D’Angelo, whose debut album, Brown Sugar, was released in 1995, says that the music he grew up listening to had more political commentary than the music being released today.
“I grew up on Public Enemy, and it was popular culture to be aware,” D’Angelo says during an interview with The New York Times that features the Virginia singer having a conversation with political activist Bobby Seale that includes discussions on political protests and police activity. “People were wearing Malcolm X T-shirts and Malcolm X hats,” D’Angelo continues. “It was a very cool thing to know who Malcolm X was. It was all in the lyrics. It was trendy to be conscious and aware. Now the trend … it’s just [expletive]. But to tell you the truth, there are a lot of people who feel the same way that I feel and that are making great music, conscious music. But for some reason or another it seems like the gatekeepers are not allowing that stuff to filter through to the mainstream. Kendrick Lamar, he’s an example of someone who is young and actually trying to say something. Who else? You got Young Jeezy and Young Thug. You know what I’m saying? It’s stupid. It’s ridiculous.”
D’Angelo and Seale, who co-founded the Black Panthers, also discuss the ways that music could lead to social change.
“Now more than ever is the need to sing about it and to write songs about it,” D’Angelo says. “And no one’s doing it. There’s only a chosen couple of people. I think it just takes one little snowflake to start a snowball to go down the hill. My contribution and say, Kendrick Lamar’s and some chosen others’ start the snowball. That’s all I can hope for. I don’t know if I’m comfortable being quote-unquote a leader. But I do realize and understand that my role as a musician, and in the medium that I am, that people are listening to me. Kids are listening to me. We have power to influence minds and influence lives. So I respect that power. I really do.”
Kendrick feat. D’Angelo NEEDS TO HAPPEN
nobody called him “stupid” when he fell off and became a drug addict
I did.
Every old head be rapping about Protons and “bringing back real hip hop” and get mad when they album dont go #1 lmao
His latest album did great tho
They’re upset because it’s not resonating with the youth. A youth culture that has 0 plans for today, let alone their futures!
Their frustrations aren’t because of album sales, it’s due to apathy in today’s youth, particularly Afro-American youth!
Very true statements by D; where are all the so called rappers that represent “the streets”? Everything happening now (protests, cats being shot by the cops) is happening in the streets, yet these cats ain’t taking a stand thru the music to mold the minds.. it doesn’t take much to rhyme about money, dope, and the trap, which 90% of these cats have never been apart of.
This is the problem if you want to point one out. Not the music in itself because that era had just as many suckers as this one does, but now hip hop is corporate. No more street dudes owning labels who are really from where the music is from and knows what the flavor is. You can send your label squares to the hood or a club and try to get the flavor, but the people actually in those neighborhoods who lived and breathed it know waht those streets want and how to put it out. Now, these labels are plucking suburban kids out of the crowd with “the look” or some dumb catch phrase or whatever that they want to put a trend on and put out just like pop stars were always cultivated when you’d hear of some bubble gum pop girl being discovered in the mall.
there was lots of crap in every era. stop fronting. public enemy is prob the only popular group u can say as undoubtley concious. plenty of bs. nevertheless, dangelo is the man. great musician and artist and worthly of plenty of respect.
C’mon patna’, if your new to the culture speak i what you know! The era that he’s speaking of late 80’s through early 90’s was an era of black consciousness in Hip Hop! PE, BDP, PRT, Tragedy Khadafi, Paris, Ice Cube, etc., and it was cool to have some knowledge of self. To be frank. A lot of these artist were street dudes, but they didn’t wear it as a badge of honor!
Real shit
he loss me at” it was trendy 2b conscious”.
the truth is that not all of Kendrick lamar is positive, and not all of young jeezy is negative. I like both.
Nobody called this nigga stupid when he did a whole video naked,nigga tripping,fact is hiphop is dynamic,we gat the kendricks and the young thugs so its on a personal level,if I want to listen to real shit I go for nas,if I got bitches around n we parting I prolly isten to jeezy n them no doubt
You have missed the point entirely…
Like the dude above me said, your dumb self missed the point entirely! You sound like the idiot that you are.
music is the same as it always been only everybody is in on it, if hes too lazy to find what he likes thats on him. he was feeling all high and mighty while he was treaty his nose and muy gordo, just do you playa. i dont even care for thug or jeezy like that, but i cant stand when mothafuckas get all snobbish and pussyboyish
You sound like the idiot that you are.
“D’Angelo and Seale, who co-founded the Black Panthers, also discuss the ways that music could lead to social change. ”
This is so poorly worded and misleading it should be criminal
thank you, d angelo!
The truth…thst shit is trash…yet idiots think that, “just find what you like blah blah blah”. Fucking currs don’t know that the impressionable minds that aren’t making informed decisons..are being played top 40 all fay everyday for months at a time ..tgey aint finding shit. Its being programmed.
Industry now is extra weak sauce
Yeeeeaaa no, people just started realizing how dumb and annoying these self-proclaimed philosophers really are. This douche and all those other rappers who think they’re soooo smart are not authorities for judging the will of man. Trust me no real person needs life advice from a rapper. There’s only so many ways too tell people to be themselves and follow your dreams and all that preachy Disney bullshit. You want music with a message to Fuck yourself because you’re already off on the wrong foot, try reading actual philosophy instead of pretending to. Wu tang rapped about smoking pcp laced blunts you gonna tell me wu was stupid? No because Only idiots listen to music and take it literal. What did the Beatles song about? What about led zeppelin? Fuckin drugs and poorly written mythology poems. So please mister D’irrelevant, save your ‘holier than thou’ preachy bullshit and go donate all your money to charity you designer wearing fuck…YSL till we dead and pale
You sound like the idiot that you are.
