Cole is no stranger to political activism, and like Lamar, the North Carolina rapper does not speak out through viral tweets. You can check out Joey’s #GetPolitical Q&A here on how hip-hop is evolving in the age of Trump. That’s why in ‘The Land of the Free’ video I had the KKK unmask themselves and reveal themselves as police officers or reveal themselves as a judge or a priest.” “My usage of the KKK in the album is more of a symbol that these people are still here and to this point, they’re not as visible. It doesn’t necessarily mean KKK to me,” Joey told CNN’s #GetPolitical. “Today, in 2017, white supremacy means – because it’s harder I guess to see now today as it was before, not really to me – to me it means privilege, it means prejudice, it means bigotry. Rapsody celebrates the black experience and provides listeners with an uplifting soundtrack to an era marked by political turmoil in her Grammy-nominated album “Laila’s Wisdom,” which was named after her maternal grandmother. Johnny’s father seeks faith, but Lamar urges revenge, which could be interpreted as taking action against injustice. On a personal level, the song explores the themes of pain, faith and revenge, featuring lyrics such as: “Donald Trump’s in office/ We lost Barack and promised to never doubt him again/ But is America honest, or do we bask in sin?” Central to the song is a story of Johnny, a child who was shot and killed on the streets. “XXX,” featuring U2, is a layered and complex critique of systemic racism and American militarism and expresses the notion that America is not good to everyone. “The Heart Part 4” slams Trump, calling out the administration on Russia and criticizing the Electoral College system, which led to Trump’s 2016 win.
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Standout tracks: The album is full of political prophesies, but these songs have some more explicit political references: In what is perhaps the fiercest and the most exhaustive attack against Trump in hip-hop, Eminem unleashed on the President an explosive 4.5-minute freestyle rap in a BET Hip Hop Awards cypher in October.įrom Eminem to Kendrick Lamar: 7 of hip-hop's strongest lyrics backing Kaepernick You can read more about Mill’s prison sentence and what the outrage is all about here. For about a decade, he’s been stalked by a system that considers the slightest infraction a justification for locking him back inside.” Now he’s 30, so he has been on probation for basically his entire adult life. “But consider this: Meek was around 19 when he was convicted on charges relating to drug and gun possession, and he served an eight-month sentence. “On the surface, this may look like the story of yet another criminal rapper who didn’t smarten up and is back where he started,” he wrote in a New York Times op-ed. Jay-Z takes on criminal justice reform in wake of Meek Mill sentence
(Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for TIDAL) Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 20: Rapper Jay-Z performs onstage during TIDAL X: 1020 Amplified by HTC at Barclays Center of Brooklyn on Octoin New York City. Standout track: “The Story of O.J.” explores the generational subjugation of African-Americans, and the video examines black stereotypes through the use of black and white cartoons. Jay-Z explores racism and the black experience in America in his Grammy-nominated album, “4:44.” Through their music, writing or activism, these are just a few of the individuals who invigorated political debates and activated social movements this year. The phrase originated among black activists to encourage skepticism in political systems that have perpetuated racism, but “#StayWoke” has been used much more liberally over the last few years to describe any form of political engagement - whenever a white or a privileged person appears aware of racial injustices, whenever a celebrity takes the time to speak out about something political and even as a meme-able joke to indicate knowledge about anything (Charles Pulliam-Moore wrote an article about the phrase’s evolution that you can check out here).īut in exploring some of the top hip-hop artists and influencers who kept America “woke” in 2017, the original meaning of the phrase is intended. Why Jay-Z and these 11 hip-hop stars see a silver lining to Trumpīut let’s clear up the meaning of “stay woke” first.
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