Given the social and political climate of the moment, many of us have found respite from the troubles of the world by taking moments to both lament and revive ourselves through immersion into Black art. To offset the ugliness, to briefly escape moments of frustration and pain, I celebrate the beauty of Black creativity and collaboration. June is Black Music Month, ideally we can use this time not only to remember genius and artistry of African American musicians, but also to evaluate our present position and establish priorities for our collective future. But, how do you engage individuals who might not understand the gravity of connecting the here and now with days gone by? As we trudge toward progress, looking back to inform our next steps — music is a great place to start.

Hip hop culture has flooded mainstream America. But, with commercial appeal a sense of consciousness has been lost. There was a time when an emcee could move the crowd and inspire a movement. When wordsmiths use their craft to make hip hop the poetry of our people, they can ignite our sense of personal and communal power.

You Must Learn — KRS One and Boogie Down Productions

Teach the student what needs to be taught / ’Cause Black and White kids both take shorts

When one doesn’t know about the other ones’ culture / Ignorance swoops down like a vulture

KRS, an acronym for “Knowledge Reigning Supreme”, aka Teacha is the preeminent conscience emcee. From BDP’s 1989 album Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip Hop, KRS-One tries to instill in his listeners a love of African American history.

U.N.I.T.Y — Queen Latifah
U.N.I.T.Y.

Love a black woman from infinity to infinity.

Before becoming a Hollywood powerhouse Queen Latifah reigned supreme as a hip hop female force to be reckoned with. The single, released on January 6, 1994, spoke out against the disrespect of women in society, addressing issues of street harassment, domestic violence, and slurs against women in hip hop culture. Long live the Queen.

Alright — Kendrick Lamar

When you know, we been hurt, been down before
When my pride was low, lookin’ at the world like, “where do we go?”
And we hate Popo, wanna kill us dead in the street for sure
I’m at the preacher’s door
My knees gettin’ weak and my gun might blow but we gon’ be alright

Black folks know all about pushing through survival mode with the aim to thrive, teetering between rage and hope. Kendrick’s 2015 third studio release, “To Pimp A Butterfly” earned him scores of award nominations. The Compton rapper, now Pulitzer Prize winner, took home 3 Grammys including Best Rap Album, with Alright winning Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance. “Alright” has been crowned the modern anthem of the new civil rights movement. Hat tilt to Pharrell for the unforgettable chorus and production on this instant classic.

I Can — Nas
Before we came to this country / We were kings and queens, never porch monkeys

There was empires in Africa called Kush / Timbuktu, where every race came to get books
To learn from black teachers who taught Greeks and Romans
Asian, Arabs and gave them gold

When gold was converted to money it all changed / Money then became empowerment for Europeans

One of Nas’ highest charting singles to date, this ditty is definitely for the kids. Nas taps into his paternal side and drops historical gems along the way. He encourages children to follow your dreams and recognize that they can do anything they set their minds to.

Free — Goodie Mob

Many are blind and cannot find the truth / ’Cause no one seems to really know

But I won’t accept that this is how it’s gon’ be / Devil, you gotta let me and my people go

Goodie Mob is a hip-hop group from Atlanta, Georgia that consisted of breakout star Cee-Lo Green and his Organized Noize brothers Khujo, T-Mo, and Big Gipp. This intro set the tone for their debut album Soul Food in 1995.

Proud To Be Black — Run DMC
God bless the next baby that comes in this world / The world’s full of hate discrimination and sin
People judgin other people by the color of skin / I’ll attack this matter, in my own way

The Hollis, Queens New York trio is possibly the most influential act in the history of hip hop culture. From the 1986 Raising Hell Album, Proud To Be Black was a militant black history lesson for their legion of fans across cultures.

Keep Your Head Up — Tupac
And now my son’s gettin’ older and older and cold
From havin’ the world on his shoulders
While the rich kids is drivin’ Benz
I’m still tryin’ to hold on to my survivin’ friends
And it’s crazy, it seems it’ll never let up, but
Please, you got to keep your head up

Tupac’s legacy lives on in his lyrics laced with outspoken social commentary. There was a lot more to this “rose that grew from concrete” than the thug life motto he’s become known for. As he recounts his childhood and affirms black women, Pac is both critical and grateful to his mother, former Black Panther Afeni Shakur. Despite her hardships it’s clear that her activism helped shaped his revolutionary passion, sadly taken from us too soon.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised — Gil Scott-Heron

The revolution will not go better with Coke.
The revolution will not fight the germs that may cause bad breath.
The revolution WILL put you in the driver’s seat.

