Thinking of hip-hop generally calls to mind moguls decked out in their own brand of street wear, flaunting diamonds, driving fast cars with spinning rims, living in big houses and flossing platinum-plated teeth.
To further brand that image into your brain, hip-hoppers rap about their hot gear, fly rides and killer cribs.
With the rap group Dead Prez, this hip-hop generation's freedom fighters, emcees Sticman and M-1, rap unconventionally about the harsh realities of life.
The ghetto, drugs, police brutality, poverty, revolution and propaganda in the media are just some of the controversial and politically incorrect themes Dead Prez continues to rhyme about in their new CD, "RBG."
"RBG" stands for "Revolutionary But Gangsta," "Red Black Green," "Real Big Guns" and "Reaching Bigger Goals." "Dead Prez" is slang for money.
Dead Prez present themselves as gangster revolutionaries - socially conscious rappers from the projects who voice the thoughts of the poor and downtrodden of American society.
"RBG" is full of unpretentious beats and intricate lyrics. The choice to ease off on the usual thumping beats of typical hip-hop leaves the listener undistracted and able pay closer attention to lyrics.
The song "Radio Freq" comments on the nature of radio. Dead Prez claim that radio does not play any music that is real, just some concoction of fantastically misrepresented truths.
"What's on the radio/ Mind control and turning it on is like putting on a blindfold/ It is part of their plans to make us all think it is about partying and dancing/ It might sound good when you start to rap, but in reality, nobody live like that."
A popular idea in today's hip-hop generation is that of "keeping it real." Dead Prez give their interpretation of the phrase in the song, "d.o.w.n.: Can't tell by no tattoo/ Can't tell by no handshake/ It starts with a heart being down as an attitude/ Doing what you have to do."
Dead Prez offer an alternative to the common pursuits of short-term grandeur. Inspired by self-defense parties like the Black Panthers, Dead Prez is the most politically conscious hip-hop group since Public Enemy. They speak their songs with a modern-day pulse that grabs attention and broadens perspective.
