Okay, so my brother and I have had a pretty heated discussion on what rap is about.
He seems to think that the vast majority of rap is about hate and capping someone in the head (that, and drug abuse, etc.). I want to prove him wrong.
I've said that he's stereotyping rap and solely listening to morons who think they know what rap is about. I've also told him that rap calls for social change. As well, I said that rap originated during the Civil Rights movement and that it called for the end of racism and segregation.
He agrees with me on those points, and says that there are a few true rap groups out there, but still thinks that generally all rap is about hatred and killing.
Anyone want to try and help me get him to shut up?

Hip-hop is a genre of music just like any other, and as such, I believe it encapsulates and reflects the salient characteristics of the given culture from which it stems. You are right in saying that many hip-hop artists are social commentators (tupac, talib kweli), and that not all rappers are out to make money by rapping out violence.

Unfortunately, a good portion of commercial rap is in fact about these things. You've pointed out that that there is a lot of other rap out there. But, I think that I would be careful not to dismiss the rap that is "just about hate and capping someone in the head." As superficial as those things may seem, they are indicative often of a particular culture. Why does rapping about those things appeal to that culture?

Jurassic 5, Dead Prez, Sage Francis, Non Prophets, Public Enemy, Dilated Peoples, Sabac the Red, The Coup, Company Flow...

Just some artists I can come up with off the top of my head that are actually quite political and/or have a message other than shooting people, abusing women and doing drugs.

I don't think this is true. According to Wikipedia:

Hip hop music is a style of popular music. It is composed of two main components: rapping (MC'ing) and DJing(mixing and scratching); along with breakdancing and graffiti (tagging), these are the four elements of hip hop, a cultural movement which began among African Americans and Puerto Ricans in New York City in the early 1970s.

Link - Wikipedia

Maybe the hedonistic bullshit that's considered "mainstream". But even some of those artists have a few good points to make or things to say. For example, even though Cypress Hill raps alot about gangs and drugs, they do hit on points about escapism, living life in not-the-best conditions, dealing with fame and it's costs and so on.

Rap is just like any other genre of music; it has it's artists that are glorified that we'd be better off forgetting about. But at the same time, I believe alot of rap has messages that shouldn't be ignored; whether it's Dead Prez's message that calls for critical pedagogy, socialism and healthier lifestyles (read: veganism, excercising, etc.) or Public Enemy calling out racist disparities in society (I know they have one fairly famous song about 911 and how the police and emergency services react alot slower in poor, black neighborhoods).

If you haven't done so already, I suggest you check out Immortal Technique.

I forgot to put him up there, but yes, I have Revolutionary Vol. 2. It's very good.

Well... my source is VH1's special on the top 50 rappers of all-time.
The only ones I saw were Biggie at 4, 2pac at 3, Public Enemy at 2 and Run-DMC at 1.
They were talking about how either Public Enemy or Run-DMC started out during the Civil Rights movement and got really big with their lyrics about ending segregation, etc.


Other than that, though, thanks for all the help, guys!
Haha, although I doubt my brother wishes to contunue our conversation. Even without this extra knowledge, I was thoroughly whipping him.