Like JamesBeDat, and even the previously optimistic Quan Vu, I too had my biases about the social, political, and cultural responsibility of rap. My Bro and his friends (one of them being Piff PCH) when they were at Lincoln High back in the early 90′s, even felt their East Coast peers from the Hardcore 92-94′ boom bap era (Onyx, Black Moon, BCC, Mobb, Capone N Noreiga, etc) made more political statements underlying with gangster dramatic license and vulgarity than who had us on the map at the time in the West.

Let us not forget, while Cube, West Side Connections and Death Row upheld us, they maintained a commercial sound of fun funky samples and accompaniment of coloring synths that made them club friendly compared to those hardcore/gangster east groups and not even as cerebral lyrically. Their rhymes about the House Parties in the hood soon became about Parties in the VIP rooms – Cube hitting major theaters to eventually become a family man actor – Snoop a family man – Warren G on celebrity fit club? I mean I’m not hating on commercial success, but as you pointed out Quan, like the Roots on Jimmy Fallon now, Common and Mos getting cuddly for feel good films, they became a market and were just as trendy to where the checks silenced them – in all classes of these rappers.

Now, where the market of Rap is consolidated with major labels and independent labels, with social networks of youtube, bandcamp, soundclick, reverbation as the scale for the feedback loop for all rappers, the rappers who feel they have social, cultural and political responsibility get more light as the epidemic of these networks give voices to those that were once voiceless as more and more of raps fanbase has a chance to relate with everyday people who rap now.

However, the bigger issue I find now majority of Rap consumers that represent its fan base is demanding more social, political and cultural responsibility. i.e. Fort Minor, Eminem, Atmosphere and other Rhymer Sayers fans in the abyss of youtube comments talk about how irresponsible the more street/hood relevant rappers are than their favorites and express it covertly as this being the fault of the “urban” demographic they can’t relate to, and use the Roots, Kanye, Common, and Blackstar as models for them to “uplift” themselves from oppression. Personally? I see this as an attack on Rap as a whole for trying to make particular classes and demographics of people be accountable for societies issues. I’m not even buying into that False Dichotomy of Hip Hop v.s. Rap or Rapper verses Emcee anymore. I see it all as Rap music, within the macrocosm of Hip Hop culture.

While we all argue on which Rap movement upholds its dignity and integrity, music enthusiasts/theorists discredit rap as music based on its principles of composition and dynamics, and all the Gym Class Hero Rap fans say the Raw Shit is ruining our relations as people. Fuck that. We need to support Raps overall contribution to music and the money it has stuffed into the pockets of people from a culture that could care less about “urban rhetoric.” Rock bands like 30H!3 can talk about bitches and drugs and have fun, but Rappers can’t? That’s the bigger issue. So, Rap I feel needs to make its step forward to note that there’s a bigger picture. Prison Industrial complex? Gangsta Rap isn’t at fault for that, and Conscious Rap won’t people keep away from that, so no matter what sub-genre, Rappers have to be relevant in some way about that, whether it’s vulgar, or soft-spoken.