This research will critically analyse “conscious” hip-hop music and the way in
which it contests media and mainstream ideas in the media. Conscious hip-hop
refers to rap music that critically engages with hegemonic discourses and
popular culture. It is framed and named in this manner by both the performers/
artists themselves as well as by leading hip-hop scholars within South Africa and
globally. This research uses the music of Godessa and Brasse Vannie Kaap to
interrogate representations of Black identities and gender in society.
