In this course, we will be analyzing the narratives within major rap songs by artists such as Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Reason, and Meek Mill and see how they tie in to greater backdrop of racial and economic inequality rendered by mass incarceration. We will examine the development of America's prison-industrial complex in both a historical and contemporary context, and tie those impacts into the stories that these incredible rap and hip-hop artists share in their music.