Conspiracy rap is on the rise. A new group of rappers is igniting the streets by discussion of topics other rappers won’t touch.
Since the death of Biggie and Pac and the dominance of certain key figures in the rap game since 1997 – notably Jay-Z, Eminem, 50 Cent, The Game, Lil’ Wayne and Chris Brown, as well as older legends like Snoop Dogg and Nas – it can sometimes feel like hip hop has stratified. There’s an old guard, and it gets a lot of play on MTV and BET and on the radio. It’s very hard to break into the top levels of national airplay. And increasingly it’s causing a division lately between mainstream rap, and that which is considered more “street” – as a younger and even angrier group of rappers is rising to prominence on the streets, with tapes passed around the back of the dirtiest ghettos and the places to have suffered the worst urban blight.
This new group of hip hop artists haven’t gained the numbers of the old guard. They don’t have fashion lines. Most don’t have fancy labels and lavish surroundings; even though most are older and have been recording longer than the more mainstream artists.
And yet it is their tapes setting the most oppressed of international city streets on fire with discussion and new politics and forbidden viewpoints.
Criticism of the United States military-industrial complex is common. So is information dissemination on world banking groups like the Bilderberg Group. So is condemnation of the hypocrisy of a drug game in which low-level minorities are locked up and targeted while serious allegations of CIA drug trafficking continue.
Underground rap in the era of drone warfare is subversive, deeply intellectual – and rageful. Its airplay is not on the radio but raging like a wildfire in the backrooms of oppressed places and the lesser-viewed corners of Internet message boards. Let’s take a look at some of the most prominent underground rappers dealing with controversial political topics.
Vinnie Paz and Enemy Soil
Vinnie Paz is one of the oldest figures in the current underground rap game, with his main act – the deeply political group Jedi Mind Tricks – active since 1993. He’s one of the few underground rappers to have his own label, Enemy Soil. His older work cites mythology like Kublai Khan, the Sumerians, and religious topics heavily. After 2000 his output became much more political. He was a fierce and vehement critic of the Bush Administration, exposing a great many cover-ups around the Afghanistan War and Iraq War in his music – one of the bravest figures in hip-hop in the period in terms of lyrical content. Recently he’s dropped solo albums featuring Wu-Tang legends and newer up-and-coming names like Block McCloud, and his work cites the controversial pundit David Icke. His frequent collaborators include Ill Bill, Sean Price, GZA, and the collaborators in his other Army Of The Pharaohs project- Apathy, Chief Kamachi, 7L & Esoteric, Planetary & Crypt the Warchild of (OuterSpace), King Syze, Faez One, Jus Allah, Doap Nixon, Reef The Lost Cause, Demoz, and Des Devious. Here are a few of his official videos.
The single “On The Eve Of War” from 2004’s “Legacy of Blood” samples classic hip hop lines and the classical symphony “Palladio I – Allegretto” by Karl Jenkins to produce a masterful swagger jam.
“End of Days” uses a David Icke sample and a beautifully sung hook by Block McCloud to explore the latest in modern conspiracy research.
Immortal Technique and Viper Records
Immortal Technique is the other elder statesman of conspiracy rap – active since 2000. Known for the deep rage in his lyrics and his unflinching exposes of gang life and Third World politics – and American military and corporate skullduggery in the same places – Tech is one of those names that is, itself, a ghetto pass of substantial proportions. He has his own label too, Viper Records – and has collaborated with Mos Def, Dead Prez, Ras Kass, KRS-ONE, Jean Grae, Chino XL, DJ Green Lantern, Ill Bill, and another name on this list – Lowkey. Here are some of his classics.
“Dance With The Devil” is a tale of a young gangbanger who commits suicide after a violent rape, over samples from “Survival of the Fittest” by Mobb Deep and “Love Story” by Francis Lai.
“Bin Laden (Bush Knocked Down The Towers)” is an exploration of the theory that the Bush Administration was involved in the 9/11 attacks against America.
Lowkey And Global Faction
Lowkey is Britain’s reigning underground conspiracy rapper, active since 2003. He’s worked and toured heavily with Immortal Technique and has been a vocal critic of the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, as well as British involvement in Middle Eastern war and politics. He’s a prominent anti-war activist and is starting to gain acclaim and renown outside of his own country. He recently started Global Faction as a collective of like-minded artists. Here are some of his street classics:
“Free Palestine” is a song critical of the Israeli occupation in Palestine.
“Terrorist?” explores the hypocrisy of British and American official definitions of “terrorism” as practiced in recent wars.
Brother Ali
Brother Ali is a member of the Rhymesayers crew established by indie rapper Slug (of Atmosphere) known to feature MF Doom, Freeway, Evidence and Dilated Peoples, and other veterans of the underground scene. He’s been rapping since 1998. He is, like every artist on this list, intensely political and frequently faces condemnation for his unflinching looks at American society. He famously took industry heat for his song “Uncle Sam Goddamn” that explored links between slavery and modern private prison complexes.
“Uncle Sam Goddamn” drew parallels between modern private prison complexes and ancient slavemaster attitudes.
Paris
San Francisco rapper Paris is actually the second-most-longstanding industry veteran on this list, literally recording since the classic days of wax in 1989. He’s worked with industry legends Public Enemy, dead prez, The Conscious Daughters, Immortal Technique, The Coup, George Clinton, Kam, and MC Ren. Lately he’s been extremely critical of mainstream rap figures and what he sees as a deliberate effort to mislead the young and establish a police state, especially in his video “Martial Law”.
“Martial Law” vocally condemns mainstream rap as complicit with a police-state society.
K-Rino
K-Rino’s been recording since 1983, beating out even all the other heavy hitters on this list in terms of the span of time he’s served and seen in hip-hop. A king of Dallas battle rap and a collaborator of the late DJ Screw, as well as Trae the Truth, K-Rino is known for exceptional meter and a raspy, guttural voice. He wrote about the deep corruption and financial trickery of the banking industry in “No Redemption”.
“No Redemption” accuses banking groups of deliberately profiting from and scuttling American industries and citizens.
Who else you do think deserves a coverage and writeup in this genre, BAMP readers? Weigh in below!
Bump Magazine 