Don't like rap? Think it's shallow? Look at these lyrics

[TroubleMan]

"Know Your Enemy" by Dead Prez

chorus:

know your enemy, know yourself
that's the politic
george bush is way worse than bin laden is
know your enemy, know yourself
that's the politic
f.b.i., c.i.a., the real terrorists
know your enemy, know yourself
that's the politic
george bush is way worse than bin laden is
know your enemy, know yourself
that's the politic
c.i.a., f.b.i. the real terrorists

you got to watch what you say in these days and times
It's a touchy situation, lotta fear and emotion
september 11th
televised world-wide
suicide planes fallin like bombs from out the sky
they wasn't aimin at us
not at my house
they hit the world trade, the pentagon, and almost got the white house
now everybody walkin round patriotic
how we gon' fight to keep freedom when we ain't got it?
you wanna stop terrorists?
start with the u.s. imperalists
ain't no track record like america's, see
bin laden was trained by the c.i.a
but I guess if you a terrorist for the u.s
then it's okay
uh huh

they try to make us think we crazy
but I know what they doin, they tryna put us back in slavery
check it, to get on welfare you gotta get your fingerprints
soon ya gotta do eyescans to get your benefits
now they got them cards to swipe, ain't no more foodstamps
shoulda seen it comin, now it's too late to get amped
and everything got a barcode
so they know what you got, when you got it, and what you still owe
you seen them projects, lately you better watch it
why they got us surrounded if money is the object?
why they use satellites to keep track of the criminals?
why they puttin jails in schools, is it subliminal?
cameras everywhere to protect us from one another
or is it the undercover, disguised as big brother
and even freedom of speech is limited
mad leaders done spoke up, and look at what these crackas did

(chorus)

and you ain't got to believe me
go 'head and listen to bush
the dope pusher on the t.v
what you think the war is for?
cause the greedy wantin more and more
we be hustlin the corridor
I would never join the military
one soldier to another, nigga holla if ya hear me
goin out to the best sons and daughters
don't be a lamb gettin led to the slaughter
I'ma keep ridin when my momma released
cause ain't no stoppin us now, dawg
freedom before peace
ugh
they got a plan for us?
we got a plan for them
and this time we gon' win
who in? you out? you in?
no doubt, we men
ain't no ridin the fence
It's called self-defense
It makes sense
when they tell us we gotta shackles on our brains (say what?)
I'll be damned if I sit here and let them put us back in chains
______

There's a lot of other hip hop artists with similar lyrics out there, but you'll never see them on MTv or BET (or get major airtime if they are on). You'll never hear them on the radio.

[mark414]

1. great track troubleman

i love dead prez

i remember when eminem's "mosh" came out and all of a sudden all these people were saying they'd have to "reconsider" rap, if political music like that can come out of it

i wanted to bang my head against the wall, because i can't remember how many times i've posted political rap lyrics, only to have them completely ignored

[ET Awful]

3. I keep tellin' you to check out the Coup's first album from '93 or so

Kill My Landlord.

One of the best political rap albums ever made, not to mention it had some of the head bobbinest beats you'll ever hear :).

[mark414]

5. i have been meaning to pick that one up

i have steal this album and party music but have yet to check out any of the other ones...i get paid on thursday; i'll have to go pick it up next weekend :thumbsup:

[ET Awful]

9. I just checked, it's out of print :(. n/t

[mark414]

12. damn

i guess i will have to resort to soulseek then, or maybe ebay...

thanks for reminding me though

[ET Awful]

13. Check your PM

:)

[TroubleMan]

4. Thanks

A long time ago I posted Blackstar's "Thieves In The Night" and it got positive responses.

People who don't know hip hop often never see all the good work that's going on behind the scenes or never see the stuff that's not on radio or TV.

[mark414]

8. well that's because it is only about bitches and hoes

and glorifying violence :)

have you ever heard ras kass? i'd be interested to see some of the responses to his 'nature of the threat' track...


if you haven't

let freedom ring with a buckshot...
http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/ras_kass/sl_onice/threat.rsk.txt

[TroubleMan]

14. Oh yeah, I love that song

I love it when a lyric just keeps going and going with no chorus....or they end a song with like a 3-5 minute lyrics (like Big Daddy Kane in "The Symphony" or Cappadonna at the end of "Winter Warz," ect).

I love songs with no hooks.

[ghostsofgiants]

17. Haha, that song is fucking great

Sure to cause controversy.

[nytemare]

2. "Mosh" was the closest to getting airtime

Wyclef did a great cover of "Fortunate Son" as well, the ultimate song that wasn't about Bush but is about Bush...lol.

Thanks for the lyrics, I will have to check that song out.

