"Hip-Hop"
Single by Dead Prez
from the album Let's Get Free
ReleasedMarch 30, 1999[1]
GenreHip hop
Length3:34
LabelLoud
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Hedrush
Dead Prez singles chronology
"Police State"
(1998)		 "Hip-Hop"
(1999)		 "'They' Schools"
(1999)
Music video
"Dead Prez" on YouTube

"Hip-Hop" is a song by American hip hop duo Dead Prez, released on March 30, 1999 as a single from their debut studio album Let's Get Free (2000). Produced by production group Hedrush and Dead Prez, it is the duo's best-known song.

Composition and lyrics

The production of the song features a "warped, wobbly" bassline. Lyrically, Dead Prez criticizes the capitalist functions of the music industry and its exploitation of black people ("These record labels slang our tapes like dope / You can be next in line and signed and still be writing rhymes and broke"),[2] and encourages the idea of using hip hop music as a means to promote social change.[3] In the first verse, M‑1 promotes staying true to oneself as a rapper, and Stic.man echoes the message of the song in his final lines.[4]

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from music critics. Andy Capper of NME described it as "A truly remarkable, inventive track - with its crazy, twisting boa constrictor bassline and blazing, call-to-arms chorus - it's a fierce declaration of war on hip-hop capitalists and an urgent reminder for rappers and fans alike to consider the bigger picture, asking them: 'Would you rather have a Lexus or justice?'"[3] Billboard ranked it as one of the greatest songs of 1999.[4]

Remix

A remix of the song titled "It's Bigger Than Hip-Hop" appears on Let's Get Free. This version features Tahir (of Hedrush) and The People's Army, and was produced by Kanye West and Dead Prez.[5]

The instrumental of the song served as the opening music for Chappelle's Show.[2][5]

Charts

"Hip-Hop"

Chart (1999–2000) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[6] 41
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[7] 49

"It's Bigger Than Hip-Hop"

Chart (2000) Peak
position
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[7] 43

References

  1. ↑ "Dead Prez - Hip Hop". AllMusic. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Kameir, Rawiya (November 3, 2019). "dead prez: Let's Get Free Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Capper, Andy (March 4, 2000). "Dead Prez – Let's Get Free". NME. Archived from the original on April 12, 2000. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "The 99 Greatest Songs of 1999: Critics' Picks". Billboard. April 8, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Pablo, J. (June 16, 2013). "Dead Prez React to Kanye's New York Times Comments About Them". The Village Voice. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Dead Prez Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
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