One of the lobs throw at modern hip-hop is the fact that conscious rap is a rarity on the mainstream. It’s true but at the same time it ignores that many modern MC’s on the conscious tip have very little sense of song craft. Take for instance Public Enemy’s, “Fight The Power” which works on several levels; it’s heavily political, you can dance to it, you can mosh to it, etc. You could take away the poignancy of the lyrics and it would still work as a great song.
Skipp Coon is a conscious rapper but he’s someone who doesn’t use it as a crutch. His wordplay and delivery is fantastic and for him you can tell he’s someone trying to push the actual art of mcing in different ways. He’s Southern but doesn’t hide it; he slurs and pushes the words out and uses his accent in exciting ways. He’s just dropped his new album, Miles Garvey, and you can pick it up here. But for now check out his song “Assata Taught Me” below