“Hip Hop romanticizes street life.”

“Rappers only rap about violence, drugs and the sexualization of women.”

“R&B is just about sex.”

“They say the same thing over and over again, with a nice beat in the background.”

“You can’t spell crap without rap.”

“If you’re looking for lyrics, if you’re looking to cry, if you’re looking to think about life, don’t listen to hip-hop,” (This one is an actual quote)

“Fact: rap isn’t music. And if you think it is, you’re stupid.” (So is this one.)

These, among others, are common misconceptions about Urban music. More specifically these are common misconceptions about music that’s more along the lines of Rap, Hip Hop and R&B. Many people have this idea that rap lyrics are meaningless. You would only listen to it at a party or in a nightclub, but you wouldn’t necessarily turn to it if you were going through a tough time or if you wanted to feel something. And rap music definitely wouldn’t be the genre of music that comes to mind when you think of “socially conscious” or protest music. You may think of Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A” or Lennon’s “Imagine” as “music with a message.” I’m here to change that.

 

Rap can have a message. Rap can tackle social issues. Rap can be more than just drugs, money, and women. 

To dispel these misconceptions here are some of my favorite songs (in no particular order) that are more than sex, money, and drugs.

1.“Let’s Talk About Sex”/ “Let’s Talk About AIDS” By Salt N Pepa

Memorable Lyrics: “Oh well,” you say, “what the hell, it’s chill
                                   I won’t get got, I’m on the pill”
                                   Until the sores start to puff and spore
                                   He gave it to you, and now it’s yours.”

                                    ————————————————–
                                “Now, you don’t get AIDS from kisses, touches, mosquito bites, or huggin’
                                Toilet seats, telephones, stop buggin’
                                You get it from sex or a dirty drug needle.”

Okay, so I know that I just said that I wouldn’t talk about songs that talked about sex but hear me out. This song is about the good kind of sex – safe sex. “Let’s Talk About Sex” promotes safe sex, while also highlighting the consequences of not so safe sex. This led to a revise of the song entitled “Let’s Talk About AIDS,” which brought awareness to HIV/AIDS by showing how it could be another consequence of failing to participate in safe sex. The song also managed to dispell many common myths surrounding HIV/AIDS such as it’s only a disease for gay men, or that it could be contracted from simple actions such as hugging or kissing someone.

2. “Waterfalls” by TLC

Memorable Lyrics:  “Don’t go chasing waterfalls
                                   Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to
                                   I know that you’re gonna have it your way or nothing at all
                                   But I think you’re moving too fast”

To me “Waterfalls” is telling people (teens and young adults especially) to basically slow down and stay in your own lane. “Don’t go chasing waterfalls” means don’t go after things that are bigger and more dangerous than what you’re capable of handling. You can be ambitious but don’t be reckless with those ambitions. Given the context of the time and the music videos, the two big things TLC wants people to avoid is getting caught up in gang-related activities and unprotected sex. Remember to slow down and think about what you’re about to do before you do it. 

3. “Keep Your Head Up” by Tupac

Memorable Lyrics: “Time to heal our women, be real to our women
                                 And if we don’t we’ll have a race of babies
                                 That will hate the ladies that make the babies
                                 And since a man can’t make one
                                 He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one.”

This has to be my favorite song by Tupac. While a lot of his music is rough around the edges, this one shows his softer side. There’s a quote by Malcolm X that says “The most disrespected person in America is the Black Woman.” and for many black women, this feels that way. This song is Tupac’s feminist anthem for black women because, throughout the song, he encourages them to persevere through all the issues thrown at them as black women. It’s a nice change to see this iconic “gangster” rapper, who helped created the money, girls, violence motif throughout rap music, empower women.

 4. “Now” by Miguel

Memorable Lines: “CEO of the free world now
                               Should we teach our children hatred?
                               Chase the innocent, and shoot them down
                               It’s like we’re still running races”

This is such a beautiful song that at first glance you may not realize that the song is criticizing the current political climate and the lack of attention that problems concerning minorities are getting. Flint Michigan still doesn’t have clean water. Immigrant children are being neglected in federal holding centers. Puerto Rico is still trying to recover from Hurricane Maria, with barely help from our government. The song urges that change happens now.

 5. “Glory” by Common and John Legend

Memorable Lyrics: “Enemy is lethal, a king became regal
                                  Saw the face of Jim Crow under a bald eagle
                                  The biggest weapon is to stay peaceful
                                  We sing, our music is the cuts that we bleed through.”

This song is predominantly about achieving freedom since it’s from the movie Selma, but many of the messages in the song could still be applied to the modern day issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement. The song is about achieving true racial equality in America. There’s really nothing more that I can say about it. It’s a powerful song that people just need to hear for themselves.

This is just a very very small sampling of all the Hip Hop, Rap and R&B that goes against the common misconceptions. Many other artists such as J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and Jay Z have entire projects solely dedicated to music that tackles social issues.  Early hip-hop/rap focused mainly on social issues affecting the black community such as racism, poverty and police brutality.

Honorable Mention – “Strange Fruit” By Billie Holiday

Memorable Lyrics: “Southern trees bear a strange fruit
                                  Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
                                  Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
                                  Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.”

Although this blog is centered around more contempary urban music, I could not not include this song. This is one of my favorites. Billie Holiday’s haunting voices sends chills down my spine as she paints the vivid picture of the horror that Black Americans went through during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. It’s hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking. The song is inspired by one of the most iconic photos of a lynching in the south, which makes it even more powerful.