not react
Back to beats, it don't reflect on how many records get sold
On sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll
Whether your project's put on hold
In the real world; these just people with ideas
They just like me and you when the smoke and camera disappear
Against the real world *echos*
It's bigger than all these fake-ass records
When po' folks got the millions and my sista's disrespected
If you check 1-2, my word of advice to you is just relax
Just do what you got to do; if that don't work, then kick the facts
If you a fighter, rider, biter, flame-ignitor, crowd-exciter
Or you wanna jus' get high, then just say it
But then if you a liar-liar, pants on fire, wolf-crier, agent wit' a wire
I'm gon' know it when I play it

[Hook]

[stic.man]
Uh, who shot Biggie Smalls?
If we don't get them, they gon' get us all
I'm down for runnin' up on them crackers in they city hall
We ride for y'all - all my dogs stay real
Nigga, don't think these record deals gon' feed your seeds
And pay your bills, because they not
MCs get a little bit of love and think they hot
Talkin' 'bout how much money they got; all y'all records sound the same
I'm sick of that fake thug, R&B-rap scenario, all day on the radio
Same scenes in the video, monotonous material
Y'all don't here me though
These record labels slang our tapes like dope
You can be next in line and signed; and still be writing rhymes and broke
You would rather have a Lexus? or justice? a dream? or some substance?
A Beamer? a necklace? or freedom?
Still a nigga like me don't playa-hate, I just stay awake
This real hip-hop; and it don't stop 'til we get the crackers off the block
They call it...

[Hook 2x]

[Repeat 6x]
D.P.'s got that crazy shit
We keep it crunked-up, John Blazed and shit