Conscious hip hop may be joked about as rapping by conscious people but actually, it is rapping by people with a conscience!
Conscious hip hop is a form of hip hop wherein the lyrics are based on social issues. It has parallels with political hip hop and also encompasses the subjects like religion, African American culture, everyday life and the state of Hip Hop itself. This style is somewhat influenced by Jazz-rap and is often a cause of controversy due to the subjects it deals with.
Socially conscious hip hop deals with social issues and conflicts, not overtly political, on subjects like religion, aversion to violence, culture, the economy, or simple depictions the struggles of ordinary people. Grandmaster Flash's "The Message" was an early and hugely influential political and conscious hip hop track, decrying the poverty, violence, and dead-end lives of the black youth of the time. Other artists like Lupe Fiasco and his work, Food and & Liquor and artist Common Sense and his work Be are applaudable on the conscious hip hop scene. Kanye West, himself a good artist, also lends his talented production skills to other socially-conscious rappers. Talib Kweli, though not considered a rapper, is a unique figure on the conscious rap landscape. Some other conscious rappers are KRS One, De La Soul, Mos Def, Dead Prez, The Roots, Lauren Hill, Wyclef, Paris