The revolution will not be televised
The revolution will be no re-run, brothers
The revolution will be live

The popular Black Power movement slogan anchored this poem/song which in turn brought spoken word into the mainstream, and made the movement ripe for conscious hip-hop. Gil Scott-Heron’s recording is stocked with pop culture references as a reminder that the uprising would happen live and unscripted on the streets — beyond the comfort of couches and independent of corporate co-opting. Ironically, the revolution is now streaming on all platforms and devices…

Fight The Power — Public Enemy

Our freedom of speech is freedom or death / We got to fight the powers that be

Lemme hear you say / Fight the power

This anthem, originally from the soundtrack to Spike Lee’s classic movie Do the Right Thing and later on PE’s seminal album Fear of a Black Planet, Chuck D and Flav didn’t worry about the push toward political correctness and puts his point of view front and center in this classic composition.

Freedom (Theme from Panther)
Slung from the belly of the beast / Used to speak African tongue

So I showed her next one bolder / Slung the devil over my shoulder

I’m getting over ’cause I’m bolder than the next / I’m enlightened ’cause I speak the real truth from the text

Freedom was a 1995 song released on Mercury Records featuring a chorus of over 60 Black female artists and groups of note in hip-hop, pop and R&B music including Aaliyah, Vanessa L. Williams, Mary J. Blige, MC Lyte, Coko, En Vogue, SWV, TLC, Lisa Lopes, and Monica.

Hip Hop — Dead Prez

You’d rather have a Lexus or justice
A dream or some substance
A beemer or necklace or freedom

With the 2000 release of (It’s Bigger Than) Hip Hop, NYC Hip duo, stic.man and M-1 made noise on the scene with their in your face lyrics focused on social justice, reclaiming our political and creative power and Pan-Africanism.

K.O.S. (Determination) — Black Star

At exactly which point do you start to realize
That life without knowledge is, death in disguise?
That’s why, Knowledge Of Self is like life after death
Apply it, to your life, let destiny manifest

“Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star” was released in 1998 and for the last 22 years fans have been waiting for the Brooklyn lyricists to collaborate again. As members of the Native Tongues Posse, this joint project helped bring jazzy, alternative hip hop into the new century and picked up where acts like Gang Starr, A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul left off. Individually Talib and Mos (now Yasiin Bey) have garnered solo success in the industry while remaining true to their socio-politically conscious vibe. Truthfully, most tracks on this release could make the list, yet K.O.S remains one of my favorites due to it’s creative interpretation of Kujichagulia, the second principle of Kwanzaa. Respect to Vinia Mojica for her vocals on the melodic hook.

Liberation — Outkast

Touch ya soul, make ya whole, the same for you and I
There’s not a minute that goes by that I don’t believe
we can fly.. but I can feel it in the wind
The beginning or the end

So people keep your head to the skyyyyy

Outkast teamed up with Erykah Badu, Big Rube, Cee-Lo in 1998 to combine a variety of musical styles, including gospel, jazz, blues, and world music on a song that included rapped vocals, while also featuring soul singing and spoken word styles. Lyrically, the track utilizes images of slavery to symbolize freedom from hatred, inequality, and all the obstacles people Black people face in their community (and music industry) that can distract from their goals.

Yes We Can — Will.I.Am

Yes we can to justice and equality / Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity
Yes we can heal this nation / Yes we can repair this world

Produced by Black Eyed Peas member Wil.I.Am, Yes We Can was created to mobilize youth voter registration and turnout for Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign. Will.I.Am sampled sound bytes from Obama’s concession speech in the 2008 New Hampshire primary.

Changes — Tupac feat. Talent

And only time we chill is when we kill each other
It takes skill to be real, time to heal each other

Pac’s 1998 “Changes” tackles police violence, poverty, racism and the war on drugs in this examination of internal and external challenges plaguing Black communities. He urges listeners to acknowledge the cycles that have impeded progress and consider what changes must be made.

My personally curated playlist featuring hip-hop, soul, blues and world music is available on Tidal: The Movement. The Struggle. The Culture