Despite being in the mainstream consciousness for over twenty
years now, Hip-Hop is still largely thought to consist solely of
idiotic, crude and often pointlessly violent lyrics that debase and
malign the English language. Although to be fair, that is still the
majority of the Hip-Hop music being shoved down our throats by the big
music labels and radio. However, there is an increasingly large presence
of extremely intelligent Hip-Hop pushing the genre’s boundaries and
transforming rap into academically and artistically viable poetry.
NOTE: Judging intelligence is an extremely subjective matter and will
always spark debate, however I did abide by some criteria when making
my selections. My judgments were made solely based on their lyricism
(not their intelligence as a human being, not knowing any of the rappers
on this list personally) regarding (a.) mastery and exemplary use of
language, (b.) literacy and knowledgeability, and (c.) overall subject
matter, concept and artistic statement. Factors that I did NOT include
when making my decisions were things like social consciousness,
technical skill in delivery, ability to read a thesaurus, production,
nor their perceived influence and legacy. The purpose of this list was
to hopefully educate those with preconceived notions about the genre and
perhaps show those who are already fans of the genre a few new artists
they may not be familiar with. Also, it is important to note that
“intelligent” is not necessarily synonymous with “best.”
10
Andre 3000
From OutKast
One of the few rappers on this list you should already probably be
aware of on this list, Andre 3000, rapper from the critically acclaimed
and incredibly popular Hip-Hop Duo, “OutKast,” is one of the most well
liked and respected rappers in the industry from non-fans. And for good
reason too; while his slang-heavy southern dialect may turn some
listeners away, he has expressed untold ability to use language to paint
beautiful pictures and make poignant statements, and he remains a
wonderful story-teller. As his group progressed with its music, Andre
3000 became increasingly cerebral in his raps, often dipping into
abstract lyricism and existentialism, and his unconventional use of
language began to become more metaphorical than ever, making the average
listener listen twice before continuing to groove out and have fun.
Indeed, Andre’s penchant for funk and “prince-esque” musical production
led many to know him for his catchy and funky, non-rap single, “Hey Ya!”
however he will always be remembered by those original fans as a master
emcee and powerful poet. Check him out on the first verse in this link.
Slug, from his Producer and Emcee duo Atmosphere, has become, over
the years, the poster boy for Underground Hip Hop. He blends spoken word
poetry with good ol’ fashioned rapping to create something that, in its
early years, was an unusual but powerful combination of
straight-forward honesty and abstract expression. In his later years he
has moved on to telling sad, everyday life stories from a universal
perspective in his continual journey to explore the human psyche.
However, I found his raps most unpredictable and artistic back in the
days when he was simply just trying to explore his own psyche. Slug
takes us on a painful, cathartic, and often times humorous journey
through the caverns of his own mind, just trying to find out who he is,
justifying it, apologizing for it, and eventually accepting himself.
Kool Keith paved the way for a lot of oddball rappers succeeding him.
His lyrics were strange, oddly literate, always vulgar, and
occasionally his free associative style dipped into the just plain
nonsensical. And yet, he was always captivating, and he was unique and
still is. Often times when listening to his tracks you could just
imagine the grin on Kool Keith’s face; the man *loved* to play with
language, and occasionally you would catch the obscure pun in rhymes and
at others his frustratingly abstract yet crude style managed to be
beautiful before resuming repulsive once again. Certainly Hip-Hop’s most
peculiar export, Kool Keith also proved, from his lyricism, to be the
most intelligent. *NOTE: Kook Keith rapped under many other pseudonyms,
in the below link he went under the name of Dr. Octagon.
Probably the last entry on this list that the average reader will
have heard of, Lupe Fiasco is an extremely popular artist despite having
some of the most deeply multi-layered lyrics the genre has ever seen.
Normally I would see this as a positive thing for the industry, however
his last album was a terrible, pandering piece of work thanks to people
working at the label (I’m not a guy who rails against mainstream evil
hampering artistic integrity or even like other people who spew such
things, but in this case I was very angered). That last tidbit aside,
however, his previous work was glorious. He always had a socially
responsible message in his agenda, but his rhymes were more than that.
He would paint beautiful, detailed pictures, often times listening to
him provided an experience akin to lucid dreaming, the way he delivered
his fantastical lines in his trademark laid back manner. Yet, his lyrics
were not just free-associative “mush,” he always rapped with substance,
often times just one couplet would offer three different meaning
simultaneously, and yet his command of language never allowed the
listener to be overwhelmed or frustrated. Even if you did not always
know what he meant you always felt it. And damn… the man had a way with
words.
Eyedea
From Eyedea & Abilities
It is one of my great regrets in life is that I never saw this man
perform live before he passed away, just recently. Eyedea was a
formidable wordsmith, whose notoriously witty freestyling abilities made
him the most feared opponent to be opposite of in a battle rap. And
yet, it was in his actual songs where his true achievements lay.
Collaborating with DJ Abilities (who, by the way, would easily make any
top ten DJ’s list) he rapped about philosophical themes such as
existentialism and social economics, and he was able to maintain a
narrative through the use of extremely clever use of words. Indeed his
style of rapping caught many of the uninitiated off guard but attracted a
committed following from those who dedicated their time to truly
listening. While he may tragically no longer be with us, his words will
remain immortalized.
