The litany is long and winded: Rappers care nothing about us, just their limos, hos and capital gains. We’ve heard it all before.
And while that may be mostly true of mainstream hip-hop, the underground is still dropping science like it was 1989. Lately, it has been the inaptly named Timid who has defended the gates against stupid blingers and bangers.
His video for "Let Freedom Ring" mashes King, Bush, Pyongyang, Israel, Gitmo, Iraq and everything else geopolitical into a Golden-Age blender and feeds the results to your tender ears. It would behoove you to listen, especially if you think rap means nothing more than 50 Cent’s kevlar vest or Lil Wayne’s Hummer semi.
Looking for other conscientious hip-hop these days? Start with El-P’s I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead and Fantastic Damage, the sharpest, roughest social critiques committed to rap since Public Enemy’s notorious It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. Check out anything from The Roots, especially lately.
But don’t check out on hip-hop, just because MTV is still looping narcissistic fools who can’t freestyle. The goods are always hidden deeper in the cut.
