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Indie Hip Hop
Underground hip hop (also known as underground rap or simply underground) traditionally refers to hip hop music that is outside the general mainstream canon or counter-cultural in nature, usually with a heavy emphasis on emotion, lyricism, and/or social consciousness. Being outside of the mainstream, it is common for artists or songs that are considered "underground" to have little commercial success, though this is not a requirement, as many have gained massive followings, especially in the streaming era. In recent years, the term has also been used to refer to hip hop subgenres that incorporate themes of trap, plugg, milwaukee lowend, drill or rage which often feature melodic vocals with heavy use of Auto-Tune (or similar pitch correction tools) with virtually no focus on lyricism or connection to counterculture. Despite little overlap between the traditional and modern definitions, both are still commonly used. "The Underground" also refers to the community of musicia ...
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Counterculture
A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Houghton Mifflin. . (1993) p. 419. "Members of a cultural protest that began in the U.S. In the 1960s and Europe before fading in the 1970s... fundamentally a cultural rather than a political protest." A countercultural movement expresses the ethos and aspirations of a specific population during a well-defined era. When oppositional forces reach critical mass, countercultures can trigger dramatic cultural changes. Countercultures differ from subcultures. Prominent examples of countercultures in the Western world include the Levellers (1645–1650), Bohemianism (1850–1910), the more fragmentary counterculture of the Beat Generation (1944–1964), and the globalized counterculture of the 1960s which in the United States consisted prim ...
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Jedi Mind Tricks
Jedi Mind Tricks (JMT) are an American underground hip hop group from Philadelphia, founded in 1996 by two high school friends, rapper Vinnie Paz (Vincenzo Luvineri) and producer Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind (Kevin Baldwin). In 1999, rapper Jus Allah joined the group to record their second studio album, ''Violent by Design''. Jus left the group shortly after, but returned in late 2006 and began working on the sixth studio album, ''A History of Violence (album), A History of Violence''. In 2011 Stoupe left the group because "his heart wasn't in making JMT records anymore". In 2013, Jus split from the group indefinitely, and Stoupe returned in 2015. DJ Kwestion mainly scratches choruses on the turntable. Kwestion is also a part of the group Skratch Makaniks. Kwestion, who is the tour DJ, was a replacement for JMT's previous DJ, Drew Dollars, who is no longer affiliated with the group due to creative differences. JMT has collaborations with both regional MCs and rap veterans, incl ...
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Danny Brown
Daniel Dewan Sewell (born March 16, 1981), better known as Danny Brown, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He was described by MTV in 2011 as "one of rap's most unique figures in recent memory". After amassing several mixtapes including ''Hot Soup (mixtape), Hot Soup'' (2008), Brown released his first studio album, ''The Hybrid (album), The Hybrid'' (2010). He gained major recognition after the release of its follow-up, ''XXX (Danny Brown album), XXX'' (2011), which received critical acclaim and led him to be named "Artist of the Year" by ''Spin (magazine), Spin'' and the ''Metro Times''. His third studio album, ''Old (Danny Brown album), Old'' (2013) reached number 18 on the U.S. Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 chart and spawned the singles "Dip", "25 Bucks", and "Smokin & Drinkin". His fourth and fifth studio albums, ''Atrocity Exhibition (album), Atrocity Exhibition'' (2016) and ''U Know What I'm Sayin?'' (2019), were met with continued crit ...
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Roc Marciano
Rahkeim Calief Meyer (born February 11, 1978), better known by his stage name Roc Marciano, is an American rapper and record producer. He is known for his intricate internal rhymes and wordplay detailing mafioso and pimp themes over sample based production. He has been called the "Godfather of the Underground" for pioneering the resurgence of gritty, lyrical rap and use of drumless sample loops in the early 2010s with his highly influential debut album '' Marcberg'' (2010). Marciano has gone on to release 11 studio albums and a variety of mixtapes and EPs, most of which are almost entirely produced by Marciano himself with the notable exceptions of the DJ Muggs-produced '' Kaos'' (2018) as well as the Alchemist-produced '' The Elephant Man's Bones'' (2022) and '' The Skeleton Key'' (2024). He frequently collaborates with the two, in addition to other underground artists such as Knowledge the Pirate, Ka, Action Bronson, Animoss, and various members of the Griselda collecti ...
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Del The Funky Homosapien
Teren Delvon Jones (born August 12, 1972), better known by his stage name Del the Funky Homosapien (sometimes stylized as Del tha Funkee Homosapien) or Sir DZL, is an American rapper. Music career 1988–1997: Early life and beginnings Born in Oakland, California, he is the cousin of seminal West Coast rapper Ice Cube, and began his career writing lyrics for Ice Cube's group Da Lench Mob. In 1991, with the help of Ice Cube, Del released his first solo album, ''I Wish My Brother George Was Here'', at the age of 19. The album was a commercial success largely due to the popularity of the hit single "Mistadobalina". Ultimately Del, who was not pleased with the limited musical range of the album, severed his production-artist relationship with Ice Cube for his next album, ''No Need for Alarm''. ''No Need for Alarm'' saw the introduction of the Oakland clique Hieroglyphics (group), Hieroglyphics, whose original members included Souls of Mischief (Opio, A-Plus, Phesto and Tajai), Casual ...
