Political Rap

Read Harpsichord’s Comprehensive Guide on all genres relevant to the state of current pop, R&B, hip hop, and dance music.

Umbrella Genre: Hip Hop

Stylistic Origins: Proto-Rap, Protest Music, Gangsta Rap

Date and Location of Development: The 1980s Across America’s Rap Scene

As the media started becoming more transparent with what was going on inside the ghettos of America, and the issues still facing particularly Black Americans well after the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s, rappers decided to use wax to tell their views on the country’s politics. Utilizing the conviction and the principles of the Black Panther Movement of the 70s, and the skillsets mastered during that decade’s proto-rap era, MCs who gained commercial popularity discovered a new platform to say what needed to be said.

The most notable example of Political Rap is Public Enemy’s 1989 single, “Fight The Power,” which became the leading soundtrack song for Spike Lee’s cinematic masterpiece about racial tension in Bed-Stuy, New York City. Prior to the release of that song, primarily West Coast rappers that were classified as “gangsta” discussed police brutality, and a need for retaliation against a system designed for racial injustices. With N.W.A’s “Fuck tha Police,” and the East Coast’s KRS-One imitating sirens on “Sound of da Police,” the genre became a staple for protests and riots.

Jeezy in the “My President” music video.

Spike Lee and Public Enemy on the set of the music video for “Fight The Power.”

Moving into the 90s, hip hop started to become much more conscious in placing a lens on Black America. Songs discussed more than just the police and politics, but rather issues corresponding with the effects of drugs on families, teen pregnancy, and gang-related murder. Seen as the positive alternative to the glamorized lifestyle of Bling Bling Rap, artists such as Common and Tupac Shakur (2 Pac)’s lyrics were used to emphasize a call for “Changes.” That would lead to making Political Rap more of an agent for achieving pop commercial success. The commentary focused more on the state of presidents, such as Jadakiss mentioning George W. Bush on 2004’s “Why” and Young Jeezy declaring alongside Nas and JAY-Z, “My President [Barack Obama] is Black!”

Nothing new from the LA riots, the mid-2010s saw a rise of broadcasted police brutality murders and lack of care for Black lives. The emergence of Black Lives Matter protests in response to the murders of Trayvon Martin and George Floyd brought about statement albums from the likes of Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 opus ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’. Lamar’s “Alright” would lead that charge, being cited by multiple critics and fans as “The Protest Song of the Black Lives Matter Movement.” Eventually his 2017 project, Damn, would win a Pulitzer Prize. Their website states the award was won, because Damn encompassed a “virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life.”

In 2018, Childish Gambino would release “This Is America,” which instantly went viral with a music video that depicted a Black man murdering another. The music video juxtaposed the horrors of that reality in America with a campy performance from Gambino and the video’s actors. The following year, the song would become Hip Hop’s first ever to win a Grammy for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.