Political hip-hop recommendations

• The Blacker The Berry - Kendrick Lamar
  This is the political rap song in my opinion. Kendrick puts everything on the table and pulls none of his punches.
• namesake - Noname
  The only actively socialist rapper I know, and this song encapsulates her energy pretty succinctly.
• Blak Matriarchy - Barkaa
  Political rap coming out of so-called "Australia" tends to be pretty direct, actively calling out racism and colonisation. Barkaa is such a hard-hitting artist, especially their delivery.
• King Billy Cokebottle - A.B. Original
  A thoughtful deconstruction of the history of blackface in Australia and its impact on both white and Blak people.
• I Don't See Colour - Genesis Owusu
  Similar vibes, but Genesis Owusu just makes some great-sounding music.
• Stormzy's performance at The Brits in 2018
  A historic performance where Stormzy secretly rewrote the lyrics in the second act of the performance to directly call out the government's atrocious response to the Grenfell disaster.
• Flying Pigs - Avantdale Bowling Club
  From beautiful Aotearoa, the only white act on this list. They most often singing about doing drugs or not doing drugs, but here they take an especially anti-state tone.
• How Much a Dolla Cost - Kendrick Lamar
  It's a long song, but listen to it. Kendrick is absolutely unrivalled in his ability to story-tell and allow for the complex perspectives of others to be heard. If you want another Kendrick recc, listen to "Worldwide Steppers".
• Comment #1 - Gil Scott-Heron
  This song predates hip-hop, but it's roots can be found here. A song written about the participation of white Vietnam war protestors whitewashing the message of the Civil Rights movement. A really important song to stay grounded whilst doing activism.
• Space Program - A Tribe Called Quest
  A Tribe Called Quest perfected the style of Jazz rap in the '90s, but their most recent work has an even more political tone than usual, a clear response to the climate of Trump's (first) successful election.
• THAT'S THAT - MF DOOM
  The list starts to get a little more experimental now, going more into underground rap styles. DOOM is maybe my favourite artist of all time and the greatest lyricist of all time. There's some fun anti-conscription lyrics in this one, once you can decipher the wordplay.
• Jenn's Terrific Vacation - Danny Brown
  A lot of people struggle with Danny Brown's voice, but once you get used to it, he really masters the gritty sound.
• Patrisse Cullors Stole My Lunch Money - Ghais Guevara
  Guevara has a lot of academic lyrics, tackling colonisation through a communist lens. This title of this song refers to a leader of the Black Lives Matter movement, who was accused of embezzling money through the organisation.
• Exmilitary - JPEGMAFIA
  JPEGMAFIA's production took a more heavy metal approach in his latest album, which you can hear on here. Mostly some anti-war (and specifically, anti-IDF lyrics).
• Year Zero - billy woods
  billy woods is the type of artist where you should listen to the whole album. Very enigmatic and often political lyrics. This is one of his best verses, but sadly Danny Brown puts out a subpar performance in my opinion.
• Emmm, Ni**a You Is Tasty >:) - $ilkmoney
  Some of the craziest bars and weirdest production of any rapper, but often with a very academic analysis of Blackness.