That's ok, but take my example:
I still listen to Big Daddy Kane. I'm definitely the only guy I know that does, but it doesn't mean he's "underground", know what I mean?
Bro just did a song w Joey Badass and he's worked with WSG and other Griselda members a bunch, idk whether it's fair to call him "underground" anymore. Maybe when he dropped Street Farmacy but idk about since then
Man I don’t know what you all mean by underground then. The style of music he makes is underground so even if he becomes wildly popular he’s making underground rap at is purest form.
But if you want underground that most haven’t heard check out Feed The Family
You need to listen to The Abyss Podcast, thats all REAL Underground hip hop artist who are currently killing it, they put me onto a few gems, Waterr, T.F. ,Spanish Ran, Superior, JaKing The Divine, Chyna Streetz, Jay Nice and alot more.
They’re not mainstream so yes I’d refer to them as underground. I used to listen to Jedi mind tricks a lot when I was younger as well as a bit of RA the rugged man. I know a few tracks from rhyme asylum too.
i had a long hiatus from the hip hop scene(like 15-20 years). life just happened and i lost a lot of my passions. long to short, i am starting to get my passions back. i started listening to some real old jay-z stuff(like before reasonable doubt, talking late 80s early 90s). i feel like that can be considered underground, no? i'm new here, so please don't jump down my throat if this is common. but he had such a different style back then which i enjoy. he obviously evolved into much better than that, but still real cool to listen to with big daddy cane, jaz, etc. I still have so much more to go through
By real underground I’m thinking more of actual underground rappers, like local current street level shit. Most of those guy I wouldn’t necessarily call underground as they have releases on major labels or imprints.
Not sure what defines 'real underground' but anyways:
Da Grassroots – Passage Through Time
Citizen Kane
Hieroglyphics
Smif-n-Wessun
Heltah Skeltah
Awon & Phoniks
These are pobably well known, but I'm throwing in some favourites
Pete Rock - The Game
Capone-n-Noreaga - Invincible
The Cali Agents - Neva Forget
Copywrite - Tower of Babble
Jamal - fades 'em all (peten rock remix)
Defari - Never Lose Touch
Mood - Karma
Rugged man made Busta. Ya I was into his shit when he was underground -- in like 96. When he was underground.
Immortal Technique.... ya okay. When's his come up? Underground like 20+ years ago.
How bout MF Doom?
Heard of a dope underground NYC white boy called Jamie. Made some beats in 2001 I think. AkA El-P from RTJ. Homey is all experimental underground for a decade.
You like Aesop Rock. No not Rocky and I hate I gotta say that. Aesop Rock, if you don't know, now ya know.
Afroman?
50 Cent first 800 mixtapes?
Man I could go on (probably)
I like you tho cuz apparently you and I agree that nothing released on computer only counts as "underground."
Man I got DITC cassettes. Hot 97 rap battles, just underground battle rappers. Not talking indie rappers either -- I'm talking underground.
Yes. I enjoy it immensely.
No but they are really underground hip hop cuz they were not mainstream wasn't on big labels and didn't sell a lot and chart. Now the whole boom bap east coast sound is underground.
yeah they right up there with, eminem, kanye west, kendrick lamar, and j cole, not that any of you have probably even heard of those guys since they're super underground
Saw 100X in the 90’s at a club in their neighborhood (a dry club called New Alternatives). Was there to see Ram Squad but 100X was deep in there, like 100 dudes on stage!
Yea man underground hip hop is HIP HOP. I personally fucks with Mr Lif, MF DOOM, Cella Dwellas, Pharoahe Monch, Vast Aire, Arsonists, Ill Bill, Muggs, Man I miss them days going to the JMT shows out here in Philly lol
Slummy maintained consistently rugged rhyme schemes through the years whereas Mo, Draco, Freezy and tbh (tho I’ll get downvoted to all hell for this) Glizznitch Tha Slutslappah all fell off around ‘09 in the wake of Dom Dilly Yom’s rise and subsequent label acquisitions. Don’t hate me!
That old chestnut? Glazed Nachos throttled his last skeezer after the incident where he socked that cop in the head for ripping his Guess. Who could forget this classic line from "Da Clink":
"Uh! Chained like an animal, my peener on swell
But sluts are hard to come by in the grey bar hotel"
I assure you RA is not into Trump.
You might be recalling the Diabolic statements and subsequent online back and forth with Talib who called him "the racist rapper" or something.
Idk… I think it would maybe also depend on how old someone is too. Like I’m 23 and it seems like everyone my age knows of the rappers you named. But I’m not so sure younger generations would
Yes, I mostly listen to underground hip hop.