[rebel_yell]

7. more Public Enemyish stuff like this

and less crap like Ludacris and Trick Daddy

[Hatalles]

6. Paris = Better than Tupac

"Evil" - Paris - Sonic Jihad

They don’t mind you givin’ the latest rap
They don’t mind your being hoes
They don’t mind your being bitches
They don’t mind you being whatever image that Viacom and BET can come up with
But what they don’t want you to know...
Is that you’re the ones that can redefine civilization if you take time to do it

It’s a Guerrilla Funk-orchestrated counter-attack
Formulate and infiltrate ‘em so the people react
See if I was wicked I would pick and stick to a plan
To rule the world and trick ‘em, this is how it’d begin

See I’d have to find a way to keep the people enslaved
Behave, teach the babies it’s my way or the grave
And start with the body, workin’ labor for free
And give ‘em fake religion so they worshippin’ me

And see and when the free labor play out, I’d let it go
But only after I made enough to control
Then I’d tell ‘em that the Afterlife is better than this
And that they should love their enemies when faced with contempt

I’d persist with some history that I would rewrite
In a school system where I’d keep the money too tight
I’d let ‘em all know just where they belong in my world
Turn the boys into felons, makin’ hookers of girls

Swirled up in my plan, build jails to keep
All my prisons full of niggas, have ‘em workin’ for free
See with ghetto-economics in check, I’d keep ‘em broke
Teach ‘em only to respect sports, music and dope

Control the content of lyrics, now only the sound
Of sex, dope and murder in a song is allowed
Tell ‘em “Niggas ain’t shit” every move that they make
And that black is dirty so they never try to be great

Can you relate? I’d laugh, watch ‘em murder for scraps
Set it up so they’d die over crack I provide
Do it right, and I’d see they try to be like me
Try to be the biggest “G” up in these murderous streets

I’d teach, manhood means how many women ya fuck
How many babies you can make, responsibility ducked
Fuck a job, real men are pimps, that’s what I’d teach
And if bitches wanna trip, then them bitches get beat

I’d see it all through, never lose and pass a new law
Give ‘em 3 strikes so the men are constantly gone
Yeah, if I was evil they would think I do no wrong
See it’s lethal how I keep ‘em in their place so long, believe

Chorus:
I got my eyes upon you, and all the things that you do
Some close they eyes but mine can see, all the evil surroundin’ me
So what I’m ‘posed ta do, when I can see right through?
Expose the lies and snatch the sheets, fight the evil surroundin’ me

After all is said and done here and I could afford
I’d concentrate deeply on controllin’ abroad
And think about a way to take control of they land
I’d create a virus made to murder people en masse

Last time was Tuskegee, but now it’s for real
House Bill 15090 would just kill
With germs that would murder with sperm and blood drips
And kill ‘em all worser than burned, they’d die quick

See to understand, you could witness the plan
Through the green-monkey sham they would think it began
And while we argue over the cost, they’d all die
With generations all being lost with no fight

I’d continue with the pain, make it oh-so plain
I’d manipulate the market for my capital gain
Keep the people all broke and confused and underclass
Give my homies all executive bonuses through the crash

And if the heat get too hot, I’d plant a bomb
Or wreck a plane, just like Hitler back in the day
And scare all the people, they’d forget about me
They’d forget about elections and the way that we cheated

See me blame it on a foreigner and non-white men
Celebrate my gestapo with a positive spin
Then manipulate the media - it’s U.S. first
Get the stupid-ass public to agree with my words

Then I’d make the play, takin’ all their freedoms away
Incarcerate anybody that’ll get in my way
Make ‘em censor any media that challenge the mold
Give ‘em bullshitty shows just like Anna Nicole’s

Control the message in the music - it’s gangsta fo’ sho’
Give ‘em diamonds, never tell ‘em ‘bout the conflict zones
Never tell ‘em ‘bout the murder in Sierra Leone
Never tell ‘em how the diamonds make ‘em murder their own

It’s all too easy, if I was evil that’s how I’d rock it
Make sure that my propaganda won’t ever stop it
Got 120 channels, but it’s nothin’ to watch
Now 11:55 be the time on the clock, believe...

[Zhade]

21. "Bush Killa" - which got banned back in '92 - is a great track, too!

Paris and Immortal Technique easily prove that not all rap is "crap".

[jmm]

10. Another one I love by them

Dead Prez - Animal in Man Lyrics
*two guys talking*
(guy 1)
Help me!
(guy 2)
You want me to help you?
Man is evil, capable of nothing but destruction

(narrator)
Once upon a time
There was a very serious situation growing
There was a farmer and a farmyard filled with animals
And this is the story of their times

Verse 1
Old man sammy had a farm
Walked the land with the wife
Most of the time shit was calm
His whole life was maintained off the everyday labor
From the mules in the field to the cattle in the stable
This is how we kept food on this table (maxing)
You would have he was disabled by the way he be relaxing
Acting like mr. magnificent
But the animals were thinking something different
The sentiment was tension in the barnyard
Throughout the years they had been through mad drama
With the farmer, word is bond
And they all came to one conclusion
They argued there was no way they?d ever be free
If it was up to humans
Therefore the only course left was revolution which was
understandable
And since the pigs promised to lead in the interest of all the
animals
They planned a full attack
Under the leadership of hannibal
The fattest pig in the pack
The next morning on the farm
Everything was calm
Just before dawn
But before long
The sun got so hot it made the farm seem electric
Now check it
This is when that shit got hectic
Directed by hannibal, the animals attacked
Old sam was in a state of shock
And fell up on his back
And dropped his rifle
Reaching in vain
Each and every creature from the field at his throat
Screaming "kill, feel the pain."

