positive rap and hiphop???

[Joe Nerve]

can ya'll please name me some positive rap or hiphop artists and songs. i work in a HS and one of the couselors there asked me if I could help her and get as much info about it as i could.

i knows i'm coming to the right place for that.

[Twistad]

Check out Flipsyde, i think they're pretty good, and it's certainly not your typical "gangster" rap.

[Fat.Mike]

KRS 1. Cleanest of the clean with some clever, positive things to say. I don't know if the kids like him though...

[Mike Flynn]

Check out Soweto Kinch - he's a rapper and sax player from the Uk and has two great albums out - the most recent is called A Day in the Life of B19 and is full of great, intelligent rap, and he doesn't cuss either! The Roots would be my other recommendation...most of their stuff is great.

M

[GaryM]

I'd recommend Jurassic 5. A lot of their stuff is anti-gangsta-rap or otherwise positive.

"Who said ghetto rap was all about a dope sack?
A pimp slap or a big black gatt
**** around and get jacked
For your rhymes where I live at
Uh, I'm not a gangsta but I boogie wit beats
No gang affiliation in my lyrics or speech
But still I keep it straight hood-hop techniques
South Central Fundamentals J5 emcees"

[werbo1]

De La Soul.

[morf]

Brother Ali

[bassfacekevin]

Talib Kweli is another good one. I really enjoy his lyrics, and he raps about things beyond the scope of "blunts, bitches and 40's"

~K

[doctorjazz]

Originally Posted by Fat.Mike

KRS 1. Cleanest of the clean with some clever, positive things to say. I don't know if the kids like him though...

Only the cool kids.

Seriously, middle class honky though I am, I love old-school hip-hop. KRS One, De La Soul... all wonderful stuff.

[davedamage]

what? no tribe called quest yet?

[Joe Nerve]

thank people. please keep it coming, ant the +1's on things are helpful.

if anyone knows of any of the above mentioned that wouldn't be good stuff for HS kids please inform me, cuz i'm a tad concerned about making recommendations that might not be suitable. also, if you guys know specific songs, that would be awesome cuz I could then check the lyrics myself.

and what about mos def? anyone know about him or if i spelled the name right?

[hants]

Kanye West and Devin the Dude. Even though ive heard only a few of Devins songs, but man, were they positive

[AlphaMale]

I know some good Mc's they're not all happy happy joy joy all the time though. This is all Hip-hop, None of it is rap.

Uncle Sam Goddamn - Brother Ali <-- Political
Smart went crazy - Atmosphere <--- Eccentric
Daydream - Lupe Fiasco <--- Positive
Sofa King - DANGERDOOM <--- Eccentric
Pants on Fire - Buck 65 <--- Poetic (eccentric)
Rock the House - Gorillaz <--- Positive
Old School - DANGERDOOM <--- Positive (Must get!)
They're all weird tastes.

[Silver Hammer]

Originally Posted by morf

Brother Ali

YES. Also Aesop Rock, Beastie Boys and Rage Against the Machine (hey Zach De La Rocha is a rapper after all).

[Vorago]

Are we talking positive hiphop or alternative quality (no gangsta) hiphop?

Mos Def's first album Black on both sides is excellent! Black Star with Talib Kweli is a must have as well.

The Roots; everything

A tribe called quest; 'The low end theory' for starters

Blackalicious: Blazing Arrow

Antipop Consortium: Arrhythmia

[gkbass13]

talib kweli, jurassic 5, mos def, the roots, blackalicious, common, erykah badu, das fx, heiroglyphics, del the funky homosapien, de la soul, krs-1, ka-os, jedi mind trix, sage francis, ugly duckling, ...thats a pretty solid list if you ask me.

[caesarbass]

Jurassic 5
Mos Def
Arrested Development

[Against Will]

I can think of a bunch of people that aren't your typical gangsta rap and have a more complex approach than what gets played on the radio, but I don't know if you could consider them positive: They include most of the Def Jux lineup (Mr. Lif, El-P, Cannibal Ox, Aesop Rock), MF Doom (and his many aliases)/KMD, MF/GM Grimm.

There's the Athletic Mic League, which are more party rap, but still pretty good, and the People Under The Stairs, who are old school like nobody's business but I still love them. Also, if you're gonna check out Blackilicious, check out Gift of Gab's solo album. Cheif Xcel (the dj) also released a colab with Lateef called Maroons:Ambushed. I didn't like it as much but it still have some really tight 70's soul/jazz fusion production going on that makes it worth checking out for that alone.


Edit: Forgot about Murs. Definitely worth checking out. A couple of his early songs are about masturbating and various sexual run ins with girls, but he's also got a lot of other songs about growing up without a Hustle, friends dying on the street, violence, redemption, really powerful stuff delivered in a sort of everyman fashion. I haven't heard his new album but it's gotten good reviews. Definitely get 3:16 by him.

[Ian Perge]

Certainly check out "Playground Philosophy" by Dootybug, a project led by Nate Morton, the absolutely killer drummer in the House Band on the CBS "RockStar INXS/Supernova" reality shows. A great example both of "positive hip-hop" and of what hip-hop can sound like with live instrumens, heavy guitars, and other non-typical instrumentation.

[GrooveSkipInc]

LA Symphony
A Tribe Called Quest
De La Soul