As hip hop turns 50, Kai and reporter Christopher Johnson look back on an era of “conscious rap” that championed a sound that was political, community-minded and deeply pro-Black. But about six years after it started, that first wave of socially-conscious hip hop seemed to be over. Who killed it? And what’s the story of its rise and fall tell us about the relationship between culture, politics, and commerce?

We speak to:

- Rapper Kool Moe Dee

- Writer and filmmaker Nelson George

- Dan Charnas, author of The Big Payback

- Ann Carli, former hip hop record executive

Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at notes@wnyc.org. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.

Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.