conscious hip-hop artists
24 published conscious hip-hop artists, led by 2Pac, Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole.
At a glance
24 published conscious hip-hop artists; 230 studio albums have verified cover art.
- Published artists3 tier 1 · 1 tier 2 · 20 tier 3
- 24
- Release groups
- 1,138
- Studio albums
- 239
- Albums with cover artverified Cover Art Archive
- 230
- Timeline events
- 321
- Monthly listenerssum across artists
- 176.1M
- Claimed salessum of stored claims; implausible values excluded
- 75M
- Average career spanfirst to last dated release
- 22.7 years
- Full biographies
- 22
- Biography words
- 78,759
When they started
Debut decade from each artist's earliest dated release. Most debuts fell in the 1990s (6 artists).
| Decade | Artists |
|---|---|
| 1980s | 1 |
| 1990s | 6 |
| 2000s | 6 |
| 2010s | 4 |
Where they come from
Countries with the most conscious hip-hop artists. United States leads with 15.
Often paired with
Genres that share artists with conscious hip-hop. The most shared is hip-hop, with 15 artists in both.
Covers from conscious hip-hop
230 studio albums have verified cover art. The 12 shown come from the most famous artists.
Reparation Is Due
2Pac · 2006
The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory
2Pac · 1996
GNX
Kendrick Lamar · 2024
Compton Cowboys
Kendrick Lamar · 2023
Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
Kendrick Lamar · 2022
Tu Pimp a Caterpillar (Tu‐P‐A‐C)
Kendrick Lamar · 2020
DAMN.
Kendrick Lamar · 2017
THE OVERGROUND HELL ROAD
Kendrick Lamar · 2016
Straight Outta Compton
Kendrick Lamar · 2015
To Pimp a Butterfly
Kendrick Lamar · 2015
Compton State of Mind, Vol. 2
Kendrick Lamar · 2014
King of New York
Kendrick Lamar · 2014
Leaders
Nas has the most release groups (156); KRS-One the longest career (38 years); Kendrick Lamar the most awards (42).
Most prolific
| Artist | release groups |
|---|---|
| Nas | 156 |
| Kendrick Lamar | 154 |
| Denzel Curry | 124 |
| J. Cole | 96 |
| Chance the Rapper | 94 |
Longest careers
first to last dated release
| Artist | years |
|---|---|
| KRS-One | 38 |
| Nas | 34 |
| Common | 33 |
| Rakim | 30 |
| 2Pac | 29 |
Most decorated
| Artist | awards |
|---|---|
| Kendrick Lamar | 42 |
| Common | 18 |
| 2Pac | 15 |
| Chance the Rapper | 5 |
| KRS-One | 4 |
Most famous conscious hip-hop artists
2Pac
United States · Person · born 1971
horrorcore, hardcore hip-hop, gangsta rap, West Coast hip-hop, political hip-hop, conscious hip-hop, G-funk
28.7M listeners · 135 wikis
Kendrick Lamar
United States · Person · born 1987
pop music, jazz, hardcore hip-hop, progressive rap, gangsta rap, alternative hip-hop, West Coast hip-hop, conscious hip-hop, jazz rap
71.1M listeners · 75 wikis
J. Cole
United States · Person · born 1985
hip-hop, pop rap, East Coast hip-hop, Southern hip-hop, conscious hip-hop
37.8M listeners · 51 wikis
Nas
United States · Person · born 1973
hardcore hip-hop, East Coast hip-hop, mafioso rap, gangsta rap, alternative hip-hop, conscious hip-hop, jazz rap, boom bap
9.1M listeners · 56 wikis
Polo G
United States · Person · born 1999
hip-hop, Midwest hip-hop, trap music, conscious hip-hop, drill, Chicago hip-hop
13.8M listeners · 33 wikis
Chance the Rapper
United States · Person · born 1993
contemporary R&B, gospel music, hip-hop, alternative hip-hop, alternative R&B, conscious hip-hop
8.2M listeners · 35 wikis
Denzel Curry
United States · Person · born 1995
hip-hop, hardcore hip-hop, trap music, Southern hip-hop, rap metal, cloud rap, conscious hip-hop, SoundCloud rap, punk rap, trap metal
7.3M listeners · 28 wikis
Common
United States · Person · born 1972
pop music, contemporary R&B, hip-hop, pop rap, rapping, alternative hip-hop, alternative R&B, conscious hip-hop, jazz rap, neo soul, trip hop
38 wikis
Riz Ahmed
United Kingdom · Person · born 1982
hip-hop, alternative hip-hop, political hip-hop, conscious hip-hop, qawwali, UK rap
44 wikis
Yasiin Bey
United States · Person · born 1973
soul, progressive rap, hip-hop soul, East Coast hip-hop, alternative hip-hop, conscious hip-hop
44 wikis
KRS-One
United States · Person · born 1965
hardcore hip-hop, East Coast hip-hop, gangsta rap, political hip-hop, conscious hip-hop, old-school hip-hop, golden age hip-hop, boom bap
36 wikis
Rakim
United States · Person · born 1968
hip-hop, hardcore hip-hop, East Coast hip-hop, political hip-hop, conscious hip-hop, jazz rap
33 wikis
More conscious hip-hop artists
Showing 1–12 of 12 artists
Joyner Lucas
United States · Person · born 1988
hip-hop, hardcore hip-hop, East Coast hip-hop, conscious hip-hop
24 wikis · Tier 3
Killer Mike
United States · Person · born 1975
gospel music, Southern hip-hop, dirty south, alternative hip-hop, political hip-hop, conscious hip-hop, Atlanta hip-hop
21 wikis · Tier 3
Oxxxymiron
Soviet Union · Person · born 1985
hip-hop, alternative hip-hop, conscious hip-hop, grime
19 wikis · Tier 3
Big K.R.I.T.
United States · Person · born 1986
hip-hop, Southern hip-hop, dirty south, conscious hip-hop
16 wikis · Tier 3
Kool Keith
United States · Person · born 1963
hip-hop, horrorcore, hardcore hip-hop, East Coast hip-hop, mafioso rap, gangsta rap, alternative hip-hop, conscious hip-hop, trip hop, psychedelic rap, dirty rap, golden age hip-hop, underground hip-hop, abstract hip-hop
16 wikis · Tier 3
Kery James
France · Person · born 1977
hardcore hip-hop, conscious hip-hop, French hip-hop
14 wikis · Tier 3
Marčelo
Serbia · Person · born 1983
hip-hop, rap rock, conscious hip-hop, jazz rap
11 wikis · Tier 3
Rancore
Italy · Person · born 1989
hip-hop, hardcore hip-hop, alternative hip-hop, conscious hip-hop, underground hip-hop
7 wikis · Tier 3
Backxwash
Canada · Person · born 1991
heavy metal music, horrorcore, nu metal, rap metal, alternative hip-hop, conscious hip-hop, punk rap, trap metal, industrial hip-hop
6 wikis · Tier 3
Ernia
Italy · Person · born 1993
hip-hop, pop rap, conscious hip-hop
6 wikis · Tier 3
Tony Boy
Italy · Person · born 1999
hip-hop, trap music, cloud rap, conscious hip-hop, emo rap, mumble rap
3 wikis · Tier 3
Abhi the Nomad
India · Person · born 2014
pop music, pop rap, alternative hip-hop, conscious hip-hop
1 wikis · Tier 3