Rainbow

2010 | Rap

Spotify | Amazon

"Real artists get shelved and wack one's get famous. -- To leave masses brainless, a smart mind is dangerous. -- In their eyes there probably ain't no real shit in your playlist. -- You're just a product of what the government has created."

Trivia

• Raw hit #46 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart.
• Hopsin has a few acting credits under his belt including That's So Raven, Even Stevens & John Tucker Must Die...being an extra counts.
• Hopsin started out on Ruthless Records (founded byr Eazy E) but left shortly after his first album over compensation.

THE HOT TAKES

Luke Tatum

Musicians that break from the standard narrative are miraculous. This track makes me realize why the Freedom Song 365 project is such a necessary one. Fully 99.9% of what is allowed to reach the annals of fame is innocuous at best, intentionally malignant at worst. How many other rappers do you know directly taking on the policies of Obama? Not many, right? Now ask yourself: Is that because that viewpoint is not popular, or is that by design? I can't answer the question, but it's certainly worth considering. Going one further, the song also criticizes lifestyles that keep people poor. Hopsin takes no hostages with this one, and no golden calves are left standing by the end. Really, really juicy stuff.

Sherry Voluntary

This is a good example of how popular entertainment can be used to influence culture. “I just want to touch your heart and try to reach it in songs.” I had never heard of Hopspin before, but I quite like this rap. In it he touches on several “sacred cows” like is God real, and just because a person, in this case President Obama, is the same race as you, does it mean he represents your interests, to much more personal things like your originality, personal honesty, and work ethic. I appreciate those who challenge the status quo and dare to ask people to examine their own involvement in it. As libertarians we are probably most often in the socially uncomfortable position of asking people to question their own beliefs and their contribution to the injustices of the system. It may have the same effect that Hopspin describes in the song about his experience with the music labels. “I show my music to different labels, they ain't too fond of it, But in the underground I seem to get so many compliments.” It may not make us the most popular, but we can look at ourselves and look our compadres in the eye without shame, knowing we stand for what we believe in without pandering to the masses. That’s the kind of people that change culture

Nicky P

I'm always impressed by Hopsin's music. He's a little cocky but I suppose that's part of the charm of hip hop generally. This particular song is about the ways in which mass market ideas work to subvert individual thought. The self reliance and responsibility angle is something that he seems to come back to. I think this song actually functions within his catalog as a keystone. He lays it out bare that he thinks his people are being purposefully held down by cultural dogmas that they have internalized. We can look to Thomas Sowell for examinations on the cultural issues that perpetuate some of the worst neighborhoods in America and the ways in which the government olds black people down with it's paternalism.I'm glad voices like Hopsin's exist, it's unfortunate that we can see what he calls out in this song as a truth. A voice that says something legit is gonna be marginalized because it endangers the status quo.