anyone...anyone at all?

depends what you define as underground?

if artists like Heiruspecs, El-P, and Jedi Mind Tricks are underground then sure.

Er..what?

(is not sure who you were what-ing! lol)

What is underground rap?

I think they mean underground as opposed to mainstream rap that gets played on the radio. And no, I don't listen to underground. I hardly listen to rap period.

Ah okay, I really don't listen to any rap, I'm more into Indie myself

i'm into everything. i do enjoy some underground rap, though. it's got far more of an edge than the crap they play on the radio.

Big fan, nice Hieroglyphics avatar BTW

Any MF DOOM fans?

not at all

Koxie create a rapstyle : the "Chic rap" or "RapGlam"
Here is a song about bad boys who speak badly...


http://koxie.skyrock.com/

http://koxie.artistes.universalmusic.fr/

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=jV2Rg_9eonA

Ya cant spell crap without rap...

Del tha Funkee Homosapien is awesome in every way, shape and form.

subtle / dr octagon / mos def - all kick sum - wouldnt claim to know many others, tho i do have a lot of time for dr dre - the chronic // snoop dogg - doggy style & of course anything by nwa.....i'd consider saul williams a rapper, tho he's more a poet....

who do you mean by underground rap exactly?

and as we're on about rap, just how crap is 50 cent, seriously, its like he's suffered from massive brain trauma & is trying to regain his speech, and failing.....

hmmm...bump?

Can't believe this hasn't been posted in for so long, no(t much) harm in bumping, eh?

I like everything that can catch my ear, from the gritty stuff like Cage,SSS(Slow Suicide Stimulus, representing Jerzee!) or El-P to the more traditional storytelling rap(Atmosphere), down to the very popculture influence stuff like MF Doom and Esoteric's new album

Just has to sound good, and most important? Has to have flow and meaning.

That means no Soulja Boy for this rap fan. The only thing he ever spawned that was halfway decent is Crank That Kosha Boy

When it comes to modern rap, Del The Funkee Homosapien said it best- "Rap ain't about bustin caps and f***ing b*****s/It's about fluency with rhymin ingenuity"

Peace.

P.S.-Lupe Fiasco for the win, folks.

and of course KRS-ONE - whoop whoop - its da sound of da police

didya hear bubbles? KRS is making a collaboration album with Buckshot from Black Moon sometime in the near future. It's gonna be a classic without a doubt.

ugh...-hangs head, scratches next- I'm so new to the scene. I got in through Jedi Mind Tricks, and started picking up all their collaborator's stuff(starting with R.A. and Killah), and just branching out through there, doing my best to bankrupt myself here with CDs.

So KRS is new to me, at least. And pretty good at that.

So with '07 winding down, best alt/underground rap album this year? For my money, it's gotta be a top 3-

(just because it needs to be mentioned. Wu Tang Clan- '8 Diagrams'(not a bad track in it, "While My Heart Gently Weeps", "Rushing Elephants", and "Wolves" are good, but it doesn't shine)

3.EL-P- "I'll Sleep When You're Dead"(starts off amazing but trails off after "Everything Must Go" only to return with "Smithereens")
2.Pharoahe Monch-"Desire" (another sorta uneven record, but 8 out of 13 tracks being good and one utterly classic song in 'Gun Draws' is enough to get up there)
1.Lupe Fiasco-"The Cool". Not a bad track in it, "Little Weapon" and "Hello/Goodbye" are classic level. Just well rounded, gets better on every listen.

Honorable Mention? Slow Suicide Stimulus, Jerzee boys they are. . Sorry, have to shout out there.

Oh, and The Roots are playing a show by me soon, and then Wyclef Jean soon after that. But the venue requires ID, which I don't have...-seethes-

my favorite album of this year so far has been the Undisputed Truth by Brother Ali. I literally listened to that album again and again for a week straight, it never gets old. i still need to buy (not download, buy) The Cool, as soon as i get my lazy a** to a Best Buy.

Hmm...Truth Is and Uncle Sam Goddamn are amazing tracks, but the rest of the album just doesn't live up to the promise of those two tracks. It all flows quite well, and it's a solid album but...-shrugs- I'm not exactly sure why I don't like it more, really.



Well, that's the thing about underground rap...it's underground, and that means hard to find either to download or buy sometimes. Which can go either way- I was sort of boxed into buying Slow Suicide Stimulus' album for just two tracks(BiPolar HiRollers and the utterly sick 'Antidote', in retrospect a good purchase), while on the other hand I've yet to find "Internal Affairs" by Pharoahe Monch(trying to complete my collection) as anything but a download.

But anyway, with None Shall Pass and I'll Sleep When You're Dead amongst other releases this year, Def Jux seems poised to replace/get up there with Rhymesayers as far as the rather niche market that alt. rap seems to consume. And rivalry is what Martha Stewart(because we all know who's gangsta- martha) would say- that's a good thing.

P.S. Most disappointing record of the year? Ritual Of Battle by AOTP. So much potential, good to see Jus Allah back with JMI and crew again, but beyond that not as 'zomgz' as one would expect. But hey, after Servants In Heaven, Kings In Hell I expect anything JMI related to rock my socks, and it can't all be gold.

-goes back to listening to Pterodactyl Tubeway, by far the most oddly enjoyable album in recent memory-

poet - didnt know about krs-ones collaboration, sounds well worth checking out.

thought i'd throw a few more out there as well

representing the uk - the fantastic - Roots Manuva - Witness (1 Hope) - ye should check the video - tis funny as fook

not sure if this qualifies as rap - dan le sac vs scroobius pip - thou shalt always kill

Oh...mah....bob...