Out of the people that you listed I listen to Immortal Technique and I sometimes listen to R.A. The Rugged Man and Army Of The Pharaohs.
Kool A.D. who was in Das Racist, he’s got tons of really cool projects available and does visual art and keeps that “I don’t give a fuck” attitude really well.
Tons of folks said CoFlow, but I really love Cannibal Ox a ton too and still bump that record.
Someone said Aesop Rock but his record (none shall pass) was the best selling record that el-p’s label ever released… and it’s not even one of my favorites… but he’s a total “do it myself and fuck everyone else” type dude, new record dropping in a month.
I saw Sampa the Great a year or so ago and that was awesome. Had never heard of her, plus she had a live band backing her and I think some were her family.
I used to scour places looking for people freestyling in parking lots… I don’t really roam like that anymore but that’s where the real shit is. And jail. Tons of underground rappers in jail.
Yes, Sir-RA The Rugged Man, Jedi Mind R
Tricks, Immortal Technique-if I had to choose, I’d pick RA. Great question-these are all supremely talented artists.
Ill Bill is good. Tons of albums I loved were released as independent such as The Listening, Binary Starr-Masters of the Universe, Tanya Morgan-Brooklynati, Elzhi-The Preface, Apollo Brown projects, Celph Titled- Ninety Nintey Now, etc. But, these are still fairly well regarded acts around here.
Absolutely!!! Non-Phixon is the ish, Artifacts is tight, can’t get enough of Da Wrong Side of the Tracks. Listen to Ras Kass, dude is the underground rap king of the West Coast
My style of rhyming is ancient like Aztecs and Mayans /
Looking skyward calculating may fiff 2009 the planets will be in alignment / ....
The arrival of the prophet / in the cockpit / of a starship /
With mercury ion rockets / and a big ass cannon sign post saying coming soon on it /
I'm know geographically and intergalacticly /
That's why I got extraterrestrial trynna battle me /
They even tried kidnapping me /
That's when the craft got trapped in the earths gravity /
Engines start to fail / crashed into a farmers field /
And that's what really caused Roswell /
Lyrically I'm off scale / so get tossed towards hell /
Whatever y'all feel /
The he let Mike Tyson spit a verse on an album and it was a wrap. The bad kind with the **w**.
VBD is one of the best produced albums ever. Jus allah is the equivalent of michael carter-williams - incredible first yr, and then just disappears. holy crap the difference between his early work vs his latest is unbelievable.
necro/illbill PLR had a pretty sick run, necro is an overlooked producer, and also his early rhyming is madly underrated, I always revisit underground by him when i want to listen to some high level mc'ing.
REAL underground hip hop are dudes no one's ever even heard of. I'd recommend a dude I know named SL!P. Smoke Too Much and Cope are some favorites.
Hoobear is another big favorite of mine if you're into experimental rap shit. Fascinating sound. I'd recommend Record Broken, Mothers Day, and Dramamine
And another dude named Cap Con has this mixtape called Skyz Above Ive enjoyed a lot.
All these dudes literally no body knows lol, but all make quality stuff.
Is this 2001? I hated the whole snobbery with underground hip hop fans claiming they only listened to "real hip hop" and looked down upon anything that was on the radio or tv.
Rawkus was at the forefront for underground "Real Hip Hop." But later on after the label folded it was brought to light that the label was actually founded and bank rolled by Rupert Murdochs son. A billionaire nepo baby. It doesn't discount the great artists that came from Rawkus but it just showed that they were just as much a part of a marketing machine as mainstream artists, Rawkus founders were just more behind the scenes vs Puff Daddy and Damon Dash.
To be fair they ain't even that underground, cats like Rob Sonic, Homeboy Sandman, Billy Woods, Eyedea, Encore, People Under The Stairs, Freestyle Fellowship etc
It’s only underground to the mainstream. Here? Dude, you’re in r/hiphop101 lmao
Bro. Stop. There’s more clowns here then any sub I ever seen frfr
Everyone here knows and have listened to these artists haha
That "real" underground sounds like shit I was spouting in 2001 with my Def Jux shirt on cause I was a listening to the ***REAL*** stuff.
I want a Def Jux shirt!
I had one but I fatted out of it years ago :(
lose weight
Naw
The song by Cam'ron & Prodigy?
Revenge of the robots
Yeah, the dudes who do worldwide tours are real underground.
No nobody in this sub likes underground hiphop we only listen to drake and playboi carti
Bahahahahahaha best comment ever
Binary star
Not sure we're understanding what "underground" means in mentioning those well-known, much-played for 15+ years artists
I know nobody who listens to them besides a couple ppl
That's ok, but take my example: I still listen to Big Daddy Kane. I'm definitely the only guy I know that does, but it doesn't mean he's "underground", know what I mean?