Hey ‘me’, ever heard of circular logic? You can’t say you sound like and idiot because you are an idiot. Logical fallacies 101… Stay in school…
Wu is stupid. Dude was high on PCP and cut his dick off. That is literal. Wu are drug fiends whether you care to see it or not.
I feel where u coming from bro. I cant knock anybodys music bc im not on that artist level. I dont have a hit or a record deal so nobidy really has a leg to stand on if you arent a musician. I myself like gansta rap and will occasionally listrn to conscious rap. But i would have to say the gatekeepers of industry dont let talented and honest artists in. Wu-tang rapped about drugs and violence but their songs were still done cleverly. Same as notorious and pac. Artists back then were way more original even to the point of stage names. A lot of rappers either call themselves little something or young something.but everthing is so cookiecutter beatmakers are using the same samples and all rappers are trying to sing autotune.All im saying is i dont care if a songs has a msg but a least make the presentation something that is original and inspiring.
Judging the will of man? Is Black culture so limited that the only music we can make is all about money, hoes and criminal activity? Who are you to say who is influenced by anything? Music is one of the powerful inventions man has ever created and you don’t think it has any influence? You don’t think young black kids out there are being influenced by the garbage that’s getting shat in their minds 24-7? You ever even listen to anything conscious? you think it’s all roses and unicorns? The dopest songs ever created are thos that can convey a message as well as entertain. You are a white boy.
I think you’re all missing his point. He’s saying that politically charged and meaningful music is no longer getting backing from labels. Hence the gatekeepers comment. I can understand being defensive if you like Jeezy, Thug etc. – I dig that shit too – but there isn’t enough of the intelligent hip hop getting love. Back in the day you would get a mix in the clubs and now it’s just “Coco”, “No Flex Zone”, “Hot Nigga” blah blah. Public Enemy’s, KRS-1’s, Gangstarr’s wouldn’t make it the game today because they’re not writing music at a grade 3 reading level that sells products. Those that speak against the man get muzzled.
What’s the point of commenting on another man’s music, especially if that man is chronicling his experiences. And how can you talk about the contented in a man’s music being about cocaine and trap music when you have arrests for cocaine possession and drink driving, etc. You have to be careful when you criticize others!
But I do admit that rappers and other personalities have responsibilities to put out positivity in there community….. Especially if their black!
You do it is ‘they’re’, not ‘their’ – right?
Conscious except when you’re getting a BJ from a streetwalker while high out your mind. That’s when D’angelo would not be as conscious.
You guys know D’angelo is right. How many songs can you make about popping bottles and getting ho’s. Isn’t this shit getting boring to you. The same bullshit music over and over again. Hip hop is dead and these wack ass so called rappers with no flow or lyrical ability killed it.
Marvin Gaye got with prostitutes too tho… Not sure that says anything about his creative output
UnConscious Crackhead. Makes no sense. Go back to jail, bird ass nigga.
There is no soul in this music because it’s corporate, white owned now. Unless the artists take it back through their own independent visions, it’s going to keep venturing further off into what it is in the mainstream. It’s like every Mom and Pop store that was the bomb and then they sold to some big corporate company. The first they come out and say is that we’re going to keep everything the same, and we all know that never happens, the new changes are terrible, and eventually you wonder why you ever used to go to that place in the first place. Same thing with hip hop. The corporations are running it like the urban pop divisionof the record label and have turned what was the hottest genre 20 years ago into an embarrassment today where only 3 artists in it can definitely make an impact with sales and requisite streams (I’ve taken Lil Wayne and Kanye West off that list because I don’t think they have a definite buy from their fans anymore).
He didn’t say Young Jeezy’s music was stupid. Get your facts straight
WOW, HiphopDX has to be the dumbest site ever. D’Angelo didn’t say Young Jeezy’s music is stupid (even though it is). He said the fact that “great, conscious music” can’t get out to the masses is stupid. But I can’t expect people to understand how sentence structure is laid out. We too dumb to read the language properly, too busy saying Co-Co.
I don’t generally tend to bother to post comments, but I have to agree that when it comes to things becoming corporate owned, that can lead to suffering, discontent and the end of beautiful things. Most everybody is likely to sellout. That is why people like Malcolm X, Gandhi, Jesus (not that they’re all on the same level of greatness and without getting religious) tend to have such a lasting influence and impact, culturally. I agree the music has changed, the vibes have changed, and the scene is changing. Things like skinny jeans and wearing dresses are the next fad (???). The problem is that even if an artist is independent, eventually, regardless of past successes being independent, the artist will sign a contract. Mainstream is where its at, or at least that’s what they’re told. The execs take over a lot of the artist’ freedom and creativity and its a rap from there. For me, there are still great artist doing great things, but sadly, big business doesn’t just rule the laws of the land, it makes the laws, too. Peace and Mozart’s the shit…