Hip Hop Worthy of a Deep Dive: Illuminati Congo

I grew up on classic rock, prog rock, and metal, primarily, with periodic bouts of singer/songwriter, pop, folk and jazz along the way. Hip Hop music entered my world in 1984 with the movie "Breakin'". Rap was interesting and creative and poetic (and funny). I appreciated it as an outside observer -- some of my friends bought the records and it was fun to hear who they liked and what music the artists were sampling, but never dove in with my own coin. I enjoyed the popular stuff by Run DMC, Kurtis Blow and others when guys hit play on their ghetto blasters (aka boom boxes) at school, but never really listened on my own time. As the 90's rolled in I watched with a mixture of fascination and horror as the "gangsta" movement was slammed down our collective throats. The brutality and nihilism were too much, and I have pretty much written off the entire genre ever since. I've come to learn a story of how that east coast/west coast gangsta style was created:

Allegedly, the owners of America's big private prisons held a meeting in a mansion somewhere in L.A. and invited 30 or so of the leading hip hop guys. They were asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement before entering. Apparently the future of hip hop music was going to be heading in a more violent and hardcore direction, the real purposes of which I can only assume were withheld from the artists. Bottom line, these prison owners wanted to increase business, and well, let your imagination run wild. Supposedly, like 30% of the artists gave them the middle finger and walked out. The rest, well, you know their names. I don't know if that story is true, but it resonates. So, here we are in 2021. We've gone from guys rapping about the tragedy of drug abuse, to guys rapping about being drug dealers, to guys rapping about being drug addicts. Yes it's devolved that far. We have mumble rap. We also have an economy on the precipice of destruction, a fake virus pandemic, a stolen presidential election (or is it just a movie?), marshall law, and a LOT of people still asleep to everything going on in the world.

Illuminati Congo is NOT asleep. These guys (Jahn the Baptist and Nic the Graduate) are fully awake. Their music is alive and rich with truth and deep symbolism. They have given me an appreciation for Hip Hop music that I never had. I can't stop listening.

They are wise and awake. Check out this one about the Covidia:

And this one, 4 Laws of Wealth, is all about having a prosperity consciousness. Inspiring...

"Jewels" is all about the power of gems and minerals. This video is mesmerizing visually and lyrically:

"All Vibes Only" has an empowering message about controlling your thoughts and using all energy (whether positive or negative) for your own growth:

In Gatek33pers they take a hatchet to the top of the pyramid, to the "real owners", as George Carlin would say:

In "Banksters" they put the Federal Reserve on blast. And it's beautiful!

Illuminati Congo has me appreciating rap poetry with fresh ears and eyes.