‘Black Girl Pain’, unsurprisingly, is extremely racially charged and faces head-on the reality of what has come to be known as misogynoir. Not the kind of song one could ever imagine hearing on the radio, Kweli must say the word “black” over 20 times within the first 16 bars. The five best conscious rap songs ever made: 5. Irrespective of whether or not they are currently held in the same regard as mumble rappers, conscious rappers are a huge part of hip hop culture, and if they were not present, hip hop would see an uncomfortable void so as a tribute to conscious rap, we have attempted to find the five best conscious rap songs ever made. Many have questioned why educated, conscious rappers who promote change are not supported to the same extent as gangster rappers by major record labels, but to no avail.

However, conscious rap remains suppressed. Other kinds of rap have emerged and prospered since, such as gangster rap, mafioso rap and mumble rap. Consequentially it came to be known as conscious rap. It was labelled so because those who made it were evidently aware and conscious of social and political issues, whereas many were oblivious to them. As it developed, many came up with different names for it, some labelled it as political rap because it addressed political issues, and others labelled it as activist rap because it seemed to be made by social activists, but over the years, it came to be known as conscious rap. Other acts began to make hip hop with a similar tone. Slowly but surely, more people began to make music like this. This track’s lyrical content was more realistic than optimistic about the predicament of African-Americans and was very politically charged.

However, that changed upon the release of ‘The Message’ by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five.

Best hip hop rap songs ever