Thanks for posting this. Just a few quick responses to the comments.

What does “conscious” mean? Here’s a question that was posed to Lloyd Banks in an interview a while back.

“Do you listen to a lot of “conscious” artists? And how do you feel about their rapping as opposed to your own?

Lloyd Banks: Well not a lot. I don’t really buy their albums or nothin’ like that, but I can appreciate the music. I acknowledge what Mos Def brings to the table and Talib Kweli, even The Roots, they’re just another branch of Hip Hop. There’s so many different styles that make up the Hip Hop culture. I can’t even really… The difference with mine is, my music is “conscious” also, I guess the difference is just the two labels. Maybe it’s just more “in your face” with me. I mean I’m totally and completely conscious with what I’m saying, when I’m saying it so I don’t even know why people acknowledge that as different.”

I think its clear. Consciousness is relative.

But consciousness is not something you just attain to by reading books. This is the crux of rationalism. Social movements don’t come into being by folks reading books, they come by a shift in activity. Consciousness is not something separate from activity, its integral to it.

It seems my argument is repetitious. I’m not so sure. Democracy and Hip-hop is a particular pole within ground level hip-hop media (viz. blogging) that is taking a stance opposed to hip-hop conservatism and the so-called depravity of black culture that is destroying what is “true” about hip-hop. Truth is relative too.

There is a prevalent white supremacist narrative within the critique of hip-hop (from within or without). I would argue that that is what we’ve heard 5 billion times. I would be happy to be shown otherwise.

Peace.

Thanks for all the comments yall.

‘spell check’!!

“It will be those cats Black, Brown, and White, with gold fronts, gold chains, saggy pants, and cocked hats who throw off the old society and give us something worth living for.”

Who exactly is this nondescript group of fashionable hip-hop fans who are somehow fit not only to start some sort of huge hip-hop revolution, but also run this country?

I am not really a Kweli or Mos fan anymore myself, so this is less of a defense of them than a defense of good hip-hop that has a message, versus the majority of complete garbage out there disguised as a “this is how it is where Im from” attitude that often is maaad ignorant, and generally accepted and peddled as the most sellable form of music to date.

why does it need be be ‘violent creative potential’ and about ‘gold chains and saggy pants’……..don’t be concious people…stay unconcious!?!

true conciousness promotes people thinking for themselves(see Melle Mel)…
hip hop cant be confined only to its origins,the reality of it is that its bigger than the bronx now and it isnt just about rappers and their ego.
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hip hop is many differnt things to different people…its not all party and and re-inforcing how resiliant to human beings we all are.its art,dance,and a WHOLE SPECTRUM OF POTENTIAL for every race on the planet as you state.

we should ALL become concious..it all depends what you are concious of…