Hope you are enjoying your day of rest! I have already expressed my opinions on gangsta rap, and those opinions definitely do not extend to the 7 artists I talk about below. These artists are actually part of the reason it’s close to impossible for me to take a lot of gangsta rap seriously.
After all how can you settle for less when you have seen musicality at its finest. Long ago I promised I would do a post of this nature….the promise is now fulfilled.

1) Lauryn Hill

Lauryn is like that really clever cousin that everyone has. You know the one who has flashes of absolute brilliance that from time to time are marred by minor errors in judgment (in my fam, that would be me!). In spite of her erratic behavior, her talent, graceful beauty and musical skills are undeniable.

2) Black Star
Just in case people forget why hip hop got started in the first place, there is Black Star to remind you. Yes they talk endlessly about their skills as MCs. Yes they talk about drug dealing. But they rhyme, bend and manipulate words as though they are clay in their hands. They talk about the beauty and wonder of the human experience and African experience.
Talib is the philosopher who takes himself and his words so seriously that you can’t help but do so as well. Mos on the other hand is that ever smiling, ever rhyming MC who can’t help but make you feel good inside. Forget reading the above just listen to the two tracks below

3) Tupac Shakur
No discussion of hip hop can begin or end without mentioning Pac. I will admit it, I am a selective fan of 2pac. The tracks below have my ear any day. “Hit em up”? not so much.

4) Dead Prez
I have already written my stalker ode to Dead Prez, so I will just give you two more tracks to enjoy.

You’d rather have a Lexus,
Or Justice,
A dream,
Or some substance,
A Beamer,
A Necklace,
OR FREEDOM

5) LL Cool J

I know a lot of you didn’t expect this guy to be on the list. Heck even I didn’t. Another case of selective listening when it comes Mr. Smith.
I must give credit when it’s due: For those times when you have no lines or don’t know quite what to do to turn your Don Juan on, do as L would do. No one does smooth better:

The Lord works in mysterious ways,
He must have put you on this Earth,
For all men to praise

(With proper delivery what can’t words like these achieve?)

6) Lupe Fiasco

Lyrics! Lyrics! Lyrics! He is mellifluous! He is floetry! His rhyming is off the chain! Don’t believe me, explain the lyrics below:

I’m fearless
Now hear this
I’m earless
And I’m peer-less
That means I’m eyeless
Which means I’m tearless
Which means my iris resides where my ears is
Which means I’m blinded

7) Da Truth
Inspirational through and through and through.The song that really resonated with me by this talented theologian-on-the-mic was ‘My Story’. In this world where apparently Akon faked his criminal record, just to gain more acceptance, how relevant is a track like that? You be the judge:

So pull a chair, something to drink and enjoy some real music.

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Da Truth – My Story

I thought my testimony was less the holy, I thought I was less blessed then my homies, just confessing only the big sins, I thought that was a badge of honor, I thought that I had to have a story that was packed with drama, But I aint ever been shot, no big crimes, never smoked weed, never drank, I never did time, I grew up with both parents both cheering me on, teaching me basic things like no swearing (no swearing son),
It’s so apparent I came up in the church, socially this is where I gave my worth, learned to pray and assert my self for God displaying its worth, upon living without playing in the earth, just the average kid, you know the type that like to play in the dirt, came home with dirt stains on my shirt, reciting the same old verse, at the table no games no hurts, And I knew I was called before the day of my birth, And its like that,
I aint got no horror story Go kept me in my youth I give him all the glory I thought my story didn’t flow, But now I know the blood of the lamb has saved my soul and that’s my testimony, I aint got no horror story Go kept me in my youth I give him all the glory I thought my wasn’t dope but now I know the blood of the lamb saved my soul and that’s my testimony
I aint no gangster I aint tough cause of rap, never been cuffed and stuffed in the back of a patty-wagon, I aint never cuss in my raps, I started gospel most aint accustom to that,
Let me get back, when I was young I used to think I was corny, Cause I aint grow up in the projects drinking a 40, And I aint never had no thug dude sneaking upon me, And every buddy had the name brand sneakers before me, And it made me really made but as I bugged my mom and pops taught me never to chase silly fads, they told me focus and bought me note books, I really had brilliant parents they introduced me to Billy Gram
See I aint got no horror story God kept me as a buck I give him all the glory, In high school all the pretty girls ignored me called me church boy, I wasn’t bothered normally though, Sometimes I would hate living the life of a saint, They saw the Christian boy and light right from the gate, thought I would preach so they tried to escape but I guess that’s just the price of pronouncing your faith, and its like that
I aint got no horror story Go kept me in my youth I give him all the glory I thought my story didn’t flow, But now I know the blood of the lamb has saved my soul and that’s my testimony, I aint got no horror story Go kept me in my youth I give him all the glory I thought my wasn’t dope but now I know the blood of the lamb saved my soul and that’s my testimony
Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying I’m prefect, Matter fact I took thoughts and conveyed about cursing, I was saving my pain it was worse then it should have been man I was ashamed just to say I’m a virgin, plus I was too afraid to admit I was a Christian, I spent most of those days trying to prove I was hip, plus trying to prove I was cool, trying to move like a pimp, My testimony wasn’t cool enough yet, Then I came to my senses I put my brain to the scriptures, Thought of how Christ was blameless to sinners, He didn’t grow up on the corner fornicating with sisters, A good Jew grew in favor of wisdom, That gave me relief , rearranged my belief no longer thinking what I’m saying is weak, I aint never been sprayed in the street but saved by his grace plus raised to my feet, And its like that,
I aint got no horror story Go kept me in my youth I give him all the glory I thought my story didn’t flow, But now I know the blood of the lamb has saved my soul and that’s my testimony, I aint got no horror story Go kept me in my youth I give him all the glory I thought my wasn’t dope but now I know the blood of the lamb saved my soul and that’s my testimony

