The Evolution of Conscious Lyrics In Hip-Hop: From Public Enemy to Kendrick Lamar

While many musical genres rely on lyrics to drive the artist's message forward, arguably no other type of music places so much emphasis on words quite like hip-hop does. It makes perfect sense, too, as the main reason for its emergence in the early '70s in the Bronx was to provide a way for marginalized African-American communities to express their sorrows and beliefs. 

Over half a century later, hip-hop is still culturally relevant and a powerful way for artists to make listeners aware of various social issues. In this article, we'll explore how hip-hop's conscious lyrics have evolved and have shaped the social and cultural climate.

As the 1980s began, the African-American community was facing deep societal issues, such as racism, income inequality, and racial profiling by authorities. Hip-hop was getting more and more popular, which made it the ideal platform for artists to make people aware of these issues. Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five's 1982 album The Message is considered by many to be the first conscious hip-hop record. It addressed problems such as poverty, violence, and the overall decay of urban African-American communities.

Artists such as Public Enemy, Run-D.M.C., and KRS-One continued the trend of using hip-hop as a megaphone for marginalized African-American communities. It was also a natural continuation of the Black Power movement that originated in the 1960s, which inspired Black communities to be self-sufficient and to take pride in their ancestry. It was a way for them to shape their future and evolve regardless of prejudice and social inequalities.

As the 1990s rolled on, hip-hop's popularity was no longer limited to the African-American community. Its catchy beats and powerful lyrics had turned it into an international phenomenon, with hip-hop songs regularly featuring in the Billboard Top 200 chart. The door toward universal acceptance was blown open in 1986, with the collaboration between Run-D.M.C. and rock band Aerosmith on the hit song "Walk This Way". It bridged the gap between hip-hop and rock's mainly white audience, which makes perfect sense in retrospect, because rock has its origins in the blues.

In the late '80s and early '90s, many songs that reached Billboard's Hot Rap Songs chart had various types of social references. They mostly addressed the main topics of the times, such as the empowerment of Black communities, access to education, and the quest for social justice. As conscious hip-hop matured, its lyrics became increasingly complex and nuanced, showcasing the artists' deep interest and knowledge regarding these issues. It was no longer underground and limited to Black communities. Conscious hip-hop was now part of the mainstream.

Hip-hop's huge surge in popularity in the early 1990s was both a gift and a curse. On one hand, artists had a huge platform to express their thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. On the other hand, this meant that the music business had found its new cash cow, with the new artists being promoted adopting more light commercial themes than serious ones. While the early 90s’ charts were mostly dominated by gangsta rap, legendary artists, such as 2Pac, The Roots, and Nas, continued to insert hip-hop social commentary into their lyrics. 

Songs such as 2Pac's "Brenda's Got a Baby" provided a glimpse into the realities of having a child while struggling with poverty, family issues, and a society that doesn't protect young mothers. Songs about these types of issues became less and less frequent as years went by, with almost no songs on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart having any social content between 1998 and 2011. Conscious hip-hop was still very much alive, though, with underground artists, such as Organized Konfusion and Black Star, keeping the fire burning.

While conscious hip-hop faded away from the mainstream, the societal problems that created it in the first place were still a daily reality for many members of the African-American community. Major events, such as Trayvon Martin's death and the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, reignited public interest in the issues that Black Americans face, with hip-hop still being an ideal medium for artists to raise awareness and let the world know that these issues aren't completely resolved.

Technology was also light-years ahead compared to the 1990s, which meant that artists such as Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Logic could spread their message on a wide variety of platforms besides mainstream radio. Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly is a symbolic album of this era, discussing issues such as discrimination, culture, and race from a modern African-American perspective. 

Art has always had a deep impact on culture, especially in historically marginalized communities. The blues was the original Black conscious art form, as enslaved and freed African Americans used it in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to express their feelings, experiences, and struggles, while also relying on it to give them the resilience they needed to survive. Blues pioneers paved the way for conscious hip-hop artists, and the impact that hip-hop has had over the past few decades is both enormous and undeniable.

The way conscious hip-hop is likely to evolve in the future is closely tied to how society evolves. In a perfect world, conscious hip-hop artists would run out of things to highlight, but unfortunately, the world is deeply imperfect. This means that we're likely to have hip-hop artists writing conscious lyrics in the future, and advancing technology will make it easier for them to spread their message.

Hip-hop has gone a long way as an art form in its more than five decades of existence. Although it had its ups and downs, its power to influence society through socially aware rap lyrics and charismatic performers is as strong as ever, and it's likely to remain that way for as long as communities need it.