As the hip-hop industry moved from the 90's to the new millennium, mainstream rap and the radio waves had become dominated by money driven, mediocre thug rap and was just waiting for an original group to stand up and take over.
While Dead Prez didn't substantially take over the hip-hop industry, the duo stood up firmly for what they believed in, and injected rap with some political flavor that it had sorely been missing.
Comprised of M-1 and SticMan, the group first met on the campus of FAMU (Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University), where M-1 was attending to school and SticMan liked to hang out. While the group had formed somewhat of an underground following, they didn't get their big break until they met (by chance) with Brand Nubian's Lord Jamar at a Brooklyn block party. Afterwards the duo signed a recording deal with Loud Records.
The group isn't shy about their beliefs and they won't hesitate to stand up and fight for them. Before the group became successful, M-1 took matters into his own hands and joined the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement in Chicago for three years and also found himself interested in the Black Panthers.
These experiences, along with the fact that the duo enjoyed talking about politics and other similar cultural topics, all contributed to the release of the group’s first album "Lets Get Free".
Released in February of 2000, "Lets Get Free" was an extremely politically charged debut, and was showered with critically acclaim by journalists and other artists alike. Dead Prez didn't shy away from any topic, taking on a slew of cultural touchstones including police, corporate control over the media, the music industry, education, the prison system, as well as religion and political repression.
The group also takes on some pressing issues, which pertain specifically to the black community, like the inadequacies of inner-city public schooling ("They Schools") and about the effect of socially repressive government ("Police State").
Along with these two there are a ton of other good tracks on this album, which has 18 in all. "Hip-Hop", "Animal in Man", "Be Healthy", "I'm a African" and "Behind Enemy Lines" are all excellent and each illustrate the type of group Dead Prez is, and the intelligence they contain. The group took social activism to new heights; proving that Dead Prez were the most revolutionary hip-hop group to emerge since Public Enemy fell off and N.W.A broke up.
"Hip Hop" was released as a single in 1999 and is probably the most well known track off the album. Dave Chappelle, showing off his fantastic taste in music, used the track as the intro to his super-popular "Chappelle's Show", and it also found its way into the soundtrack of a skating video game.
Either way, the track is one of Dead Prez's best and the beat (with Chappelle's help of course) is instantly recognizable to any hip-hop fan. On the track the group raps about the state of the modern music industry and the fact that its become over-commercialized.
While the line "It's bigger than hip hop, hip hop, hip hop," is the most significant on the track, the group spits some of their most intelligent lines in this one. Dead Prez shows that they look out for their own as M-1 raps: "Uh, who shot Biggie Smalls?/If we don't get them, they gonna get us all/I'm down for runnin' up on them crackers in they city hall/We ride for y'all, all my dogs stay real."
"Be Healthy" is one of the most original tracks on the album, and if you didn't know anything about Dead Prez you might think it's a joke. The group raps about eating healthy and having self-respect for one's body and mind. I think it's one of the group's most brilliant tracks, because you rarely would find a hip-hop group rapping about vegetables and eating the right way. There are so many good lines on "Be Healthy", but its the way it gets started that sets the stage for the rest of the track. It opens with the line "I don't eat no meat, no dairy, no sweets/only ripe vegetables, fresh fruit and whole wheat."
While that line is clever, the best verse comes later in the track. The group shows once again that they are like no other hip-hop duo around as they rap: "They say you are what you eat, so I strive to be healthy/my goal in life is not to be rich or wealthy/cause true wealth comes from good health, and wise ways/we got to start taking better care of ourselves, be healthy y'all." When else will you ever find rappers valuing veggies over dollars? That's the brilliance in the track. Funny enough the track has become extremely popular in the vegetarian and vegan communities.
"They Schools" is my favorite track on the album and is easily one of the best of all time. I still can remember the first time I heard the track, and while I was young I still felt I understood what Dead Prez was trying to convey. The group doesn't shy away from anything on the track, as they open up with the line: "I went to school with some redneck crackers/Right around the time 3rd Bass dropped the Cactus album/But I was reading Malcolm."
Education was (and still is) a huge problem in our country, and here Dead Prez takes it head on. SticMan raps with ferocity on this track and you can tell he is rapping from experience. You can hear the truthfulness in his voice as he spits: "I took a history class serious/Front row, every day of the week, 3rd period/Fuckin with the teachers had, callin em racist/I tried to show them crackers some light, they couldn`t face it."
"Lets Get Free" came along at a time when hip-hop needed a splash of originality. It needed Dead Prez.
While they never quite achieved the popularity of other mainstream artists of their time, the group will be remembered for far longer for what they contributed to the industry. Their intelligence is unmatched, and the group's topical diversity is equally inspiring; you'll be hard pressed to find another album that tackles both the penal system, oppressive government and vegetables.
Either way, "Lets Get Free" is one of the best political hip-hop albums of all time, and is definitely a classic.
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