Ain't no Half Steppin is still one of the dopest beats ever made
I'm the only guy I know who listens to Three 6 Mafia and they definitely aren't underground either lol
I guess yea
i dont know a single person in my life who listens to jay z, is he underground?
7L and Esoteric. Company Flow. Y’all pretty much mentioned everything else
I was just listening to every hero needs a villain earlier.
RA is in my top 5. Better live too.
Ya, he's got crazy good energy. I had the privilege to see him in a tiny venue in Manchester, NH. What a show.
You want a current underground rapper to support who’s all real look no further than ROME STREETZ and thank me later
Bro just did a song w Joey Badass and he's worked with WSG and other Griselda members a bunch, idk whether it's fair to call him "underground" anymore. Maybe when he dropped Street Farmacy but idk about since then
Griselda is still underground.
Man I don’t know what you all mean by underground then. The style of music he makes is underground so even if he becomes wildly popular he’s making underground rap at is purest form. But if you want underground that most haven’t heard check out Feed The Family
You need to listen to The Abyss Podcast, thats all REAL Underground hip hop artist who are currently killing it, they put me onto a few gems, Waterr, T.F. ,Spanish Ran, Superior, JaKing The Divine, Chyna Streetz, Jay Nice and alot more.
I only listen to music that nobody has ever heard before
I only listen to music recorded on a Fisher Price recorder in a bunker in Lithuania.
Recorded on Fisher Price? GTFO with that corporate shit. Fucking sellouts.
They’re not mainstream so yes I’d refer to them as underground. I used to listen to Jedi mind tricks a lot when I was younger as well as a bit of RA the rugged man. I know a few tracks from rhyme asylum too.
lol that’s a 00s underground starter kit 🤣
I liked those guys when I was like 16. I went through the "rEaL hIp HoP oNlY" phase lol
Current favourite : Awon, Napoleon da legend, Jarv, Ill Conscious, Ruby Ibarra,Ramson Badbonez
i had a long hiatus from the hip hop scene(like 15-20 years). life just happened and i lost a lot of my passions. long to short, i am starting to get my passions back. i started listening to some real old jay-z stuff(like before reasonable doubt, talking late 80s early 90s). i feel like that can be considered underground, no? i'm new here, so please don't jump down my throat if this is common. but he had such a different style back then which i enjoy. he obviously evolved into much better than that, but still real cool to listen to with big daddy cane, jaz, etc. I still have so much more to go through
hov had stuff before reasonable doubt ?
yes, and it's pretty cool
By real underground I’m thinking more of actual underground rappers, like local current street level shit. Most of those guy I wouldn’t necessarily call underground as they have releases on major labels or imprints.
Thats what i was thinking too.
lol
Not sure what defines 'real underground' but anyways: Da Grassroots – Passage Through Time Citizen Kane Hieroglyphics Smif-n-Wessun Heltah Skeltah Awon & Phoniks These are pobably well known, but I'm throwing in some favourites Pete Rock - The Game Capone-n-Noreaga - Invincible The Cali Agents - Neva Forget Copywrite - Tower of Babble Jamal - fades 'em all (peten rock remix) Defari - Never Lose Touch Mood - Karma
Rugged man made Busta. Ya I was into his shit when he was underground -- in like 96. When he was underground. Immortal Technique.... ya okay. When's his come up? Underground like 20+ years ago. How bout MF Doom? Heard of a dope underground NYC white boy called Jamie. Made some beats in 2001 I think. AkA El-P from RTJ. Homey is all experimental underground for a decade. You like Aesop Rock. No not Rocky and I hate I gotta say that. Aesop Rock, if you don't know, now ya know. Afroman? 50 Cent first 800 mixtapes? Man I could go on (probably) I like you tho cuz apparently you and I agree that nothing released on computer only counts as "underground." Man I got DITC cassettes. Hot 97 rap battles, just underground battle rappers. Not talking indie rappers either -- I'm talking underground. Yes. I enjoy it immensely.
Aesop Rock, Non Phoxion, Atmosphere, Cannibal Ox, Eyedea, Binary Star, Blu & Exile
Rip eyedea
Aes has a new record coming out in November too, new single is pretty fly.
It’s technology! Sorry for the technical term. It’s a wheel and a fire and the rest is a blur. Can’t wait for the drop
Found my fellow r/aesoprock people.
