The Soul of Drugs

Pharoahe Monch: Desire - Pitchfork

I don't agree with everything Kanye West says nor do I think he is as great as he thinks he is. Still, there's something to be said for socially relevant hip-hop in today's world. Monch seems to believe in the same ideals as someone like Common does. I know it isn't pop rap but I do think that the more artists like Common, Pharoahe and the Roots promote a social conscious the more rap listeners will pay attention. To shift the culture of hip-hop away from the glorification of drugs, sex and money will take as much time and effort as it did with rock. Today we have rock artists who write in a far greater range than previous, but that came after the Rolling Stones, Iggy and the Stooges, Bon Jovi and Oasis. Even still we have acts that romanticize the rock-n-roll lifestyle but it's done in a far more self-conscious fashion. Hip hop will get there too and artists like Kanye will help bring it there. And the thing is, we still need that dirtiness romanticized drug use, sex and money provides for catharsis and to remind us what is possible and the repercussions of such activities.