Chorus
This is the animal in man
This is the animal in you
This is the animal in man
Coming true (2x)

Verse 2
After they ran the farmer off the farm
The pigs went around and called a meeting in the barn
Hannibal spoke for several hours
But when talks about his plans for power
That?s when the conversation turned sour
He issued an offical ordinance to set
If not a pig from this day forth then you insubordinate
That?s when the horses went buckwild
One of them shouted out
"you fraudulent pigs, we know your f**king style!"
Hannibal?s face was flushed and pale
All the animals eyes full of disgust and betrayal
He felt the same way sam felt
They took his tongue out of his mouth
And cut his body up for sale, for real
You better listen while you can
Its a very thin line between animal and man
When hannibal crossed the line they all took a stand
What would have done?
Shook his hand?
This is the animal in man

Chorus (4x)

Narrator
Remember...

Sure there's shallow rap by how many musicians in any genre have based songs on Orwell? Rap can be just as insightful as any other genre of music but I hate how it is held to a higher standard. Some people have a tendence to dismiss all of rap for things they'll look past in other forms of music.

[mark414]

11. excellent point

"Rap can be just as insightful as any other genre of music but I hate how it is held to a higher standard."

people will ignore or excuse misogyny or materialism in other genres but will condemn every rap song based on a few that share those qualities.

if some rapper came out with a song with lyrics like "money, that's what i want" they would be derided as materialistic and shallow.

but the beatles did just that, and they're musical legends.

[AntiCoup2K4]

16. Actually, the Beatles didn't write that song

Berry Gordy of Motown records did.

And he certainly made as much as John & Paul did in the 60's.

Point taken about double standards though. Black Flag recorded "Police Story" about corruption in the LAPD 8 years before NWA recorded "Fuck tha Police", but the whore media more or less ignored punk rock.

Hell, I still love BOTH songs, and fuck what the "establishment" thinks of them.

[mark414]

18. yeah i know they didn't write it

just the first example to pop into my head

though i think we can agree that all the attention given to NWA wasn't positive...and haha shit the corrupt LAPD probably was more ignored by the media than 'police story' was

you're right though, both great songs

[mark414]

15. kick

[ghostsofgiants]

19. More good political hip-hop, because I'm in the mood

Sweatshop Union - "Us"

The whole world's a sweatshop, a fascist regime
With billions of parts working as a massive machine
The goal, keep the masses passive between
Self, cash, limousines and other fabulous things
But, we gotta wake up and notice it's a load of shit
It's all about ownership of your soul and who's controllin' it
It's not about the gold you get, not about the clothes you're in
It's not about oil, but we're killing each other over it
Like a Doberman, chomping on a cat
It's a new world order, and they're bombin on Iraq
And it's so fucking heartless, the whole country's starved
And yet they've been targeted as a threat regardless
This all started in days prior to ours
They arrived from the stars, and survived in the dark
Now it's time for the hearts of men
To march against it
And realize that the cycle starts and ends with…


Us, we're the ones that paid for the bombs
Us, we built the planes that they're on
Us, it's insane all of the ways they conned us
But we can change it today, it's just all on
Us, we're the ones that paid for the bombs
Us, we built the planes that they're on
Us, it's insane all the ways we've been conned
Into killing millions of innocent people, but it's all on us.

Trust me friends, it could never just be us, or just be them
Sometimes I think it just depends, it's just pretend
You can never trust the trends
Don't rub your eyes, I'd rather you'd adjust the lens
Look up to them? Tell me, who the fuck are they?
When did they ever give a damn about what you say?
For what you stand? That's why you gotta trust me man
Trust a Bush? That's like saying trust Saddam
But for real, I mean you gotta love the fam
Ask his dad the ex-prez how many drugs he ran
So trust us, the shit's about to flood the land
Cause government hands can no longer plug the dam
So fuck the news, fuck the critics, fuck their views
And if you sit and let it happen then fuck you too
It's up to you, I can't tell you what to do
But touch the truth, and don't just judge the few
But judge…


Us, we're the ones that paid for the bombs
Us, we built the planes that they're on
Us, it's insane all of the ways they conned us
But we can change it today, it's just all on
Us, we're the ones that paid for the bombs
Us, we built the planes that they're on
Us, it's insane all the ways we've been conned
Into killing millions of innocent people, but it's all on us.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

20. Awesome! I'm going to go have me a listen...nt

[mark414]

22. *sigh* late night kick

thanks again troubleman...you tried

[TroubleMan]

23. Maybe we should make a cartoon video of it

J/K

I'm not bashing Mosh, cause that's a great song, and the video was great, too.

I think it's just a difference of taste...most people here are into rock and stuff like that.