Yo, m8, go!
Sometimes people ask “why is rap so angry?” When hip hop artists speak candidly of the misery and hardships of their youths, it is not hard to understand why. But hip hop is a whole lot more than the expression of rage. As with other kinds of protest poetry and art, it offers the affirmative refusal to be defeated; it offers sharp social critique and satire; it offers solidarity with embattled others; it offers the inspiring expression of individual and collective aspirations.