Completionist Indexing Project - Conscious Hip Hop (hip hop in. #2)

Alphabetical index of every conscious hip hop album I would rate at or over 7/10.

(Related indexes: Abstract Hip Hop)

Conscious hip hop is a genre whose lyrics deal with social and political issues. It is often more poetic and subtle than other hip hop subgenres. Typically, it is less hedonistic and vulgar, and often has ties to more laid back and lyrics-based genres such as jazz rap. However, in other instances, it can be quite angry and rebellious as well, with parallels to political hip hop and other protest music.

1. Avantdale Bowling Club - Trees  ||  Jazz Rap, Conscious Hip Hop  ||  2022  ||  lush, drugs, mellow  ||  USA  ||  8/10

    Key tracks: Rent 2 High, Without You, Still Feel Broke

2. Blu & Exile - Below the Heavens  ||  Conscious Hip Hop, West Coast Hip Hop, Boom Bap, Jazz Rap  ||  2007  ||  uplifting, mellow, urban  ||  USA  ||  8/10

    Key tracks: The World Is (Below the Heavens..), In Remembrance of Me, Show Me the Good Life

3. Danny Brown - Quaranta  ||  Conscious Hip Hop  ||  2023  ||  introspective, serious, dark  ||  USA  ||  8/10

    Key tracks: Bass Jam, Quaranta, Down Wit It

4. Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein  ||  Abstract Hip Hop, East Coast Hip Hop, Experimental Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop  ||  2001  ||  futuristic, cold, urban  ||  USA  ||  9.5/10

    Key tracks: Iron Galaxy, Pigeon, The F-Word

5. Conway the Machine - God Don't Make Mistakes  ||  East Coast Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop, Boom Bap, Hardcore Hip Hop  ||  2022  ||  dark, introspective, serious  ||  USA  ||  7/10

    Key tracks: Tear Gas, Stressed, Wild Chapters

6. The Coup - Genocide & Juice  ||  West Coast Hip Hop, Political Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop  ||  1994  ||  protest, political, rebellious  ||  USA  ||  7/10

    Key tracks: Gunsmoke, Interrogation, The Name Game

7. Denzel Curry - Melt My Eyez See Your Future  ||  Conscious Hip Hop, Southern Hip Hop  ||  2022  ||  atmospheric, sampling, mellow  ||  USA  ||  7.5/10

    Key tracks: Walkin, The Ills, Zatoichi

8. Dälek - Absence  ||  Industrial Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop, Abstract Hip Hop, Experimental Hip Hop  ||  2005  ||  noisy, political, atmospheric  ||  USA  ||  10/10

    Key tracks: Distorted Prose, Asylum (Permanent Underclass), Culture for Dollars

9. Danger Mouse & Black Thought - Cheat Codes  ||  East Coast Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop  ||  2022  ||  philosophical, poetic, urban  ||  USA  ||  9/10

    Key tracks: The Darkest Part, Aquamarine, Belize

10. Digable Planets - Blowout Comb  ||  Jazz Rap, East Coast Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop  ||  1994  ||  political, protest, nocturnal  ||  USA  ||  8.5/10

    Key tracks: Black Ego, Jettin', For Corners

11. McKinley Dixon - For My Mama and Anyone Who Look Like Her  ||  Jazz Rap, Conscious Hip Hop, Southern Hip Hop  ||  2021  ||  existential, lush, poetic  ||  USA  ||  7.5/10

    Key tracks: Mama's Home, Never Will Know, Protective Styles

12. McKinley Dixon - Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?  ||  Jazz Rap, Conscious Hip Hop  ||  2023  ||  orchestral, introspective, poetic  ||  USA  ||  9/10

    Key tracks: Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?, Run, Run, Run, The Story So Far

13. The Freestyle Fellowship - To Whom It May Concern...  ||  Abstract Hip Hop, West Coast Hip Hop, Jazz Rap, Conscious Hip Hop  ||  1991  ||  lo-fi, quirky, mellow  ||  USA  ||  7/10

    Key tracks: 7th Seal, We Will Not Tolerate, My Fantasy

14. J.I.D - The Forever Story  ||  Southern Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop  ||  2022  ||  urban, conscious, sampling  ||  USA  ||  7/10  

    Key tracks: Raydar, Surround Sound, Stars

15. The Koreatown Oddity - Little Dominiques Nosebleed  ||  Jazz Rap, West Coast Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop  ||  2020  ||  introspective, concept album, sampling  ||  USA  ||  7.5/10

    Key tracks: A Bitch Once Loved Me, Ginkabiloba, Attention Challenge

16. Kendrick Lamar - Section.80  ||  West Coast Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop  ||  2011  ||  conscious, urban, political  ||  USA  ||  8/10

    Key tracks: Fuck Your Ethnicity, HiiiPoWeR, Rigamortis

17. Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city  ||  West Coast Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop  ||  2012  ||  concept album, urban, crime  ||  USA  ||  9.5/10

    Key tracks: The Art of Peer Pressure, Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe, Money Trees

18. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly  ||  Conscious Hip Hop, West Coast Hip Hop, Jazz Rap  ||  2015  ||  political, conscious, concept album  ||  USA  ||  10/10

    Key tracks: Wesley's Theory, The Blacker the Berry, How Much a Dollar Cost

19. Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered.  ||  Jazz Rap, Conscious Hip Hop, West Coast Hip Hop  ||  2016  ||  political, anxious, passionate  ||  USA  ||  8/10

    Key tracks: untitled 07, untitled 02, untitled 08

20. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.  ||  Conscious Hip Hop, West Coast Hip Hop  ||  2017  ||  introspective, conscious, death  ||  USA  ||  7.5/10

    Key tracks: HUMBLE., DNA., FEEL.

21. Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers  ||  Conscious Hip Hop, West Coast Hip Hop  ||  2022  ||  introspective, conscious, poetic  ||  USA  ||  9/10  

    Key tracks: Mother I Sober, United in Grief, We Cry Together

22. Little Simz - Stillness in Wonderland  ||  UK Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop  || sampling, concept album, mellow  ||  2016  ||  UK  ||  7.5/10

    Key tracks: Picture Perfect, Shotgun, Poison Ivy

23. Little Simz - Grey Area  ||  UK Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop  ||  2019  ||  urban, rhythmic, conscious  ||  UK  ||  10/10

    Key tracks: Venom, Selfish, Boss

24. Little Simz - Sometimes I Might Be Introvert  ||  UK Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop  ||  2021  ||  orchestral, lush, introspective  ||  UK  ||  9.5/10

    Key tracks: Introvert, Little Q. Pt. 2, Two World's Apart

25. Little Simz - No Thank You  ||  UK Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop  ||  2022  ||  introspective, sampling, conscious  ||  UK  ||  8.5/10

    Key tracks: Gorilla, Heart on Fire, Broken

26. Nas - King's Disease III  ||  East Coast Hip Hop, Boom Bap, Conscious Hip Hop  ||  2022  ||  triumphant, sampling, philosophical  ||  USA  ||  9/10

    Key tracks: Legit, First Time, Beef

27. Noname - Telefone  ||  Conscious Hip Hop, Jazz Rap  ||  2016  ||  mellow, introspective, warm  ||  USA  ||  10/10

    Key tracks: Yesterday, Casket Pretty, Sunny Duet

28. Noname - Room 25  ||  Jazz Rap, Conscious Hip Hop  ||  2018  ||  introspective, conscious, lush  ||  USA  ||  9/10

    Key tracks: Blaxploitation, Don't Forget About Me, Self

29. OutKast - Aquemini  ||  Southern Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop  ||  1998  ||  conscious, male vocalist, lush, urban  ||  USA  ||  9/10

    Key tracks: Rosa Parks, Return of the "G", Liberation

30. P.O.S - Audition  ||  Conscious Hip Hop, Experimental Hip Hop  ||  2006  ||  conscious, male vocalist, humorous  ||  USA  ||  9/10

    Key tracks: Half-Cooked Concepts, P.O.S. Is Ruining My Life, Bleeding Hearts Club

31. P.O.S - Never Better  ||  Conscious Hip Hop, Experimental Hip Hop  ||  2009  ||  aggressive, abstract, rebellious  ||  USA  ||  8/10

    Key tracks: Purexed, Let it Rattle, Never Better

32. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back  ||   Political Hip Hop, East Coast Hip Hop, Hardcore Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop  ||  1988  ||  political, angry, protest  ||  USA  ||  9/10

    Key tracks: Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos, Don't Believe the Hype, Prophets of Rage

33. Rapsody - Eve  ||  Conscious Hip Hop, Southern Hip Hop  ||  2019  ||  conscious, political, sampling  ||  USA  ||  7/10

    Key tracks: Nina, Myrlie, Sojourner

34. Sa-Roc - The Sharecropper's Daughter  ||  Conscious Hip Hop, East Coast Hip Hop  ||  2020  ||  sampling, conscious, urban  ||  USA  ||  9/10

    Key tracks: Gold Leaf, Rocwell's America, The Sharecropper's Daughter

35. A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory  ||  Jazz Rap, East Coast Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop, Boom Bap  ||  1991  ||  rhythmic, mellow, urban  ||  USA  ||  9/10

    Key tracks: Buggin' Out, Excursions, Jazz (We've Got)

36. A Tribe Called Quest - We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service  ||  Conscious Hip Hop, East Coast Hip Hop, Jazz Rap  ||  2016  ||  political, conscious, bittersweet  ||  USA  ||  9/10

    Key tracks: We the People...., Melatonin, Lost Somebody

37. billy woods - Aethiopes  ||  Abstract Hip Hop, Experimental Hip Hop, East Coast Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop  ||  2022  ||  dark, ominous, poetic  ||  USA  ||  9/10

    Key tracks: Sauvage, Wharves, Remoresless

38. billy woods & Kenny Segal - Maps  ||  Abstract Hip Hop, Jazz Rap, Conscious Hip Hop, East Coast Hip Hop  ||  2023  ||  melancholic, poetic, atmospheric  ||  USA  ||  9.5/10