dead prez may have been slightly ahead of their time during their golden years, but that is definitely meant as a compliment. Sermonizing Black Nationalism, Pan-Africanism and the benefits of a healthy and just lifestyle during the height of the Bad Boy / Roc-AFella era of nihilistic excess in the late '90s, they also signed to a major label (Loud / Columbia) despite leaning much more towards the burgeoning indie aesthetics of the
day. But this was a good thing – using major label muscle to wake up righteous hip-hop fans who might have fallen asleep at the wheel.
The group itself – consisting of MCs stic.man and M-1, who produced or co-produced most of the duo's music – was formed in Tallahassee, Florida in the early 1990s (M-1 originally hailed from Brooklyn).
All in all, this is one of the more underrated and possibly Top 5 fully-realized political hip-hop albums of all time. If you don't agree with the previous sentence, give Let's Get Free another listen… you might be surprised at how well it has held up over the years.