black power rap Options

[brooklyneast05]

i was just reading an article and it named these ten as the top ten black power rap acts according to marcus reeves. do we agree with this list?

link to article

1. Public Enemy
2. Rakim
3. KRS-ONE
4. N.W.A.
5. X-CLAN
6. Big Daddy Kane
7. Mos Def
8. Talib Kweli
9. Salt -n- pepa
10.Jay- Z

[superstitious]

Cue white girl ignorance:

What exactly constitutes "black power," as it related to rap? I mean, I really like Mos Def but "black power" isn't something that comes to mind when I listen to him.

[brooklyneast05]

haha are you listening to the lyrics?

i wouldn't say that mos def is like BLACK POWER BLACK POWER BLACK POWER, but if you listen to his songs he's very much about black unity, social/political consciousness in the black community, stuff like this. he's definitely speaking to black people not necessarily only for black people, but to black people. especially when he teamed up for black star.


be unlucky for you like a black cat
a panther
revolution is the answer
that's what we need
greed plague my people like the cancer
true indeed
now black people unite and let's all get down


we either naggers or kings
we either bitches or queens
the deadly ritual seems immersed, in the perverse
full of short attention spans, short tempers, and short skirts
long barrel automatics released in short bursts
the length of black life is treated with short worth
get yous first, them other niggas secondary
that type of illin that be fillin up the cemetery

he spends a lot of time talking about the black community. i think different people have different opinions and feelings about the term "black power". for example, his whole post is defending N.W.A. from the label of black power. while i think his post is good, well thought out, and i know what he's saying. i'm assuming black power is a negative connotation to him if he's trying to defend them from it?


it's really broad though. the black power that radiates from mos def and kweli is much different to me than the kind that comes from N.W.A.


mos def does a whole lotta preaching imo. black unity falls under black power, to me.

[superstitious]

haha are you listening to the lyrics?

i wouldn't say that mos def is like BLACK POWER BLACK POWER BLACK POWER, but if you listen to his songs he's very much about black unity, social/political consciousness in the black community, stuff like this. he's definitely speaking to black people not necessarily only for black people, but to black people. especially when he teamed up for black star.


be unlucky for you like a black cat
a panther
revolution is the answer
that's what we need
greed plague my people like the cancer
true indeed
now black people unite and let's all get down


we either naggers or kings
we either bitches or queens
the deadly ritual seems immersed, in the perverse
full of short attention spans, short tempers, and short skirts
long barrel automatics released in short bursts
the length of black life is treated with short worth
get yous first, them other niggas secondary
that type of illin that be fillin up the cemetery

he spends a lot of time talking about the black community. i think different people have different opinions and feelings about the term "black power". for example, his whole post is defending N.W.A. from the label of black power. while i think his post is good, well thought out, and i know what he's saying. i'm assuming black power is a negative connotation to him if he's trying to defend them from it?
it's really broad though. the black power that radiates from mos def and kweli is much different to me than the kind that comes from N.W.A.
mos def does a whole lotta preaching imo. black unity falls under black power, to me.

Your last statement is what I was looking for, I think. Also, my experience with Mos Def is fairly minimal (compared to hard core fans... whatever that means heh).

I'll acquire some more stuff and give it a better listenin' to.