Why are nigggas like J.Cole considered "Conscious" rappers?

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

Like I said bruh, all these nikkas talk about is instagram/twitter shyt.... And if you think a nikka is conscious cause he talking about Aiyana Jones (may she rest in peace), then that shows your level of depth. It's understandable the the masses think this is conscious cause the masses are stupid. But it's messed up that hiphop has gotten this low...... What happened to shyt like this?





It aint about being Esoteric.... but hiphop was about the people... BLACK PEOPLE.... We have lost sight of that....I don't blame the rappers, I blame the powers that be that only allow these types of nikkas to get famous. The jews that run the industry will never let a KRS-one, Queen Latifah, Lauryn Hill, Public Enemy to gain popularity in this day and age.

This is precisely why I don't enjoy these dudes...I have degrees, education, etc...most rappers aren't telling me shyt, and when it is, its on some smart-dumb shyt.

So of course I enjoy the ratchet shyt. Its entertainment to me, and this conscious music camp forgets how to make music in the first place.

 

[blizzard man]

make dumb assumptions in coli thread format brehs

 

[spliz]

against the grain appeal
neo-soul or neo-soulish vibes

as long as you have that, all you have to do is keep a few "conscious" lines on deck and you will get grouped in as a conscious rapper. and you will reap the benefits of it, by having everything you drop be void of criticism by the general public.

this is ridiculously untrue. Nas alone shyt's on this whole argument..nikka is one of the most criticized rappers of all time...

 

[spliz]

Kdot is sorts conscious

Cole isnt

Thats just that roc nation marketing that ppl get okie doked by

How is Kendrick conscious but Cole not?.. nikka Cole has had conscious songs since his first project. Matter of fact that's how I automatically knew the artists he was a fan of. Cause it was transparent thru his production and his music. He had a thing where he would try to imitate their style and sound on certain songs.

 

[blackslash]

How is Kendrick conscious but Cole not?.. nikka Cole has had conscious songs since his first project. Matter of fact that's how I automatically knew the artists he was a fan of. Cause it was transparent thru his production and his music. He had a thing where he would try to imitate their style and sound on certain songs.

Cuz Kendrick speaks on things and breaks em down to the internal

Cole isnt conscious he just sprinkles a bunch of pandering lines in his songs

Kendrick makes songs studying and analyzing the underlying reasons for certain human behavior

Examples
Vanity Slaves
Dyin of thirst/Sing about me
Momma

 

[Spiritual Stratocaster]

What is funny were the fukking full of shyt Cole fans who were upset when Sean was opening for Cole.

Calling Sean "misogynistic" and shyt...Cole raps about smashing hoes too...I guess since Sean is way more mainstream that makes him less conscious...despite the fact dude puts on for Detroit with charities and shyt,and takes time out his set to talk about his grandma

 

[Buckeye Fever]

There's no such thing as a thread that's better than yours.

No such thing, no such thing

 

[Black_Panther_JS]

"Blacker than the heart of an Aryan"

That's deep to me.

Not talking TPAB
Talking Section.80

 

[el_oh_el]

Though I am a fan, I never understood why J Cole was considered conscience I guess it was the way the roc nation machine wanted to brand him to sell.

He's just as misogynistic, calls women bytches and hoes, and brings up guns just as much as the next average rapper with a couple pseudo deep messages thrown in here and there and people eat it up.

Actually , I feel like it's the opposite. I feel like he has to throw in some of that bullshyt due to label leaninigs.

 

[spliz]

Cuz Kendrick speaks on things and breaks em down to the internal

Cole isnt conscious he just sprinkles a bunch of pandering lines in his songs

Kendrick makes songs studying and analyzing the underlying reasons for certain human behavior

Examples
Vanity Slaves
Dyin of thirst/Sing about me
Momma

Paint a picture to show the deaf what it's like to listen
And speak the words and tell a blind man what he missin'
For all my nikkas doin' time man up in prison
Felt you had to resort to crime, man fukk the system
We raisin' babies up in Hades where there ain't no hope
Ain't no fathers, don't take no scholarship to slang no dope
Politicians hollerin' bout problems but I ain't gon' vote
He talk about change
Still we floatin' in the same ol' boat
So tell me how I'm supposed to feel when the President spoke
When he ain't never had to struggle
Ain't never been broke
Ain't even roll through the ghetto ain't neva been close
Trustin' this government like trustin' the devil in oath
For rebel with coats, I get up
Lifestyle of the young, black and reckless
A generation of nikkas strapped and askin' questions
Like tell me why I ain't got shyt
I let this liquor fill my liver with them toxics
As I sip

