In a recent The Dartmouth Online opinion piece by Ilya Feoktistov titled "The Mixed Message of Hip Hop," Mos Def, Talib Kweli and others are called out as positive, poetic forces in hip-hop:

The beats and the lyrics delight ears, inspire minds and touch souls. Both musically and poetically, underground hip-hop is the most amazing modern incarnation of human artistic creativity. For example, consider this fragment of Mos Def and Talib Kweli’s song, "Respiration."

The author proceeds to compare the song’s poetic and uplifting lyrics to the base, inane, and misogynistic lyrics of Lil’ John’s appropriately titled track, "Get Low" (which won’t be repeated here).

The author also discusses the outspoken Kanye West and his sometimes controversial views of hip-hop and its culture.