--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you look at a guy like a Jay-Z or…" description: "\"When you look at a guy like a Jay-Z or look at a guy like a Nas, you don't necessarily qualify them as conscious rap purely, although they are extremel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/978/michael-eric-dyson-1424_conscious_when-you-look-at-a-guy-like-a-jay-z-or-l_2968533.png" --- # When you look at a guy like a Jay-Z or look at a guy like… ![“When you look at a guy like a Jay-Z or look at a guy like a Nas, you don't necessarily qualify them as conscious rap purely, although they are extremely conscious of the social inequities that prevail.” quote by Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/978/michael-eric-dyson-1424_conscious_when-you-look-at-a-guy-like-a-jay-z-or-l_2968533.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/978/michael-eric-dyson-1424_conscious_when-you-look-at-a-guy-like-a-jay-z-or-l_2968533.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/978/michael-eric-dyson-1424_conscious_when-you-look-at-a-guy-like-a-jay-z-or-l_2968533.png) > “When you look at a guy like a Jay-Z or look at a guy like a Nas, you don't necessarily qualify them as conscious rap purely, although they are extremely conscious of the social inequities that prevail.” [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists like Jay‑Z and Nas may not label themselves conscious, yet they address social issues. **In simple terms:** Rappers discuss social inequities. Key Takeaway Recognize impact beyond labels. Themes hip‑hop consciousness social justice identity Mood analytical critical informed Type cultural educational When to use this quote - education - activism - media analysis - personal listening Key Concepts cultural studies politics Questions to Reflect On - How do you define “conscious rap”? - What role does artist intent play? A Different Perspective Labels can limit perception. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious/) [Conscious rap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious-rap/) [Conscious Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious-social-1083366/) [Extremely Conscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremely-conscious-4557642/) [Guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guy/) [Like Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-nas-1002205/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Rap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rap/) [Rapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rapper/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) ## Related quotes > [It's not that you don't make any money doing conscious rap music. You make a lot of money doing this, but if you're greedy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/it-s-not-that-you-don-t-make-any-money-doing-conscious-rap-music-you/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [I believe a lot in gangsta rap, I see in it a lot of positive things as it is. I believe it is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bocafloja/i-believe-a-lot-in-gangsta-rap-i-see-in-it-a-lot-of-positive-things/) [Bocafloja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bocafloja/) > [If you're a conscious rap artist and you're worried about Billboard charts, you're gonna have a problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/if-you-re-a-conscious-rap-artist-and-you-re-worried-about-billboard/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [ I think if somebody does something stupid, it's okay to make fun of them, but \[celebrities\] have also gotten very conscious about social media,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/i-think-if-somebody-does-something-stupid-it-s-okay-to-make-fun-of/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [I've got a variety of things I like to listen to. I like R&B. I like Chris Brown. I like Nas. I like Jay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyrann-mathieu/i-ve-got-a-variety-of-things-i-like-to-listen-to-i-like-r-b-i-like/) [Tyrann Mathieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyrann-mathieu/) > [Growing up in the Bay, I was still looking for a lot of East Coast hip-hop. I had an older homie put me on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-eazy/growing-up-in-the-bay-i-was-still-looking-for-a-lot-of-east-coast-hip/) [G-Eazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-eazy/) > [My sister Suga Tee is doing conscious rap. She speaks to the youth. She has an album coming out soon. She got saved but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-40/my-sister-suga-tee-is-doing-conscious-rap-she-speaks-to-the-youth-she/) [E-40](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-40/) > [I never liked socially conscious rap. I like rap that's physical, that's about a beat and bass and repetition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harmony-korine/i-never-liked-socially-conscious-rap-i-like-rap-that-s-physical-that/) [Harmony Korine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harmony-korine/) > [The hip-hop that I really connected with was Public Enemy, KRS-One, Ice Cube, and N.W.A. That late '80s and early '90s era. The beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-row/the-hip-hop-that-i-really-connected-with-was-public-enemy-krs-one-ice/) [Jess Row](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-row/) > [We have to remember examples of many artists of conscious rap who have been coopted by the Department of State of the United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bocafloja/we-have-to-remember-examples-of-many-artists-of-conscious-rap-who/) [Bocafloja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bocafloja/) > [We have to remember that the experience of gangsta rap as such in its foundation is an anti-systemic experience primarily. And it is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bocafloja/we-have-to-remember-that-the-experience-of-gangsta-rap-as-such-in-its/) [Bocafloja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bocafloja/) > [You can't expect to be on MTV and critique George Bush. You can't expect to be on BET or the cover of 'The Source'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/you-can-t-expect-to-be-on-mtv-and-critique-george-bush-you-can-t/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [I've been called everything. Gangsta rap. I've been called conscious rap. You know, everything. Whoever feels like calling it whatever they want to call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-ve-been-called-everything-gangsta-rap-i-ve-been-called-conscious/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I look at WorldstarHipHop in the morning, Bossip, Global Grind, and everything in between, but it's all so quick, I don't even think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harmony-korine/i-look-at-worldstarhiphop-in-the-morning-bossip-global-grind-and/) [Harmony Korine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harmony-korine/) > [If you're true to the upliftment of people and the unity of people, raising the self-worth of people, then you live within your means.