Yeah, to all my nikkas paper chasin'
I pray for your patience
Just keep the faith that you gon' make it one day you'll be cakin'
Takin' this shyt one step at a time
That real shyt is stuck in my mind
But to that bullshyt I'm deaf and I'm blind
Destined to shine I'm a find a way
Cause hey
Dammit them jobs outthere ain't tryna pay
I pray
Granted nine to five is how you survive
I ain't tryna survive, I'm tryna throw my Momma in rides
I'm a provide for my seed I'm the soil
I teach 'em bout' loyalty
I teach 'em that his skin black like oil that's for royalty
I show 'em all the things that my pops was neva showin' me
Treat 'em like a growin' tree with this poetry
I get up
And show the sons how to lead not to follow
The present is our giftbut our seeds got tommorow
So please nikkas raise your kids
And help em' overcome that bull shyt they daze us with
I blaze the shyt

Son u don't have to even like the way Cole raps. But he's every much as conscious as Kendrick.

 

[OnlyInCalifornia]

I don't consider J Cole a conscious rapper just because a lot of his songs, especially the more popular ones, are about him or centered around him. He may have a few lines here and there that point out the over all picture but a number of his songs are hyper focused on him.

That isn't a knock and he is a really good artist. I just consider the conscious rappers or conscious raps to be more encompassing and speaking about big social issues or reflect on current social situations. While Tupac had tons of songs just about him, his death, some of his biggest songs outside of the party songs were social records like Brenda Has A Baby or Changes.

 

[Chip Skylark]

Actually , I feel like it's the opposite. I feel like he has to throw in some of that bullshyt due to label leaninigs.

I can understand why you feel like that. But if you go back and listen to the come up, when he didn't have a deal til when he did have one on the warm up and FLN til now. The only thing that has changed is he's saying the same thing but better.

 

[JustCKing]

this is ridiculously untrue. Nas alone shyt's on this whole argument..nikka is one of the most criticized rappers of all time...

This is true.

A lot of people don't even consider Nas a conscious rapper because they find much of his other content to conflict with his messages. People call him contradictory and a hypocrite because made songs like "Black Girl Lost", but then had songs like "Street Dreams". They do the same thing to Pac. Personally, I just find them to be human. They are versatile enough to tap into many aspects of the human condition whether it's observation and critiques or indulging in selfish desires.

 

[Wacky D]

Kanye at first was conscious he kinda sorta still is. Dude came out with Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Consequence. Had songs like All Falls Down and Diamonds in Sierra Leone. He mixed backpack, conscious rap with pop sensibilities.

Kanye ALWAYS rapped about stuff that other rappers get criticized for.

I didn't even know he was supposed to be "conscious" until around when he was about to drop his album and I saw he was running with the conscious tag.

this is ridiculously untrue. Nas alone shyt's on this whole argument..nikka is one of the most criticized rappers of all time...

nas isn't grouped in as a conscious rapper.

 

[IllmaticDelta]

Eh...seems like the agenda of this thread is another those miserable 'lets create a circle jerk against the current generation, while romanticizing the past' type deals. I love the 90s and all, but I dont want to be stuck in it like a lot of y'all are determined to be.

More to the OP's point, I think he's confusing overtly political and 'militant' with "conscious". Conscious is sort of loosely defined, but to me its more about raising issues that relate to the average black listener in thoughtful and meaningful ways. It doesnt have to mean bludgeoning the listener over the head with 'I hate white people' talk every other bar.

To that point, I think Cole is more in the vein of "conscious" rappers like De La, Heiro, Outkast, Tribe, etc who rapped about relatable shyt with insight, but didnt act like sheltered, bookworm dweebs either. They all rapped about fukkin hoes, getting into shyt with nikkas, getting high, etc.

At any rate, hip hop is a business. A lot of "conscious" rappers got pigeonholed as nerds, and Im sure today's rappers have been "conscious" of that, and have been wise in balancing their music with more accessible themes in order to maximize their marketability.

cosign 100%