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lhgljhgjhg's avatar

Good read. The hip hop question is tricky. I immediately thought of Post Malone. Who are some living old rebels?

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Christopher Creatura's avatar

Yea I like posty - he’s all soul - but there’s not much philosophy there. He’s super commercial. He’s not trying to *do* anything, really. I don’t think the person has arrived yet. Kendrick is closest but he’s soft spoken outside of rapping.

Old rebels like Chomsky. Tarantino. Kanye West (in a very narrow sense). Eric Weinstein, certainly, although I think there’s still a lot of his story left. Christopher Hitchens. Warhol & Basquiat. Bob Dylan. Camus. Nietzsche. Vonnegut. David Foster Wallace. Peter Thiel. Elon. Nassim Taleb.

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Monica Ek's avatar

I'd throw Noname in the ring as a young rapper working from a place of rebellion with a very strong statement behind her work - to the point that she moved away from music for a while because she felt it clouded her message and she wanted to channel her energy into education programs (recommend checking out her book club: https://nonamebooks.com/About).

I like the idea of older rebels; your list is a good one - trying to think through anyone else I'd add but conceptually... into the idea of the people who continue to push against boundaries (or ignore them completely) even after that initial youthful rebellion that usually gets celebrated.

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lhgljhgjhg's avatar

Gotta go with Jay Z on the reply...

I dumb down for my audience and double my dollars

They criticize me for it yet they all yell "Holla"

If skills sold truth be told

I'd probably be lyrically Talib Kweli

Truthfully I want to rhyme like Common Sense (But I did five Mil)

I ain't been rhyming like Common since

I think people are making it but for some reason, it's not selling.

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