Its good and I like it

@sniper said it very well in the user thread when we discussed the effect on the “civilian” audience

no wonder you got kids turning up to nihilistic and apathetic music where it talks about drowning the pain of everyday life in a orgy of d****, s***and violence
the reason everyone wants to be like their favorite rapper is because it seems like the perfect fantasy in this day and age, a virulent and violent hedonistic carelessness (with sadistic elements) isolated from the broader world, the ultimate power
the archetypal suburban white kid wants to be like chief keef so he can indulge himself in this and release the rage of mundane life, indulge in the carelessness and nonchalant disregard for others, because it makes him feel invulnerable

obviously this is most acute with the cacburbanite, but I think something similar to this appeal is at play with a vast swath of listeners… It doesn’t even have to come from the lyrical content — the energy of the flows and the cadence juxtaposed with the beat exude power too

OP what are your favorite songs and artists

Cause ignorant music stimulates the darker parts of the human psyche. The same reason we like violent movies. The shadow in our consciousness likes the expression of deviant works.

In our day to day lives, we largely suppress our shadow when studying at school or working an office job for an example. We get to stimulate it though music.

Conscious music is very rarely good listenable or replayable nusic

Then why dont we listen to horrorcore insane clown posse all day

In the end it comes down to beats and musicality

Some people do? Ask ICP fans

Boldy James - Phone Bill

Yes, but not the majority

I dont particularly enjoy violence or dark themes in my art. I just like whatever is being done to be done well. I think trap music for instance is a very evolving artform that keeps me engaged primarily thru production but also thru lyrics. Conscious rap stalled out like 2 decades ago.......

I do think this shadow u mention is real for a lot of people, but i dont think it totally explains why people might like something with dark themes

there’s a lot to unpack.

1. conscious music also plays into Black trauma often in a way that’s difficult to engage with for multiple listens.

2. conscious music often values aspects of music (lyricism) that has diminishing value on repeated listens.

3. conscious music often is made by artists who are less educated than their audience. they have worthy objectives but are rapping about topics that were covered more extensively by professors and TA’s in freshman-level Sociology courses OR, even worse, they’re literally rapping misinformation and veering wholly into patronizing, patriarchal talking points that abandon women, marginalized communities and even lead Black men astray.

4. being ‘conscious’ is a hard life to live. limiting your artistry to that also means your audience often expects you to live a certain life that corresponds with that. many get exposed as just regular niggas f***ing white women, sniffing coke, buying property, and dodging taxes just like every other rich person.

Because it’s not easy to make conscious music that is enjoyable to listen to. You gotta have the skill and talent to make it catchy but have it not come across as preachy at the same time and that’s a difficult balance to attain. Swimming Pools is the perfect example of this. It’s an anti-drinking song but it can be played at a club. It takes great skill to be able to do that and most rappers simply don’t have the skill or talent to make such music and won’t make such music because it requires more effort and there’s more risks involved.

shoutout to everyone ITT except this weirdo nigga for actulally reading the post and having thought out responses.

Imagine reading and the artists I mentioned in OP and this is what you got out of it. Nigga suck my d***

f it

I will say white people who listen to rap but always s*** on any conscious music give me awful vibes

I really treat members like that on here with a lot of disrespect bc it gives me vulture vibes

That last paragraph is straight to the point tbh.

Because the music generally isn’t good, it’s not a hard concept,

If it sounds good in someone’s ear they will like it and listen to it

So which one is it then? (this seems to be the common answer in this thread)

If a conscious nigga rap on a boring beat, he boring.

But if a conscious nigga rap on a popping beat, they sound corny?

But a non-conscious nigga rapping on an insert pierre 808 beat #526 isn't boring at all?

Seems like no matter what the conscious nigga can't win.

The conscious rappers dont be that consicous

Re: Basically, why is black trauma more exciting to yall than black uplifting?

I imagine some people find no value in the “uplifting music” in that, I have never needed a celebrity or rapper to tell me to save money, be a productive member of society and chase my dreams.

I can see how for some, it would come across as preachy to hear what is basically surface deep observations dressed up as more than they are

Obviously there are exceptions, like Kendrick made a compelling piece about his trauma and life lessons, even if I didnt like the album I can respect him bringing an authentic and not trite album about trauma to the table

glad you asked

Outkast - Mainstream
Kendrick Lamar - Momma
Big KRIT - The Vent
Lupe Fiasco - WAV Files
Goodie Mob - I Refuse Limitation
Gucci Mane - Lemonade
Noname - Don't Forget About Me
Freddie Gibbs - Rob Me A Nigga
Earl - Azucar
Vince Staples - East Point Prayer
Cool Breeze - Cre-A-Tine
Little Brother - All For You

Immortal Technique can’t flow for s*** either

i read the whole thing

you asked why people don’t listen to “conscious rap” as much

it’s because their flows are wack & their beat selection is absolute garbage 99% of the time

what they say in their lyrics might be great, but if it doesn’t sound good as a whole, i’d rather just read a book

Great points, especially the first one

As @cloud_rap said, the exciting quality of a lot of violent trap and drill is expressed through the non-verbal elements

When a song is not really “about the lyrics” that makes it easy to ignore, say, lyrics about Black murder

But I think this subconsciously primes the audience to think of Black murder as something that is not a big deal and can be easily ignored

It’s not that the audience is given the impression that murder itself is cool, but rather that being cool involves cultivating nonchalance towards murder

So conscious s*** is inevitably more tryhard