I like Rap Music.
But one thing I noticed is that a lot of people (LDS people) cannot stand the thought of hip-hop.
I think there are are couple of reason for that but I don’t plan on getting into that in this post.
All I will say is the following.
First, hip-hop is just like any other type of music. There are lots of subgenres and not all rap music is about violence and objectifying women. In fact I’d argue that most hip-hop falls outside of that category.
Second, most big hip-hop fans like the stuff that is played on the radio as little as you do. Remember, radio execs are looking for songs that can be put in heavy rotation and nothing else. If they could put fart noises on the radio they would if it would make them money.
Third, rap developed without instruments, without hope for much of a future, and without a formal education. It started with a beat that included a guy beat-boxing or a bunch of people stomping/clapping out a beat. Thing of it as poetry to a beat. It’s not like rappers decided to give up on jazz for something simpler. They used what they had, which was almost nothing.
So with that out of the way here is a list of 20 Mormon-friendly hip-hop songs and the rules I used to come up with this list.
Rules For Songs To Qualify
1. No Swearing – Meaning no d*mn, b*tch, h*ll, or stronger words. (I based the lyrics off of the website Rap Genius)
2. No “N-word.” (Using Rap Genius as well)
3. No Objectifying Women (There is a difference between saying a woman is beautiful and objectifying her. There just is. If not the Prophets in the scriptures objectified Mary and we know that simply isn’t true.)
4. No Glorifying Violence (There is a big difference between glorifying violence and talking about it. The Book of Mormon talks about war, murder and rape but does not glorify any of it. Neither do these songs.)
5. Music has historical perspective (Meaning these songs will be from the 80’s, 90’s, 2000’s. I wanted to write this post to show Mormons that there are perfectly acceptable rap songs to listen to as well as give people a brief cultural experience.)
With no further a do, here are the top 20 Mormon-friendly rap songs.
20 Mormon-friendly Hip-hop songs
1. Public Enemy – Bring The Noise
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu3AVjfhvqo&w=420&h=315]2. Outkast – Behold a Lady
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyrpTNzclU0&w=420&h=315]3. K-os – Man I Used to Be
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WplUkiSIHM&w=560&h=315]4. Lauryn Hill – Lost Ones
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM68EuE9vSI&w=420&h=315]5. Lupe Fiasco – Superstar
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty0u1PzXfTo&w=420&h=315]6. The Cool Kids – One, Two
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7EABHf553U&w=420&h=315]7. KRS-One – Return of the Boom Bap
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPmX45gSFeU&w=420&h=315]8. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis – My Oh My
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvNQWQSwmow&w=560&h=315]9. Run-D.M.C. – King of Rock
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXzWlPL_TKw&w=420&h=315]10. Dessa – Children’s Work
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSxSCv7Cegc&w=420&h=315]11. Brother Ali – Letter To My Countrymen
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tplgspwxDwg&w=420&h=315]12. Nas and Damian Marley – Count Your Blessings
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmquhd-WJOQ&w=560&h=315]13. Mike Mitclan and Lazerbeak – Prizefight
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDel4Dl-_F8&w=560&h=315]14. Will Smith – Switch
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzUozo1628U&w=560&h=315]15. Matisyahu – Youth
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9Kf4esMvdE&w=560&h=315]16. Yasiin Bey/Mos Def – Hip Hop
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lISBme_Jy28&w=560&h=315]17. Flo Rida – Good Feeling
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OnnDqH6Wj8&w=560&h=315]18. The Uncluded – Boomerang
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tv-K-YIgcI&w=560&h=315]19. Eric B and Rakim – Don’t Sweat the Technique
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM5sIBIRDLQ&w=420&h=315]20. A Tribe Called Quest – Can I Kick It
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3pyCGnZzYA&w=420&h=315]