Conscious hip hop is a type of hip hop that focuses on social issues. It is not necessarily overtly political, but treasts of social issues an conflicts. Themes of conscious hip hop include religion, aversion to violence, African American culture and advancement, and the economy. Grandmaster Flash's "The Message" was an early and hugely influential political and conscious hip hop track, decrying the poverty, violence, and dead-end lives of the black youth of the time.