Talib Kweli Hip Hop Is ... Lyrics

Hip-hop is a reality that transcends the boundaries of the world of music and exists as itself on this planet.
It is a culture, a movement, a nation. Where we smoke 'till we're numb and kill n____s for recreation.
We the d___-grabbers, the all about the money no sellout paradox perpetrators who put the high in high fashion and keep our street clothes matchin'.
Hip-hop: the ones who take the weight and address the black youth in their current mind state.
Mind you . . . F
ind you,
findin' us no more misogynistic and violent than the society we are born into.
Hip-hop is the quality of a feeling at a particular time.
It's a frame of mind.
It's a mood:
the prevailing emotional tone of black youth today. Mood music: a lush arrangement of popular sounds to induce a mood of relaxation.
See to me hearin' emcees rock over beats that s___ is soothin'.
The current state of hip-hop is stagnant and not movin'.
So stop it m________as!
There's more to life than companies deciding what's the latest topic you suckas.
We're killing each other and we're poisoning the seeds before they grow.
Destroy my seed and you've gotta go.
I'm Talib Kweli and we livin' this s___, changin' the mood of the entire industry.