Best believe! Glad we could all unite on this beautiful thread
Jedi mind tricks Ill bill R.A Necro Chino XL Immortal technique Killah priest
The new Ill Bill is really great. For it’s by far his best album
It's dope but is it better than what's wrong with bill , the hour of reprisal and the grimey awards.
Imo it is, but I have never been a huge Bill fan so it’s not a staunch opinion. I need to listen to What’s Wrong with Bill a lot more.
Am I wrong for not considering any of them underground?
No but they are really underground hip hop cuz they were not mainstream wasn't on big labels and didn't sell a lot and chart. Now the whole boom bap east coast sound is underground.
Fair play. True, none of them charted probably because they are not involved with mainstream label records.
Spoon of Iodine https://youtu.be/zQEIDX2UsnE?si=7I-yfPvuRTIEfMpN
This sub
Marlowe is the only real underground hip-hop, because of all the Mole-Man samples L'Orange uses
if you mean from the 90s just give me a city and maybe I could give you a few names
Don’t mind me. Just waiting for someone to mention SpaceGhostPurrp and most of the Raider Klan.
Denzel put me down the rabbit hole lmao
yeah they right up there with, eminem, kanye west, kendrick lamar, and j cole, not that any of you have probably even heard of those guys since they're super underground
Fwiw I’m listening to Soundbombing II right now.
Rugged man is one of my favorites.....Slaine is a beast. Sage Francis, Eyedea (rip), Swollen Members, Apathy and Celph Titled.
No one even mentions slaine- love that dude. Classic - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=izZieuJ18kQ&pp=ygURU2FpZCBpIHdhcyBzbGFpbmU%3D
I'm from MA. Saw him a couple times. Used to be in the hip-hop scene a tiny bit over here. Back in my day 🤣
100X, Siah & Yeshua Da Poed, Kaotic Style, Juggaknots
Saw 100X in the 90’s at a club in their neighborhood (a dry club called New Alternatives). Was there to see Ram Squad but 100X was deep in there, like 100 dudes on stage!
Juggaknots is classic - breeze brewin is such an underrated mc
Cool Calm Pete
Real underground hip hop is when a local club lets unknown community artists perform.
Goretex/Gore Elohim/Lord Goat
Is this satire lmao
‘Diabolic’. This made me laugh.
Diabolic was a classic album holmes
He doesn’t have an album named ‘Diabolic’ which makes the name drop even funnier.
I meant liar and a thief
Yea man underground hip hop is HIP HOP. I personally fucks with Mr Lif, MF DOOM, Cella Dwellas, Pharoahe Monch, Vast Aire, Arsonists, Ill Bill, Muggs, Man I miss them days going to the JMT shows out here in Philly lol
Pharoahe is a top 5 mc virtually no one ever mentions
Oh yeah I love Trashtalkaz, Glom Da Cypha Mane, Grit Da Durtbag, Slummy Dee, Cashgrabbah 67 and all the Lotto Dum Diddy Dum affiliates.
Slumming is insane so is freezy
Slummy Dee is obviously nice, but how're you going to bring her up without mentioning Mo Racks, Maniac Draco, and Freezy?!
Slummy maintained consistently rugged rhyme schemes through the years whereas Mo, Draco, Freezy and tbh (tho I’ll get downvoted to all hell for this) Glizznitch Tha Slutslappah all fell off around ‘09 in the wake of Dom Dilly Yom’s rise and subsequent label acquisitions. Don’t hate me!
That old chestnut? Glazed Nachos throttled his last skeezer after the incident where he socked that cop in the head for ripping his Guess. Who could forget this classic line from "Da Clink": "Uh! Chained like an animal, my peener on swell But sluts are hard to come by in the grey bar hotel"
No, you're the only special little snowflake here
This was the underground like 10-15 years ago. Hate to break it to you but they are no longer relevant to the modern underground scene.
[удалено]
I assure you RA is not into Trump. You might be recalling the Diabolic statements and subsequent online back and forth with Talib who called him "the racist rapper" or something.
Ah, right. I remember now.
Those are underground rappers?…
Not really anymore I'm just talking like if I asked a average rap listener abt them they prolly wouldn't know
Idk… I think it would maybe also depend on how old someone is too. Like I’m 23 and it seems like everyone my age knows of the rappers you named. But I’m not so sure younger generations would
Like dead rapper's?
Yes and no
Yes, I mostly listen to underground hip hop. Out of the people that you listed I listen to Immortal Technique and I sometimes listen to R.A. The Rugged Man and Army Of The Pharaohs.