The three legged race! He utterly wasted that third leg kiddo(I hope that was fake...)

Good track too.

As far as "Thou Shalt Always Kill", -shrugs- it might not be rap, but it is truth on a good level.

So glad I clicked your sig, Dez Jerub.

Anyone noticed how the more famous G-Unit rappers start off great but end up finishing with lyrical-s***?

50 Cent: Get Rich or Die Trying was a brilliant album, I mean, considering it was his first mainstream hit, it was really good.

Lloyd Banks: Nowhere near as famous as 50 made it, but 'The Hunger For More' was, in my opinion, a pretty d*** good album. I admit some of the tracks were a little week, but he did it pretty well. Too bad it didn't take.

Young Buck: 'Straight Outta Ca$hville' was quite the reverse of mst albums out of the South. Strong tracks about pain, and loving where he was from. No dance songs, I liked it.


But yeah, not exactly underground rap. If he counts, Lupe Fiasco is currently my favourite artist, both of his albums didn't have one, not ONE weak track. Food & Liquor was amazing for a debut album, but sadly it didn't recieve the hype and praise it should've.

The Cool is just as, if not more, amazing. A concept album based around characters he created? Very nice. Beautifully produced tracks and well written lyrics, my current favourite album this year.

And I really should thank Jerub for getting me into Jedi Mind Tricks and re-introducing me to Del. Amazing lyricists, amazing rappers.

Aha, since when have I led you astray?



I never quite listened to them, so I wouldn't much know...



I like to think that Lupe Fiasco is underground, he hasn't sold out to my opinion yet, and despite the success of The Cool I waffle on whether or not he's truly mainstream.



But hardly that innovative. It's more in the tracks and lyrics then the concept for me there, and I much prefer it to Food And Liqour(which has I Gotcha and Kick Push, but not much else great, just solid.)



JMI was *the* first rap group I got into. I'd dabbled with Del and Dr. Octagon, but they just hit me at the right time of life, oddly enough through a JMI track being used as a theme song of one of poetofrage's characters in DR(Alex, IIRC.)

Just right music, right time especially I Who Have Nothing.

I was once trying to explain a bad bit of depression to a friend, and she wasn't getting it, so I just put the song on. Music louder and more poignant then any words I could/can get for that singular feeling of true hopelessness, maybe the best track I've ever heard, and along with El-P's "Stepfather Factory", one of the few rap songs that ever brought out that kind of emotion in me.

Oh, and Del? Awesome in incalculable, innumerable ways.

However, if you like JMI, I'm heartily advising you to avoid Ritual Of Battle. None of the tracks stand out and while a bad JMI/AOTP album blows most out of the water on their best days, it's sort of dampened my enthusiasm for them.

On the other hand when speaking of supergroups, I am *hyped* for the 2008 Weatherman album. They had me at 'Cage and El-P', the rest of that group is just icing on cake.

Now, before I go to bed, I leave you with one final gift.

The Polite Rap. Yes, that's Hugh "Dr. House" Laurie in the neon. Word.

the infesticons - hero theme

from fila brazilla - another late night comp.

Eh, can't find the second anywhere, but the first is pretty catchy. Sorta more electronic and funk then rap though. -shrugs- ah well, beggars/choosers whatnot.

Anywho, these guys should be, if the universe was fair and just, huge. Just off the hook, I must say.

oh ,its jist the wan song - its was off that comp i heard it, the soundtrack to many a drunken & otherwise night at eden terrace. (where i used to live best landlord ever - as in he never came round, think i went 8 months without paying rent....)

no bad...typical cats...listening now...

has anyone mentioned jurassic 5 yet....concrete school yard is as they say a TUUNE...

oh aye jb did you check out subtle yet...(my questionmark key is fooked on me laptop)....

mercury craze

Eh, I don't think anyone mentioned J5 yet. They are sort of implied when you talk about underground rap, I think, same reason why no one has mentioned Dr. Octagon yet? meh.

Subtle is an interesting band, very genre transcending, not sure if they can quite be classified, and I like that. Plus, the video to The Mercury Craze? Some great, freaky s***. lol.

Nighthawks or Weathermen?

Underground hiphop is REAL hiphop.
hiphop from TV or radio is not hiphop at all.
most ppl never heard real rap before.

check out my channel to hear KNOWLEDGE in the form of music.
http://youtube.com/oobe
I also made videos with scenes from heroes.

Any of yall heard of killah priest? Sick since? immortal technique?
some amazing artists. and its not about the rap, they spread a wonderful message.
what about 'Canibus', the lyrical content he raps about fits very well with the Heroes show!
there so many more unheard artists that are way better then anything u'v ever heard.
get at me if u want more info. I got great connections in the underground world of hiphop.

Obviously a undaground hiphop guru (though not showin` ).
into mf doom (favorite because of his comic style),wutang(gritty,detailed non bull+my club got almost same name ) lewis parker,rootsmanuva, jedi mind(old albums) ...queensbridge arena! loved murda muzik movie! hmm.. rakim,nas of old school era,j5(!!), THE ROOTS! ppl under the stairs... i can go on all day... anywayz undaground shows luv for indy..heroes also shows luv for its genre which is somewhat part-reason for its popularity.myopinion..
but then again who wouldnt want to excel hehe..

Love Them!! Yeah does anyone have anymore good suggestions...?!