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/if-you-re-true-to-the-upliftment-of-people-and-the-unity-of-people/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) ## More by Michael Eric Dyson > [Jeremiah Wright is one of the greatest prophetic preachers that black America has produced. What I find striking is that many white brothers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/jeremiah-wright-is-one-of-the-greatest-prophetic-preachers-that-black/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [ What are you for? It may be, to a degree, consoling that white brothers and sisters did not vote for \[Donald\] Trump, and do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/what-are-you-for-it-may-be-to-a-degree-consoling-that-white-brothers/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [I went to school four years later than most people because I was a teen father, hustled on the streets, worked, lived on welfare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/i-went-to-school-four-years-later-than-most-people-because-i-was-a/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [It is true that race is a social fiction, a myth perpetuated by a variety of peoples throughout the modern period, especially, to further…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/it-is-true-that-race-is-a-social-fiction-a-myth-perpetuated-by-a/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [ I've written a lot of other books and this book \[Tears we cannot stop\] was different. I couldn't just say what I wanted to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/i-ve-written-a-lot-of-other-books-and-this-book-tears-we-cannot-stop/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [“And there is a paradox that many of you refuse to see: to get to a point where race won’t make a difference, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/and-there-is-a-paradox-that-many-of-you-refuse-to-see-to-get-to-a/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [ Elvis \[Presley\] had a stepstool, if you will, to success because he came from the dominant culture. They identified with him. Michael Jackson had… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/elvis-presley-had-a-stepstool-if-you-will-to-success-because-he-came/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [I believe in a God of a second chance and a God of love and mercy, because I need so much more of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/i-believe-in-a-god-of-a-second-chance-and-a-god-of-love-and-mercy/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed levees and exploded the conventional wisdom about a shared American prosperity, exposing a group of people so poor they didn't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/hurricane-katrina-overwhelmed-levees-and-exploded-the-conventional/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [I was very struck when Min. Farrakhan said if Jesus and Muhammad were here today, they'd be embracing each other. That's a tremendous message…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/i-was-very-struck-when-min-farrakhan-said-if-jesus-and-muhammad-were/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [“O! save us, we pray thee, thou God of Heaven and of earth, from the devouring hands of the white Christians!!! . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/o-save-us-we-pray-thee-thou-god-of-heaven-and-of-earth-from-the/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [We can't exempt ourselves from the same moral calculus that we are willing to apply to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/we-can-t-exempt-ourselves-from-the-same-moral-calculus-that-we-are/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [New Orleans invented the brown paper bag party - usually at a gathering in a home - where anyone darker than the bag attached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/new-orleans-invented-the-brown-paper-bag-party-usually-at-a-gathering/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [“Whiteness is an advantage and privilege because you have made it so, not because the universe demands it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/whiteness-is-an-advantage-and-privilege-because-you-have-made-it-so/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [I'm just challenging white supremacy at its intellectual heart every day. It's a pedagogy that I deploy against some of the most vicious resistance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/i-m-just-challenging-white-supremacy-at-its-intellectual-heart-every/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) [Explore all 242 Michael Eric Dyson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) ## More Conscious quotes > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [Woman, in short, has an unconscious life, man a conscious life, and the genius the most conscious life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/woman-in-short-has-an-unconscious-life-man-a-conscious-life-and-the/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [If you are not conscious of all of the different parts of yourself, the part of yourself that is the strongest will win out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/if-you-are-not-conscious-of-all-of-the-different-parts-of-yourself/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [One of the noblest words in our language is "grace," defined as "unearned blessing." We live by grace far more than by anything else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/one-of-the-noblest-words-in-our-language-is-grace-defined-as-unearned/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability To lift an eye to heaven, conscious of his fleeting time here](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/repugnant-is-a-creature-who-would-squander-the-ability-to-lift-an-eye/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [The goal of the Creator is for each entity to make a conscious choice to again seek Oneness, out of our own free will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wilcock/the-goal-of-the-creator-is-for-each-entity-to-make-a-conscious-choice/) [David Wilcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wilcock/) > [I know one thing: that you can do a lot of things but if you don't educate people into conscious anarchism it gets frittered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-know-one-thing-that-you-can-do-a-lot-of-things-but-if-you-don-t/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [All black people who are even minimally conscious, black people who have ever experienced Europe's technological power crusading in the vanguard of a civilizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-nkosi/all-black-people-who-are-even-minimally-conscious-black-people-who/) [Lewis Nkosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-nkosi/) > [ A mind conscious of right laughs at the falsehoods of rumour. \[Lat., Conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-mind-conscious-of-right-laughs-at-the-falsehoods-of-rumour-lat/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [I don't think my paintings are self-conscious but you feel the consciousness of them. Without them being self-conscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-schnabel/i-don-t-think-my-paintings-are-self-conscious-but-you-feel-the/) [Julian Schnabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-schnabel/) [Browse all 3,716 Conscious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you look at a guy like a Jay-Z or look at a guy like a Nas, you don't necessarily qualify them as conscious rap purely, although they are extremely conscious of the social inequities that prevail.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Eric Dyson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/when-you-look-at-a-guy-like-a-jay-z-or-look-at-a-guy-like-a-nas-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conscious" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/when-you-look-at-a-guy-like-a-jay-z-or-look-at-a-guy-like-a-nas-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/978/michael-eric-dyson-1424_conscious_when-you-look-at-a-guy-like-a-jay-z-or-l_2968533.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/978/michael-eric-dyson-1424_conscious_when-you-look-at-a-guy-like-a-jay-z-or-l_2968533.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/978/michael-eric-dyson-1424_conscious_when-you-look-at-a-guy-like-a-jay-z-or-l_2968533.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you look at a guy like a Jay-Z or look at a guy like a Nas, you don't necessarily qualify them as…” — Michael Eric Dyson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michael Eric Dyson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When you look at a guy...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/when-you-look-at-a-guy-like-a-jay-z-or-look-at-a-guy-like-a-nas-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/when-you-look-at-a-guy-like-a-jay-z-or-look-at-a-guy-like-a-nas-you/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```