Kendrick Lamar performs on stage at The BRIT Awards 2018 held at The O2 Arena on February 21, 2018 in London, England.
Photo by Mark Davis/BET/Getty Images for BET.
10 Radical Rap Albums That Will Make You Want to Fight the Power
These radical rap albums helped expand the imagination of what was possible in the rap genre, with everyone from Ice Cube to Public Enemy making their mark.
Throughout its history, rap has had many great radical albums: projects unafraid to call its listeners to action to rally against all sorts of oppressive forces. Whether it be politicians abusing their power or misogyny and how it harms women, rappers have used their music to bring awareness to a number of issues — and continue to do so.
So, in honor of that tradition, we’re highlighting 10 radical albums, but with something of a twist. Yes, some expected albums are on here, as well as some that aren’t as obvious but are still fighting a good (and necessary) fight.
These are 10 radical rap albums that will make you want to fight the power.
Public Enemy — 'Fear of a Black Planet'
What makes Fear of a Black Planet the powerful album it is, is a sum of multiple parts: Chuck D’s fiery, oratorical delivery, Flavor Flav’s boisterous energy and The Bomb Squad’s dynamic, sample-collage production.
All of that combined resulted in one of the most ambitious and politically-charged rap albums not just of its time, but of all time, with Chuck and Flav tackling Hollywood’s exploitation of Black stereotypes (“Burn Hollywood Burn”), Black communities unable to rely on emergency services (“911 Is a Joke”), racism (“Fight the Power”) and more.
Ice Cube — 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted'
With his searing social commentary and a title that nodded to the United States’ impossibly deep legacy of racism, Ice Cube’s first post-N.W.A impression was definitely a memorable one. While he covers a wide scope of topics, the LP largely evokes the sneering gaze of one of rap’s most controversial — and all-around powerful — MCs.
The Coup — 'Steal This Album'
While Boots Riley may now be more known for his work in film and TV, you can’t forget about his contributions to rap, especially as a part of The Coup. The Oakland group has never shied away from addressing political themes in its music, and that’s undeniably the case with Steal This Album.
An ambitious and challenging listen, no song cements the boldness of the album quite like “Me and Jesus in a ‘79 Grenada Last Night,” an epic tale of a track (a little over seven minutes long) that touches on poverty, as well as misogyny and how perpetual it is when passed on to another generation of men.
Rapsody — 'Eve'
In making a conceptual album about influential Black women across time, Rapsody also created something brilliantly political. Through highlighting Nina Simone, Myrlie Evers-Williams, Afeni Shakur and others, Rapsody tells a story of Black women and their greatness, while also acknowledging the hardships they face.
This is poignantly captured in standouts like “Myrlie,” where Rapsody offers a tribute to Evers-Williams, the widow of civil rights activist Medgar Evers, rapping: “We saw people cry, think about all of our people's wives / Raise the kids in the world they know ain't safe to live.”A Tribe Called Quest — 'We Got It from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service'
With its final album, A Tribe Called Quest not only managed to create a last hurrah for its brilliant five-foot assassin, the late Phife Dawg, but a project that served as a call to action right at the top of Donald Trump’s election in 2016.
We Got It from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service is warm while not shying away from the political divisions, racism and more that culminated in Trump’s ascendence to the White House. Q-Tip is far from abstract in his lyricism here, using overt hooks to address these points, most notably on “We the People….”:
“All you Black folks, you must go
All you Mexicans, you must go
And all you poor folks, you must go
Muslims and gays, boy, we hate your ways
So all you bad folks, you must go”
Kendrick Lamar — 'To Pimp a Butterfly'
To Pimp a Butterfly gave us one of the most important protest anthems of the 2010s, with “Alright” serving as the soundtrack for Black Lives Matter protests and protests against police brutality in 2020 following the death of George Floyd.
But “Alright” is only the half point of what’s considered Kendrick Lamar’s magnum opus. Accompanied by the sounds that have long been the backbone to hip-hop — jazz and funk — Kendrick explores themes of racism, oppression, materialism, depression and more on TPAB, crafting a deep and testing album that continues to resonate with fans nearly 10 years since its release.The Roots — 'Rising Down'
Described by Questlove as The Roots’ “most incendiary, political album of our career to date,” Rising Down is exactly that. It’s a dystopic and provocative release, the dark instrumentation and production complimented by Black Thought rapping about everything from climate change to police corruption.
Still, despite its bleakness, Rising Down remains powerful in the face of so much, with the album’s mid-point, “I Will Not Apologize,” embodying that unflinching perseverance, Black Thought boldly declaring, “I will not be conquered by, I will not apologize.”De La Soul — 'Stakes Is High'
In its darkness and seriousness, Stakes Is High told a necessary truth: that the commercialization of hip-hop was something worth being very concerned — and angry — about. And there’s arguably no place this is as brilliantly expressed than in the album’s title track, with its charging and dynamic production (courtesy of the late J Dilla) backing the late Trugoy the Dove’s many gripes about the then-state of hip-hop (which are still rampant today):
“I'm sick of talkin' 'bout blunts, sick of Versace glasses / Sick of slang, sick of half-ass awards shows / Sick of name-brand clothes”
Black Star — ‘Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star’
“We take that Black Star line right on home.” Both the line — and the duo’s name — is in reference to Marcus Garvey’s Black Star Line, the political activist’s shipping line that was used in the back-to-Africa political movement meant to return African American slaves to Africa.
This context is needed to understand the journey that Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli take listeners on: an exploration and celebration of Black empowerment while unpacking the challenges of being Black in America, hip-hop’s growing pains and more — all grounded by the cool, meditative-esque beats of Hi-Tek, 88-Keys and more.
Queen Latifah — 'All Hail the Queen'
For her debut album, Queen Latifah introduced herself as a voice for a younger generation of Black women, using her music to speak on the everyday struggles they dealt with.
Such was the case with “Evil That Men Do,” with Latifah rapping:
“A woman strives for a better life, but who the hell cares? / Because she's living on welfare / The government can't come up with a decent housing plan / So she's in no man's land.”
But she also showed that women MCs could hold their own against their male peers, bringing along partners-in-rhyme like Monie Love to espouse how women are “the root of” it all.
