Analyzing What We Say and Why We Say It

When it comes to hip hop music, many people (mostly people from older generations) would agree that the genre is solely made up of idiotic, vapid, crude, violent, dehumanizing lyrics that do nothing more than cheapen and degrade the English language and the human experience. Many people also believe that the artists making hip hop music aren't artists at all, and have a below average intellect.

However, when more closely analyzing the lyrics of a large number of hip hop artists, this stereo type can be easily broken. Although intellect is somewhat subjective, it is easy to see that many hip hop artists are actually very smart people, with quick clever minds, and they use that to further highlight the meaning/message of their songs. Their lyrics make this obvious, but because people rarely take the time to analyze them, their intelligence often times goes unnoticed.

A great example is Nas himself. In his song “I can”…

In this inspirational song, Nas makes several historical references (especially in Verse 3) including the forced displacement of black Africans to the United States during the Atlantic Slave Trade, ancient kingdoms in Egypt, the Mandingo Empire of Africa, Alexander the Great, and the favoring of white people in America ALL to emphasize his main point that knowledge is power so if you work hard, stay a good person, and dream big, anything is possible. This history lesson that even myself wasn't fully aware of, is a great example of a rapper using their knowledge and intellect to highlight the overall meaning of their song. 

And there are plenty more songs out there that also break the stereotype linking hip hop music to stupidity and pointlessness. 

You can also click and check out this cool   article   that lists just some of the MANY songs that do just that.