I'm out for Dead Presidents to represent me

It might be a tired cliche in itself to generalise about hip-hop having lost its political bite in the face of the bling-era, but unfortunately for the most part it is a sorry truism. If a Kanye rant against the president's response to Katrina plus a half-hearted Jay-Z rap represent political rap high-points these days then it really is a sad state of affairs. However there are groups who keep the flags of the likes of Public Enemy, Krs-One, NWA, Brand Nubian and X-Clan flying.Step forward, of course, Dead Prez.

I was listening to the 2000 debut Let's Get Free the other day, and it is simply a great statement of intent and a reminder of how powerful this music we all love can be if used right. This album touches on many subjects from the state of the US education system, the state of hip-hop itself, corruption of religious systems, government hypocrisy and other decidedly non-bling subjects such as the need to eat healthily. But the defining factor is the utter conviction that runs through the rhyming of stic.man and M-1, which gives their work a clarity and sense of relevance missing from that of many contemporaries. It seems a shame to me that their mainstream hit (Bigger than) Hip-Hop did not herald a more illustrious and visible career for the masses, but then I suppose that the masses don't want too many home truths at the forefront of their minds, when it is much easier to focus on that benz-o or hoochie. And this is fine, as life is full of compromise and material dreams, but next time you need a bit more in the way of political honesty to chew on, pick up the Prez.