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Many early artists in the genre are family-friendly
When I saw the trailer for Happy Feet, I was surprised to see one of the little penguins burst out into the chorus of Grandmaster Flash’s classic “The Message” — “Don’t push me ’cause I’m close to the edge…” I couldn’t imagine what a rap song like that was doing in a kids’ movie. But after replaying the song in my head, I realized that, unlike most of the rap you hear on the radio today, there’s nothing truly offensive in the song. And in fact, the lyrics are socially conscious, shedding light on the oppressive conditions faced by the black community in the South Bronx in the 1970s.
Despite rap’s, um, bad rap, many early artists in the genre (and some performing today) are family-friendly — performing music that lacks swear words (for the most part) and the overt drug and sex references now associated with the genre. In fact, most rap music from before 1985 is pretty safe: it wasn’t until the rise of West Coast “gangsta” rap in the late 1980s that profanity, sex and drugs worked their way into the lyrics.
Grandmaster Flash’s song dates from 1982 and was one of the first rap songs with a socially conscious message (many before that were simply fun dance tracks). Socially conscious rap still exists, although little of it makes its way to the radio or television. Songs by artists like Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, and more recently, Kendrick Lamar, deal with problems in the African-American community and could spark conversations with teenagers about social and political issues.
Here are 10 of my favorite kid-safe hip-hop artists. As always, you should give albums a listen before sharing them with your young ones. Rap Genius is a good place to find lyrics: The site allows users to annotate them, which can be useful if you’re not up on your hip-hop slang.
Queen Latifah
Best known now as a spokesperson for CoverGirl, talk show host and actress, Queen Latifah was one of the first prominent female rappers, and remains the gold standard to whom others are compared. Her late 1980s classics “Ladies First” and “U.N.I.T.Y.” preach messages of empowerment and equality. Although she hasn’t released much music lately, she continues to hint at new music on the horizon.
Album recommendation: “All Hail the Queen” (Tommy Boy, 1989)
DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince
Before Will Smith made it big as a TV and movie star, he and his partner released a stream of catchy hits in the mid-1980s as DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Songs like “Parents Just Don’t Understand” and “Summertime” were some of the first rap tunes to be directed squarely at kids. “Just the Two of Us” from his solo debut “Big Willie Style” is a sweet love letter to his son. While he’s released music only sporadically since getting into acting, fans of Willow Smith’s music might be surprised to find her dad had some skills on the mic back in the day, too.
Album recommendation: “He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper” (Jive/RCA, 1988)
De La Soul
The closest thing to hippie rap out there (and I do mean “out there”), De La Soul preached its message of peace and love on classic albums like “3 Feet High and Rising”. The trio seems to delight in the sound of the words rolling off their tongues — whether they make sense or not — in songs like the Schoolhouse Rock-inspired “The Magic Number”. They are still making music, too.
Rakim
In my opinion, Rakim is the most gifted lyricist of all time. Tracks like “Follow the Leader” and “I Know You Got Soul” stand up against any poetry by virtue of Rakim’s alliteration (“Music mixed mellow maintains to make/Melodies for MCs, motivates the breaks”), internal rhyme (“I can go on for days and days/With rhyme displays that engrave deep as X-rays”), metaphor and command of language.
Album recommendation: “Paid in Full” (4th and B’Way, 1987)
The Fat Boys
The Fat Boys were a novelty rap act from the mid-1980s that recorded remakes of rock ‘n’ roll hits like “Louie Louie,” “The Twist” (featuring Chubby Checker), and “Wipeout.” Darren Robinson, a.k.a. The Human Beat Box, was a pioneer of using his voice to imitate DJ scratching.
Album recommendation: “Fat Boys” (Sutra, 1984)
Busdriver
Busdriver is an underground artist from Los Angeles who gained notoriety when his song “Imaginary Places” appeared on the Tony Hawk Underground video game a few years ago. Busdriver came up in the late 1990s as a member of Project Blowed, which privileged experimentation and discouraged profanity. His lyrical dexterity is second to none.
Album recommendation: “Temporary Forever” (Temporary Whatever, 2002)
Lupe Fiasco
Lupe Fiasco uses his lyrical gifts to address topics as diverse as young skateboarders in love (“Kick Push”) to the damage that words can do (“B***h Bad”). “He Say She Say” masterfully uses the same lyrics for both verses as he relates the struggles of a single mother (verse 1) and her son (verse 2) pleading for the father to be a part of their lives.
Album recommendation: “Food and Liquor” (First and Fifteenth/Atlantic, 2006)
Lecrae
Lecrae is not so much a Christian rapper as a rapper who happens to be Christian. His music doesn’t beat you over the head with theology — Lecrae simply walks the walk instead of talking the talk. His 2014 album “Anomaly” made history, becoming the first record to top the Billboard Hot 200 and gospel charts at the same time.
Rockwell Powers
Rockwell Powers is a Tacoma rapper whose music touts the beauty of his hometown, married life and creativity. His album “Build” was one of the best local releases of 2013. Powers is very active in the community and passionate about engaging youth: Most of his shows are all ages.
Matisyahu
Matisyahu is more of a reggae artist than a rapper, but there are clear hip-hop influences in his music. A longtime practitioner of Orthodox Judaism, his religious beliefs are reflected in the positive messages of songs like “King Without a Crown” and “One Day”.
Album recommendation: “Light” (Epic, 2009)
