Or that Kendrick Lamar could make a politically conscious hip-hop record without owing a debt to Public Enemy.
The smart, politically charged hip-hop of Michael Franti and Spearhead should bring some present-day realism to the neo-hippie nostalgia.
(Anderson) Public Enemy (Thursday) The politically informed hip-hop influentials behind "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" (Def Jam/Columbia) perform just a hop-skip from their native Long Island.
If, say, a politically conscious hip-hop group plugged in their amps near the altar of Saint Patrick's cathedral in midtown Manhattan, you can bet that misdemeanor trespassing would only be the beginning.
(Petrusich) BRAND NUBIAN (Monday) In the early 1990s Brand Nubian's politically minded hip-hop, which often focused on the members' involvement in the Five-Percent Nation of Islam, earned the band equal parts praise and derision.
Bob Dylan's "Hurricane" is the odd song out on a soundtrack album that brings together politically conscious hip-hop, vintage rhythm-and-blues and new songs determined to unite the two with the uplift of gospel.
Sure, it's self-promotional to some degree, but the band also functions as a kind of nexus for politically conscious hip-hop and an object lesson in maintaining a work ethic.
Mark Ronson on Amy Winehouse, angst and the success of Uptown Funk Rabble-rousing, politically furious hip-hop from the New York duo featuring beats and brawn-with-brains of Killer Mike and El-P's records to set West Holts off.
A smooth-faced young man with a gruff voice, a politically minded hip-hop performance poet and a dance-pop group fronted by a former actor in TV drama Skins have been anointed as the new acts in contention to become household names in 2015.
This week's picks include the latest from politically aware hip-hop star Common as well as a solo debut from a member of the Strokes. .
