Hip-hop and justice: Culture carries the spirit of protest, 50 years and counting

However, racial justice activists and free speech advocates see the ongoing persecution of rappers as a proxy war primarily waged against Black and Latino men. And for hip-hop artists who live under repressive regimes throughout the world, “dropping bars” to air one’s grievances against the government can mean time behind bars or worse.

Some have pointed to the criminal street gang conspiracy case, brought under Georgia’s criminal racketeering law, against Atlanta rapper Young Thug and over two dozen purported affiliates of the rapper’s Young Stoner Life record label. In 2022, Fulton County prosecutors included lyrics from the rapper, referencing drugs and violence, as evidence of an “overt act in furtherance of a conspiracy.

In 2016, following the fatal police shootings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, rap music and protest were linked. It was rare then to attend a demonstration and not hear Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 song “Alright,” a celebration of triumph over adversity in the face of systemic oppression and injustice.

In an Associated Press interview earlier this year, Chuck D of Public Enemy said he sees hip-hop as a catalyst for the Black Lives Matter movement.

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Hip-hop and justice: Culture carries the spirit of protest, 50 years and countingHip-hop has played a crucial role in social and racial justice movements, but has also faced scrutiny from law enforcement and political groups. Critics argue that hip-hop and its artists promote violent criminal behavior, while advocates for free speech see the targeting of rappers as a form of discrimination against Black and Latino communities, who were the pioneers of the culture.
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