Part 6 of the 10 things I wish I knew before I left Africa

1) Erwin Mcmanus

2) Kirk Franklin

3) Eric Wainaina

4) Malcolm X and Steve Biko

5) Anthony Robbins

6) 7 special people

7) Fidelis Wainaina

NB: This post has a lot of cussing via the music so if that turns you off then skip right by the music tracks and enjoy the article!

This series was only supposed to be seven articles long but I had to show love to Dead Prez. Like Malcolm, there are a lot of things these guys say that I just plain don’t agree with-in fact as I was researching for this article I realized that it was way more than I initially thought. Ultimately, though, I love these cats because their hearts are in the right place: they want to help their communities get free and liberate all oppressed people worldwide through the mic.

Biography

Please check out their Wikipedia page or their Amazon page or their official website for more information on Dead Prez.

Why I Love M1 and stic.man?

1) You Don’t Have to Listen to the Music for Just the Beat: How many of us listen to music ‘just for the beat’ knowing that if we were to absorb in just what the artist is saying (which we usually end up doing anyway) we would be much worse off than before the song began? You don’t even have to worry about that when listening to tracks such as Hip-Hop (below), Happiness and You are what you eat. Through these tracks they educate and encourage. So pop in a Dead Prez CD to get your mind fed by some educated, enlightened, compassionate, respect-worthy men.

2) They Educate and Encourage: Whether its through their books or their interviews or their CDs, Dead Prez strive to give information to their community that they can immediately apply to make their lives better. They talk about the education system, the economic structure, police brutality and a whole host of other issues that truly matter when it’s all said and done. Case in point: You are what you eat (track is at the bottom of the article).

One of the things that absolutely convinced me that I had to do something on these guys was when I heard stic.man’s track ‘I Believe’ (track is at the end of the article). How many people are crippled by a whole host of addictions and need tracks such as ‘I Believe’ to inspire and encourage them?

3) They Unashamedly Criticize the Power Structure: Here they even make me uncomfortable. They are brutal and scathing in their critiques of the power structure and the way that those in power have trampled on and stepped on the little people. They don’t just restrict their critique to the US, as was shown when M1 did a collaboration with Tanzanian artist, Nakaaya called Mr. Politician (track at the end of the article)

4) They Release Intelligent, ‘Real’ Love Songs: When most hip hop artists sing love songs, in the back of my mind I usually think they are probably just doing it for commercial reasons. When Dead Prez release tracks such as ‘Mind Sex‘ and ‘Love You Can’t Borrow‘ you can see that these are people who respect women and respect relationships and are singing about a love that is coming from deep inside them. Plus, how great is the term ‘Mind sex’ for a stimulating, sexy, seductive conversation.

5) They Take Care of their Bodies: Listen to ‘You are what you eat’ one more time and tell me these aren’t brothers who focus on taking care of the bodies that God blessed them with.

6) They Don’t Waste Lyrical Space: Even some of my favourite rappers such as Talib Kweli and Mos Def and a lot of our local artists waste a lot of lyrical space bragging about who they are and what they can do. Dead Prez are probably the only artists I know who completely stepped away from that: I mean why talk about how great a lyricist and an MC you are when you can prove it by doing a hip-hop rendition of Animal Farm (below)

7) They Reached Out to Africa: First they declared that they were Africans, on the track ‘I’m an African’(below). Then,they did a track with Naakaya and then THEY DID A TRACK WITH KALAMASHAKA (below). For those who don’t understand who Kalamashaka are, they are the East African equivalent of Grandmaster Flash; they were some of the first guys to create the East African music industry, which has since exploded, and they did it with clever, socially conscious lyrics. Dead Prez took time to step out of the ghettos of the US and do collabos with some of Africa’s own gifts to music. For that they have my eternal respect.

Right now, I am just buzzing, and I could have said so much more about these two guys but I think I will just leave it right there and let their music speak for itself. Something to say? Even though you disagree, please express yourself.

You are what you eat, so eat blessed and spit out nothing but the blessed,

Mwangi

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