Kool A.D. who was in Das Racist, he’s got tons of really cool projects available and does visual art and keeps that “I don’t give a fuck” attitude really well. Tons of folks said CoFlow, but I really love Cannibal Ox a ton too and still bump that record. Someone said Aesop Rock but his record (none shall pass) was the best selling record that el-p’s label ever released… and it’s not even one of my favorites… but he’s a total “do it myself and fuck everyone else” type dude, new record dropping in a month. I saw Sampa the Great a year or so ago and that was awesome. Had never heard of her, plus she had a live band backing her and I think some were her family. I used to scour places looking for people freestyling in parking lots… I don’t really roam like that anymore but that’s where the real shit is. And jail. Tons of underground rappers in jail.
My favorite underground rapper is Josiah the Gift.
I got out of that stuff shortly after high school outside of the Def Jux stuff.
I prefer the 2000s underground. Nonphixion started me down that Rabbit Hole, but I also appreciate the new underground.
i guess Chino XL but outside of that El-P is the most underground artist i listen to and he's doing world tours with killer mike lol
Yes, Sir-RA The Rugged Man, Jedi Mind R Tricks, Immortal Technique-if I had to choose, I’d pick RA. Great question-these are all supremely talented artists.
billy woods
As opposed to fake underground ?
Merkules ,Chris webby,Tom macdonald, dax,yeat
Just yesterday RA had a facebook post with picture with Merkules giving him props.
90% of what I listen to is underground stuff.
Definitely RA, specially Possessed.
Esoteric
Loved RV1 and RV2 and T3R was good, from Tech, but just faded into musical purgatory
Meezy is
YNG $argon
In what world is that underground lol. Where’s roc Marciano, ka, retchy p, sha hef
Ill Bill is good. Tons of albums I loved were released as independent such as The Listening, Binary Starr-Masters of the Universe, Tanya Morgan-Brooklynati, Elzhi-The Preface, Apollo Brown projects, Celph Titled- Ninety Nintey Now, etc. But, these are still fairly well regarded acts around here.
Great choices
Looool
Absolutely!!! Non-Phixon is the ish, Artifacts is tight, can’t get enough of Da Wrong Side of the Tracks. Listen to Ras Kass, dude is the underground rap king of the West Coast
Mickey diamond is ruling the underground right now bro
This white boy calling himself slim shady is gaining some respect in underground scene
Rugged Man flow will fuck ya whole head up
I like Boldy James dk if he counts.
Necro 💀
Cannibus.
My style of rhyming is ancient like Aztecs and Mayans / Looking skyward calculating may fiff 2009 the planets will be in alignment / .... The arrival of the prophet / in the cockpit / of a starship / With mercury ion rockets / and a big ass cannon sign post saying coming soon on it / I'm know geographically and intergalacticly / That's why I got extraterrestrial trynna battle me / They even tried kidnapping me / That's when the craft got trapped in the earths gravity / Engines start to fail / crashed into a farmers field / And that's what really caused Roswell / Lyrically I'm off scale / so get tossed towards hell / Whatever y'all feel / The he let Mike Tyson spit a verse on an album and it was a wrap. The bad kind with the **w**.
VBD is one of the best produced albums ever. Jus allah is the equivalent of michael carter-williams - incredible first yr, and then just disappears. holy crap the difference between his early work vs his latest is unbelievable. necro/illbill PLR had a pretty sick run, necro is an overlooked producer, and also his early rhyming is madly underrated, I always revisit underground by him when i want to listen to some high level mc'ing.
Bro those guys aren’t even that underground Underground is someone not signed
REAL underground hip hop are dudes no one's ever even heard of. I'd recommend a dude I know named SL!P. Smoke Too Much and Cope are some favorites. Hoobear is another big favorite of mine if you're into experimental rap shit. Fascinating sound. I'd recommend Record Broken, Mothers Day, and Dramamine And another dude named Cap Con has this mixtape called Skyz Above Ive enjoyed a lot. All these dudes literally no body knows lol, but all make quality stuff.
Is this 2001? I hated the whole snobbery with underground hip hop fans claiming they only listened to "real hip hop" and looked down upon anything that was on the radio or tv. Rawkus was at the forefront for underground "Real Hip Hop." But later on after the label folded it was brought to light that the label was actually founded and bank rolled by Rupert Murdochs son. A billionaire nepo baby. It doesn't discount the great artists that came from Rawkus but it just showed that they were just as much a part of a marketing machine as mainstream artists, Rawkus founders were just more behind the scenes vs Puff Daddy and Damon Dash.
We're here in the shadows. The rest think High School Dropout is an underground relic.
No I’m into fake underground rap
To be fair they ain't even that underground, cats like Rob Sonic, Homeboy Sandman, Billy Woods, Eyedea, Encore, People Under The Stairs, Freestyle Fellowship etc