Very well said. This is the sort of stuff artists should be speaking about, speaking out about. Call it like it is, question the cultural delirium.
Love the rhythm in his voice.
I’ve been saying the same shit about the whole gangsta/bling concept for ages. The corporate oppression machine is selling conformity though the words of those who claim to be sticking it to the man. Those diamonds you wear so proudly are full of blood. You’re nothing more than a cog in the machine.
the part about most rappers being republican. so true.
Also check out: sage francis, mf doom, qwel, blackalicious, atmosphere…
very nice hiphop with a non-blingbling message 
Saul Williams is one of the best things to happen to modern hip-hop. He is brilliant. As are many of those mentioned above.
Add to that list Kool Keith (and his many aliases - pasted below from his website)
. Rather than sitting on the bling/anti-bling continuum, Keith is just consistently confusing. And he has a lot of hate for industry capitalists. I have loved his rap more than anyone else’s for years now.
Production is wicked too. Usually very sparse but effective. Great to learn to program hiphop from. I am learning by recreating his beats and emulating his basslines.
KEITH THORNTON – His real name.
KOOL KEITH – His rapper name.
KEITH TURBO – He used this alias for the Keith Turbo track from the Black Elvis/Lost In Space LP.
KEITH TELEVASQUEZ – He used this alias on Clifton with Motion Man on the Black Elvis/Lost In Space LP.
KEITH KORG – His Analog Brothers alias.
MATTHEW – Keith’s middle name and alias for a full LP.
DR. SPERM – Known to be his first alias as a rapper.
DR. OCTAGON – C’mon, you know this one.
DR. ULTRA – He was Dr. Ultra in the “Five Deadly Venoms” Sprite commercials.
DR. DOOOM – He created this character with sick rhymes and a goal of killing Dr. Octagon.
BLACK ELVIS – Dr. Dooom’s twin. Created for the Columbia Records album.
POPPA LARGE – He’s Poppa Large, big shot on the East Coast.
MR. GREEN – He used this alias on the back cover of Ultra’s Big Time LP.
MR. GERBIK – The dangerous 208 year old uncle of Dr. Octagon. Half Shark Alligator Half Man.
MR. ORANGE – This was one of his characters in the Livin’ Astro video.
MC BALDYLOCKS – Unknown right now.
THE FOURTH HORSEMAN – He considered himself The Fourth Horseman on the Ultramagnetic MC’s Four Horsemen LP.
BLONDE MAN – He referred to himself as Blonde Man in the liner notes of the Black Elvis/Lost In Space LP.
CLEAN MAN – This was an alias he used back when HipHopSite.com ran KoolKeith.com.
SHARK MAN – Another name for Mr. Gerbik.
ELEPHANT MAN – From 1996 to 1998 he always said he planned on releasing an album under the alias Elephant Man.
ALIEN MAN – This was an alias he used back when HipHopSite.com ran KoolKeith.com.
JIMMY STEELE – He referred to himself as Jimmy Steele in the liner notes of the Black Elvis/Lost In Space LP.
WILLIE BIGGS – He used this alias in the track Still The Best from the Sex Style LP. He also used it on the back cover of Ultra’s Big Time LP.
BIG WILLIE SMITH – He released a limited EP with the Beat Terrorists under this alias.
WILLIE NATURAL – This was an alias he used back when HipHopSite.com ran KoolKeith.com.
REVEREND TOM – He first used this alias on the track Fat Lady from Ultra’s Big Time LP and later used it on Thee Undatakerz LP.
MIKE STANLEY – He uses this alias in DJ Sooky’s Riddim Warfare LP.
LARRY LOPEZ – He used this name with Heather Hunter for “Toot Toot Hey Beep Beep”.
THE X – He used this name on the inside cover of the Ultramagnetic MC’s Four Horsemen LP.
RHYTHM X – He first used this alias in the track Funk Radio from Ultramagnetic MC’s Funk Your Head Up LP.
X-CALIBER – He first used this alias in the track Funk Radio from Ultramagnetic MC’s Funk Your Head Up LP.
X-74 – He used this alias in the song Kick a Dope Verse by the Cenobites
FLY RICKY THE WINE TASTER – This was an alias he used back when HipHopSite.com ran KoolKeith.com.
RICO FROM PUERTO RICO – This was an alias he used back when HipHopSite.com ran KoolKeith.com.
FUNK IGNITER PLUS – He first used this alias in the track Funk Radio from Ultramagnetic MC’s Funk Your Head Up LP, and he still uses this alias.
ROBBIE ANALOG – He used this alias to make fun of the RZA on the inside cover of Dr. Dooom’s LP.
SINISTER 6000 – He used this alias on Automator’s A Better Tomorrow.
CRAZY LOU – He Used this name as the guns and ammo salesman in Weapon World from Prince Paul’s A Prince Among Thieves.
LONNIE HENDREX – This was one of his characters in the Livin’ Astro video.
LIGHT BLUE COP – This was one of his characters in the Livin’ Astro video.
THE KID IN THE COMMERCIAL – This was one of his characters in the Livin’ Astro video.
JOE KINGPIN – He used this alias in the track Still The Best from the Sex Style LP.
BLACK LINEN – He used this alias in the track Silk Suit, Black Linen from the Masters of Illusion LP. Motion Man was Silk Suit.
ELVIN PRESLEY – He gave away cards at concerts. The cards had a picture of him with the name Elvin Presley.
DELI BOY – He was called Deli Boy in the comedy/porn “Sex For Life Too”.
SK8 JOHNSON – He used this alias in the Bootleg Skater videos.
PLATNINUM RICH – One the Diesel Truckers, along with The Funky Redneck.
EXOTRON GEIGER COUNTER ONE PLUS MEGOTRON – He used this alias on Marley Marl In Control in 1989. He also used a longer version. He also used this alias in Ultramagnetic MC’s track Traveling At The Speed Of Thought.
ACTIVITY – This was his name when he was with the NYC Breakers
EXXON – He gave away cards at concerts. The cards had a picture of him with the name Exxon.
CAPTAIN KOOL – This was an alias he was supposed to use according to Liveonerecords.com.
CAPTAIN BLACK – This was an alias he was supposed to use according to Liveonerecords.com.
EXOTRON GEIGER COUNTER ONE GAMA PLUS SEQUENCER – He used this alias on Marley Marl In Control in 1989. He also used a shorter version.
ROBERT PERRY – He used this alias for the track Robert Perry from his Lost Masters LP.
JOHN CLAYBORNE COUSIN OF JIMMY HICKS – He used this alias on the Clayborne Family LP with Marc Live and Jacky Jasper.
MR. NOGATCO – Released an album under this name with Izreal.
TASHAN DORRSETT – Supposed to release an album under this name with DJ Junkaz Lou.
NAQUAN aka UNDERWEAR PISSY - Alias on the NEW Ultramagnetic MC’s album, “The Best Kept Secret”.
THE BEST MC IN THE WORLD – That’s just what he is.
i don’t think it would be such a bad thing, if only they realized and admitted they were.
peas in a pod…
awesome!
If anyone is interested in remixing saul’s work, there are 2 of Saul’s multitracks sitting on the NIN remix site atm: http://remix.nin.com/
Once you register there, you get access to both Saul’s multitracks and quite a selection of NIN multitracks.