Conscious Hip-Hop Quotes

Hip-hop as a culture itself goes through stages. It grows - it's breathing, living. I've noticed that we usually start off conscious, then we wind up very highly sexual, and then we thug it out. Then things get a little funny again, with comedy and that kind of thing.

When I discovered Gil Scott-Heron, I discovered a musical hero, a man who spoke baritone truth to power over jazzy funk at a time when funky music was primarily about shake, shake, shaking your booty.

I think hip-hop is actually one of the most challenging things that's happened in music in a long time. The people who are in charge of what people see or hear are afraid. What you hear on top 40 or what you see on BET or MTV is not a fair representation of what is really going on...

I would challenge more hip hop artists that are rapping about what it's like to be real and the social ills that we face, if you aren't backing Bernie Sanders, I have to question your credibility in terms of do you mean the songs you're writing.

It wasn't until I hung out with Dead Prez and understood how to make, you know, raps with a message sound cool that I was able to just write "All Falls Down" in 15 minutes.

There is still consciousness in hip hop.

Hopefully the rappers can start to open the eyes in the neighborhoods and communities.

There are rap groups that have a positive outlook in their art. These groups should be shown as an alternative to gangsta rap.

If you're a conscious rap artist and you're worried about Billboard charts, you're gonna have a problem.

I always took quite seriously the things that Chuck D. of Public Enemy had to say. He's always been someone I've learned quite a bit from and someone I pay a great deal of attention to.