Show and Tell Video Reflection

Hip-hop is political again. Here's why.

Above is the video I shared for show and tell, about how hip-hop moved away from its political message in the 2000's but in the 2010's has begun to move back towards political commentary. The timeline of hip-hop that the video focuses on is divided into three categories: the mid-90's, the 2000's, and after 2015. In the mid-90's, the video says that hip-hop was political, citing groups such as Public Enemy, and individuals like Lauryn Hill, Ice Cube, and Tupac. Then the video asserts that political hip-hop went underground in the 2000's, and party-oriented and gangster hip-hop became mainstream. Finally, it says that hip-hop became political again in 2015 with Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly and other artists like J Cole and Janelle Monae. However, the one part of the video I disagree with is the assertion that mainstream hip-hop was not political or socially conscious from the early 2000's until 2015. In my opinion, artists like Jay-Z, Kanye West, Eminem, and M.I.A. all made political statements with their music in the 2000's while still being popular in mainstream hip-hop.