Back in the mid nineties El-P formed the group, Company Flow, which
would introduce to the world his self-coined “independent as fuck” music
which would single-handedly reform the underground Hip-Hop movement
with its sparse, dangerously witty, intelligent rhymes and production,
which was all coated with an attitude so fierce it would outmatch early
nineties “gangsta rap” in terms of intensity. Not that the two were ever
compared before, nor did they ever detail excessively graphic violence
in his rhymes (which would not make them any worse if it did, I am not
biased against violent rap) but he always spoke with such defiance and
pride, as well as with cynicism that would freeze the heart of a divine
angel. Even far into his solo career, long after he founded one of the
most well respected underground Hip-Hop labels, Definitive Jux (which is
only matched by Atmosphere’s Rhymesayers), El-P would never bother
making his music the slightest bit accessible. His lyricism was always
abstract and intense, and he always rapped in a manner which would make
one think he was aware of some vague, impending apocalypse, however
science fiction buffs would appreciate his references and those willing
to dig deeper might be surprised by the preconceived nature of his
symbolism. Sometimes it seemed El-P was more interested in attacking the
listener than anything else, but to his benefit, after several listens,
El-P would provide an extremely deep listening experience to those who
took the time to give him the time of day.
Sage Francis is an asshole, there is little doubt about that, which
is why so many people have taken to hating him. However there is also
little doubt that Sage Francis could go for the rest of his life winning
every poetry slam he damn well pleases, making people sound like idiots
because he has the intelligence and cruel wit to do so, and overall
feeding his ego with delusions of being the self-tortured artist. But he
doesn’t. Sage Francis instead chooses to continue make music in a genre
where he will never have an audience, and yet still attracts fans, and
makes records that are so deep, so haunting, and so achingly nihilistic
that his music forms a deep connection with anyone who dares listen to
it. And the man is so witty, he makes plays with language, takes popular
phrases and abuses them, twists them and reveals them to be nothing in
the first place. There is a deep rooted respect I have for the man, as
big of a self-proclaimed “asshole” as he may be.
To be fair, Saul Williams was a noted and well-decorated poet before
he went into Hip-Hop. However, his output as a “rapper” has given the
genre some of its most thought provoking material yet. He always had an
agenda far more political and ambitious than just personal poetry could
provide, but his artful use of words and the sheer force he could muster
provided a cathartic listening experience. Ever since allowing himself
to become a part of Hip-Hop, he had forever changed how people percieved
it and blurred the lines between poetry and rap to the point where
people can honestly argue that rap has the potential to be true poetry
without having to put up too much of a battle.
Hip-Hop’s true intellectual, one wishes that he wasn’t as damn
obscure as he currently is and (unfortunately) probably always will be. I
suppose some would write him off as pretentious, but I only have two
friends who actually know of him and we all love him. His language is so
detailed and precise, yet unusual. It takes a true master of the
language to use words in the manner that he does, and his diction is
(nearly) unparalleled. Not that using big words automatically makes you
an intelligent rapper, but if you can make a rhyme sound as pretty as he
does you would automatically go down in history. He can rap about
something so simple and mundane and yet find deep meaning from within
it, he can tackle topics so broad, ask questions so big, it is nearly
frightening in the ways he provides answers. He references everything
from Shakespeare to religious doctrine to famous scientific proceedings.
I do not have the vocabulary that Illogic has, so I will use this
adjective once again, his lyrics are so god damn pretty. Like on online
commenter said better than I could ever, “It’s like HDTV to the ears.”
Illogic one of those ever rare, ever valuable gems that you will
occasionally stumble across in music.
This artist rides the line of you either heard of him or you know all
about him just as much as he draws between those who passionately love
him and those who passionately hate him. Meet Aesop Rock, the most
intelligent rapper to have ever lived. Well, first meet the large amount
of dismissive people and confounded critics who will tell you he is
nonsensical and sounds like he is reading a dictionary because
-obviously- anything they don’t understand must not make any sense.
Actually, the most frustrating thing about Aesop Rock is that he is
rarely ever, probably never, nonsensical. His lyrics are so intricately
detailed that after the first line is spit it is not uncommon to be
completely lost. And his abstract use of language doesn’t help either,
he alway does away with placing words in linear order, and often times
uses words as he intends for them to mean, not how it was originally
intended to be heard. And it would take all of the internet’s resources
to follow each one of his references, whether it be an ancient Greek
tragedy or an episode of Dragon Ball Z.
Overwhelmed? Don’t be. He is not as intimidating as I may be
describing him to be, oftentimes I have no idea what he is talking about
and yet the images that he paints and the way in which says them still
leave a strong emotional response. He adopts an abstract (I fear I have
been abusing that word much too much over the course of this list) and
fractured manner of phrasing, that all contributes to one general theme
which can range from a grounded examination of twenty first century
Americans or can be more off the edge like an existential contemplation
on the nature of human’s disillusionment with the imagined forces that
be. Do not try to decipher all the lyrics in one of his songs at once as
that can be as frustrating as wading through Joyce’s “Ulysses” or as
futile as attempting read “Finnegans Wake” cover to cover. But whenever
something clicks, and the meaning to one of his lines unlocks its
meaning it can be the most satisfying experiences possible to reap from
any art form.
And yet somehow, even with all of this, he can still manage to make
his lyrics sound natural and unpretentious. It is hard for listeners to
convince themselves that his work is not somehow genuine, which is
possibly his greatest achievement of all. Aesop Rock will probably be
remembered in a more significant stature than the genre itself when it
is all said and done, even if for now he will only play to a smaller,
niche market. In honor of his stature at number one, I’m providing three
examples, however the first one is probably the most definitive of his
body of work and best starting point for new listeners, check the other
two out afterwards if still interested.
