There are conscious MCs out there and I know the term is reductive but it fits. MCs that have decided to make their work about the world and take stances against the evils they see.
Some MCs benefit from being figureheads. Thinkers follow their words and I believe that rappers can be the last true generalist thinkers allowed to pontificate on serious subjects without having specific expert knowledge.
Some MCs lose out as a result of the stances they take. They might not even know that their independent motion is getting the eyes and ears of people who can throw a bucket of money their way. Maybe they would change or maybe they would not.
I like to think I am more than conscious because I have problematic past material. I want conscious to mean less about preaching an idealised future and present but reflecting on an imperfect past to transform the future.
Conscious MCs shouldn’t be superheroes they should be something like therapists. Saving the world in your head to change the world outside.