While rap and hip-hop have helped make a lot of people rich in the past few decades, there was a time when the music genre meant way  more than money to those who produced it.

Before big-money corporate interests got hold of it, rap music was a way for the disenfranchised and the oppressed to express themselves and blow off steam without resorting to violence.

It is in the spirit of these early days of hip-hop that Dearborn-based rapper Big A released his latest album, “Lebanon Don,” on Tuesday, June 8, his third and most reflective and effort to date.

Born and raised in south Lebanon, Big A, aka Ahmad Bazzi, survived three wars before coming to Michigan, experiences that shaped him into the conscious, thoughtful person he is today. It’s a persona that Big A hoped to express on “Lebanon Don,” which features 16 tracks and is available for downloading on his website, www.lebanondon.com.

“This album is about me, if people want to know who I am, they should listen to this album,” he said. “It’s all about the immigrant experience of being born and raised somewhere else and about holding on strongly to your identity back home but at the same time being open enough to make songs with people from all around.”

With production help and guest verses from various well-respected local hip-hop artists like good friend Zhao-Ski and up-and-coming Pontiac emcee Ro Spit, Big A was able to channel the gritty-yet-creative template of Detroit hip-hop on the album while mixing it with his own personal style.

Just as hip-hop means a lot to Detroit, it will forever hold a place in Big A’s heart. It was through the music that he learned to speak English around the age of 15.

“I studied (English) but at the same time, hip-hop was my motivation to learn the language,” he said. “Of course books helped me with things like grammar, you know, present tense, past tense, but for me, hip-hop was the ship.”

Considering his impressive wordplay on “Lebanon Don,” most fans wouldn’t be able to guess that the 26-year-old immigrant used to struggle with the language as much as he did 11 years ago.

While his first album, 2006’s “Conscious Gangsta,” was more of a reactionary piece following that year’s Israeli invasion and subsequent war with Lebanon, “Lebanon Don” finds Big A in a more calm, contemplative state. But he still manages to keep the passion and energy that made his first album successful.

Album highlights include the song “Hang On,” an ode to fathers; “Last Clip,” a song about being a leader and the art of being an emcee; “Party in the Ghetto,” a song about enjoying life in both Arabic and English without needing material possessions; and “Gaza New Year’s Eve,” a high-energy anthem for the besieged territory that was played on Swedish radio following the January 2009 attacks by Israel.

Such exposure is nothing new for Big A, as his unique style has led to numerous peripheral opportunities.

He has performed at the University of Wisconsin, UM-Ann Arbor, UM-Dearborn, and all over Michigan along with Indiana, New York City, and Chicago.

He’s also used his experiences as a substitute teacher to create an album for kids with songs to help them learn school rules.

Born and raised in south Lebanon, Big A, aka Ahmad Bazzi, survived three wars before coming to Michigan, experiences that shaped him into the conscious, thoughtful person he is today. It’s a persona that Big A hoped to express on “Lebanon Don,” which features 16 tracks and is available for downloading on his website, www.lebanondon.com.

A transition to acting was also made recently as Big A had a major role in the upcoming movie “Detroit Unleaded,” playing a character inspired by his real life story called “Big H.”

The movie wasn’t his only brush with the silver screen, however, as the Oscar-winning mega-hit “Slumdog Millionaire” recruited him to do a song with a Jewish rapper for the film’s soundtrack. Big A, a political rapper who has made various songs about the Lebanese resistance to Israel in the region, wasn’t given enough information about the content of the song, however, leading him to feel suspicious about the intent of the collaboration and forcing him to deny the request.

Currently, he’s touring Lebanon with his the popular 961 crew of which he recently became a member, bringing the essence of true heart-felt hip-hop to places it’s never been before.

“I was the only person on my block listening to it in Lebanon and I would walk an hour just to get a few tapes,” he said.

“Pretty much since I was born I’ve always been listening, living, and feeling hip-hop, and now I’m excited to bring it back to the people.”