I've posted about this issue several times before, but before I get into what I feel is "fake deep" I'll do what OP initially asked for and provide examples of some songs I feel are actually "real deep".
--Not the whole song but specifically Phonte's verse. Here Phonte is rapping about how he is perceived as "safe" by his own community and "dangerous/unentertaining" by the white community and calls out the biggest Black media company at the time (BET) while acknowledging he is struggling within the dominant paradigm but is so fed up he doesn't care who he offends.
Phonte avoids the common pitfall of many conscious rappers in that he doesn't find the need to be explicitly or implicitly condescending to the Black community to articulate his lack of success. The verse aside from not just being technically sound but given the subsequent interviews by the group members, it became apparent that yes, in fact, record labels didn't want to push LB mainly because of the outspokenness of Phonte.
Why do I find it deep despite it not being heavy handed or dealing with a subject usually deemed deep? Because Phonte is risking a lot personally just by spitting the verse and also explaining the multiple ways he is being shortchanged.
--Here Pooh raps about his recently freed former convict brother, Pooh doesn't feel the need to go all abstract and macro but instead provides the concrete imagery of his bro having to work a fast food job. He also points out that his success is his and his alone and the unfortunate truth is that his brother will have to find his own path to success.
Compare that to J.Cole's handling of a similar topic
Why does Cole feel that nikkas from his old neighborhood are "dead inside...alive but only corpses inside?" This is dismissive on his part and is a common theme throughout his music...Whereas Pooh makes no attempts at doing any moral grandstanding and provides the listener with a neat ending that doesn't lead to him being some type of gladiator hero and condescending winner riddled with survivor's remorse.
--Here Phonte raps about "making it" and describes a conversation with dudes who are stuck and assume "The Minstrel Show" title is a shot at them. His explanation could have gone off on a tangent about the evils of capitalism or the impact of slavery, but instead in the verse he credits his family and talent and does not go into how these dudes are..."dead inside".
--While this starts off braggadocious in the typical "I'm real and you not" vein, the latter part of Malice's classic verse showcases the moral deliberations of a crack dealer. This verse is a stand out because it shows that on some level there is remorse and guilt. Malice didn't have to cite Ayn Rand or Murray Rothbard to make sense of the market paradigm that he is a part of, he understands on a basic level the concepts of supply and demand. He feels morally he ain't shyt but there is a market demand that he can/will satisfy.
This verse is deep because it's multi-layered, as it brings to light concepts of addiction, self-interest, market forces, and ego while not going off the deep end about Ronald Reagan and the CIA.
I've posted about the problems in the rhetoric in the music of the current conscious rappers, it can be shallow but also condescending. I don't necessarily have an issue with the topics that are discussed in many of these songs, but I am turned off when they offer solutions that are ridiculous and short sighted. But that has been a major part of rap music for years now, and I will never look to music for policy insight.
The main issue I have over the last several years is the moral grandstanding that has become prevalent in conscious rap, with verses putting forward the notion that the position that poor Black people find themselves in is primarily culturally self-inflicted. It is misguided and sometimes borders ridiculous, and this is coming from someone who probably leans to the right of most MC's. Modern conscious rap has co-opted the tired tropes of traditionalism coupled with the rhetoric of intersectionalism making for a strange combo.
at the jigga warriors on first page trying to make Nas come off as fake deep when jay is the epitome of fake 