7 Hip-Hop Albums With Positive Messages That Get Me Through The Week
My love for hip-hop is a gift I got from my brother.
When I was young, my brother introduced me to the art of hip-hop through some of the artists on this list, and there's a couple on here that I just introduced to him. When I find artists who have stories I connect with, it's easy for me to keep their music in rotation. These positive albums have little, if any, cursing and are uplifting and just overall *chef's kiss.*
1.The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Ms. Lauryn Hill's album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill came up when I was speaking to Ace "B8gie Foo'" Williams, an artist and rapper who performed at BuzzFeed's LA headquarters in 2020. Ms. Lauryn Hill’s debut solo album is often considered one of the best hip-hop albums to ever be released.
EBONY magazine says this about the distinction between hip-hop and rap: “It lies between those interested in honoring the foundation that was laid beforehand by putting forth quality work and acknowledging the culture of hip-hop and those who are just rhyming words together and applying a formula to get rich quick."
Lauryn Hill comes in with one solo studio album, three songs on the Billboard Hot 100, has been nominated for a Grammy nineteen times, and won eight.
She “scored one No. 1 hit on Billboard‘s Hot R&B Singles (now R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay) and Pop Airplay chart with “Killing Me Softly,” which won a Grammy in 1997 for best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals,” Billboard reports.
Back to Lauryn’s solo work, which includes skits, poetry, rap, R&B, and a whole lot of soul.
2.The Healing Component by Mick Jenkins
Mick Jenkins’ 2016 album The Healing Component is a project for music listeners who want to vibe high while listening to hip-hop storytelling interspersed with conversations between lovers. The opening track “The Healing Component” begins with a dialogue between Mick Jenkins and his lady as they discuss what the phrase means. The music kicks in as Mick harmonizes with himself singing, “THC. THC. For your grace and mercy father, we thank thee. For this water. For the truth. Put some love into everything I do. Thanking you… For this THC.”
Here THC stands for “The Healing Component” and to Mick, the healing component is love.
"When I decide to make an album, what I’m thinking about is an overall message. There’s a completely different type of intentionality when I decide to make an album or any type of project," says Mick to Okayplayer.
Chicago native Mick Jenkins started writing raps at college in Huntsville, Alabama when he joined a competition to win a pair of Beats by Dre headphones. Mick is a hip-hop artist at his core who feels that Jill Scott has influenced his music "in every way." He says, "As my sound has become more musical and less focused on just rapping really well, I pull inspiration from her."
On the second track called “Spread Love,” Mick becomes a bit more direct in this message.
My favorite song on the album is called “Drowning” because this piece of art reflects the development of hip-hop music with its cowbells, bass, and Mick’s melodic raspy voice dragging over the beat with a heaviness that is reflected in the music video below.
3.Rock the House by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince
DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince is an iconic hip-hop duo who hold a special place in history. They have a record of six studio albums, eight songs on the Billboard Hot 100, and four Grammy nominations, and two wins. In fact, the “rap” category of the Grammy Awards was created to recognize the work of these hip-hop heads who will still shut a party down.
“It was years that you didn’t return my call,” Will says to Jazz in a clip called “Back At It With Jazzy Jeff!”
In November 2021, Insider reported that Will never uses curse words in his music because his grandmother found his rapbook and left a note in it encouraging him to use his gift to “uplift” others. “I never cursed again in my rhymes,” Will said.
So, what is the most epic collaboration from these two?
4.Distant Relatives by Nas and Damian Marley
Nas and Damian Marley collaborated to release the absolutely amazing 2010 album Distant Relatives that blends reggae and hip-hop sounds in a project which calls to awaken and unify the African diaspora. I happened to have discovered the album in 2016, and it has been in heavy rotation ever since.
“Nas would probably be one of the only candidates I could have done that project with,” says Damian Marley.
In 2012, Dave Simpson interviewed Damian Marley for the Guardian. Damian described himself as a fan of Nas who wanted to do an album together ever since working on the song “Road to Zion” together. When Dave Simpson mentions to Damian that Nas is called a “conscious rapper,” Damian replies, “Yeah, he doesn't like that title. He doesn't really like any title. He doesn't want to be framed in any way, but he is a conscious person, the way he speaks, the books he reads.”
The album is the product of these two incredible artists, so you can be sure that the messages are not only positive, but forward-thinking and enlightened.
"Patience"
If ever these two link up for another album, I’d be the happiest woman in the world.
These days Nas is teaching a MasterClass on Hip-Hop storytelling where students can learn his philosophy as a lyricist and how he used life experiences to create art. In late 2022, Damian Marley revealed to Honeysuckle Magazine that he’s been busy with a cannabis line called HURB. These two musicians continue to drop solo music. There was an album released in 2021 by Nas called Magic and an album released in 2017 called Stony Hill by Damian Marley.
5.Good Karma by J French
I have been bumping Good Karma by J French since it was released earlier this year by the Dallas, Texas-based artist who set out to make an album that motivates people, and committed to doing so without cursing on the project.
The opening track “Breakfast” is appropriately titled because it comes with such energy that it begs to be the joint you bang first thing in the morning.
On occasion, J French mentions his distant cousin, Kanye West, who it sounds like has influenced his music with the use of choirs, samples, and even certain cadences.
Made of good karma
J French is a Grammy voting member with musical family roots.
6.Kanye West's album Donda
Kanye West enters the list with 11 solo studio albums, an insane 134 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, 75 Grammy nominations, and 21 wins. He released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004.
Kanye West censored all cursing on Donda: https://t.co/FBqb3j5Yjf
"Hey Mama"
"God Breathed"
"Jesus Walks"
In many ways, Kanye had to fight to be so vocal about his faith because early in his career, he was told that he couldn’t talk about God on the radio. It’s the story he tells in the song “Jesus Walks,” which made it to Billboard’s Hot 100 list.
In a 2014 exclusive interview with HipHopDX, Rhymefest discusses how “Jesus Walks” impacted Kanye’s career. “Kanye would not have as many chances with the public as he has had without that critical piece of the puzzle. It touched people in a place where Rap music rarely touches people these days, and that’s the heart,” says Rhymefest.
Kanye West’s career has been one for the world to watch as he has no trouble grabbing headlines, and right now he is preparing for the release of Donda 2, which will launch with a live performance in Miami.
7.Therapy Session by NF
NF comes into the list as a new discovery to me because I got his name from a reliable hip-hop head — and expert — I know pretty well. I spoke to radio host, DJ, personality, and all-around entertainer Rodney "HotRod" Washington to ask him about hip-hop artists without curse words. He suggested NF.
NF is a bit of a complex artist because he is a Christian rapper signed to a Christian label who doesn't curse, but he raps about his deepest struggles, and fans find it so uplifting.
Why not curse?
Any person that comes on my page bashing people that swear , I will block you instantly . Tired of it get over it man.
The artist who channels Eminem's vibes and style is signed to a Christian label.
“Though he doesn’t curse or employ a first-person narrative of violence against women the way fellow Michigander Eminem did, NF resembles his predecessor in his wordplay, Dr. Dre-like beats, and aggression,” states LA Times section Burbank Leader. It’s the fact that NF toes the line between an angry white guy expressing himself and a Christian rapper who describes himself as “negative.” Though I find the sound of his music motivating because the instruments on some tracks are akin to Rocky film scores.