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Company Flow
Company Flow was an American hip hop trio from Brooklyn, New York City, consisting of Bigg Jus, El-P and Mr. Len. The group was at one time associated with the independent record label Rawkus Records. Rapper/ producer El-P and DJ/producer Mr. Len founded the group in 1992 in Queens, New York where rapper/producer Bigg Jus later joined. History Founding members El-P and Mr. Len met when the latter was hired to perform as a DJ at the former's 18th birthday party. The two quickly became friends and formed Company Flow in 1993. They released their first single, "Juvenile Techniques" later the same year. After El-P was introduced to Bigg Jus by underground rapper and indie label owner ANTTEX, the trio then released their debut EP, '' Funcrusher'', on their own label Official Recordings in 1995. A follow-up single, "8 Steps to Perfection" was put out in 1996. Subject to a major label bidding war on Libra Records, Company Flow waited until they could get a contract on their o ...
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Cannibal Ox
Cannibal Ox is an American hip hop duo from Harlem, New York, United States. It consists of Vast Aire and Vordul Mega, often accompanied by DJ Cip-One. History The members of Cannibal Ox, Vast Aire and Vordul Mega, met each other as high school students in Harlem. They began performing in the New York underground hip hop scene in the 1990s, leading them to meet El-P and become among the first members of his record label Definitive Jux. In 2001, Cannibal Ox released their debut studio album, '' The Cold Vein''. It was the first full-length studio album released by Definitive Jux, and was fully produced by El-P. ''The Cold Vein'' received positive reviews from critics and put the duo in the underground hip hop spotlight, and it has been highlighted as one of underground hip hop's best albums by outlets such as ''Fact'' and ''HipHopDX''. However, the duo did not release any further projects until the 2005 live album '' Return of the Ox: Live at CMJ''. The liner notes of ''Return of ...
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Blu (rapper)
Johnson Barnes III (born April 15, 1983), better known by his stage name Blu, is an American rapper and record producer from Los Angeles, California. He performs as one half of the duo Blu & Exile, which was formed in 2007 and whom released their debut studio album, '' Below the Heavens'' in July of that year. He is also the forefront member of the California-based collective, Dirty Science. He is recognized for his collaborative albums with record producers Mainframe, Ta'Raach, Bombay, Damu the Fudgemunk, Madlib, Nottz, and Union Analogtronics. Since his debut, he has had a productive standard of releasing multiple albums. Musical career By age 19, Blu was selling out local shows at the Knitting Factory, House Of Blues, and headlining once a month at the Rumba Room on Universal City Walk. Back then, he recorded with various rap groups such as the Ill Flava Crew, Infinite Legacy crew, The Untouchable Mob, Glory For The People, The LA Metro Crew and the Bridgetown Steel Crew. ...
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Binary Star (band)
Binary Star is a hip-hop project by rapper One Be Lo (also known as OneManArmy), and was formerly a duo with rapper Senim Silla. The pair met in high school and formed the group in 1998 during their time in Hiawatha Correctional Facility. History Binary Star's debut effort, ''Waterworld'', was produced on a $500 budget and released in 1999, under the label Terrorist Records. An extensive tour of Michigan followed, as both members of the duo were on parole and were not permitted to leave the state. The purpose behind ''Waterworld'' was to raise money to produce a "real album", ''Masters of the Universe''. ''Masters of the Universe'' was essentially a remixed version of ''Waterworld'', but garnered more attention, selling over 20,000 copies. However, Binary Star disbanded shortly thereafter, citing creative differences, though they reunited in 2002 to perform at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, They toured together again in 2009–10. In 2013, Binary Star released ...
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Atmosphere (music Group)
Atmosphere is an American hip-hop duo from Minneapolis, Minnesota, consisting of rapper Slug (Sean Daley) and DJ/ producer Ant (Anthony Davis). Since its formation in 1996, the group has released thirteen studio albums and ten extended plays. Members The duo is composed of rapper Slug (Sean Daley) and DJ/ producer Ant (Anthony Davis). With the exception of a few tracks on the album '' Lucy Ford'', Ant has produced every Atmosphere record. A former member and co-founder Spawn (Derek Turner) left the group after the release of the group's first album ''Overcast!''. Mr. Dibbs, a DJ associated with the group, toured with Atmosphere before their ''You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having'' tour, at which point Ant began touring. History Before ''Overcast!'' Sean Daley and Derek Turner met while attending Washburn High School. The pair took the names Slug and D-Spawn, respectively, as rapper names. They initially performed under the name "Mental Subjects", before changing the n ...
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Madlib
Otis Lee Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American record producer, DJ, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. Critically acclaimed for his eclectic, music sample, sample-heavy production style, he is regarded as one of the most influential producers in modern hip-hop. His frequent collaborators include MF Doom, MF DOOM (as Madvillain), J Dilla (as Champion Sound, Jaylib), Freddie Gibbs (as Freddie Gibbs & Madlib, MadGibbs), Talib Kweli, and Erykah Badu.#Aziri2002, Aziri (2002). Raised in Oxnard, California, Jackson began his career in music production in the early 1990s. He gained prominence as a member of the hip hop collective Lootpack and later formed the jazz-influenced group Yesterdays New Quintet. Jackson gained wider recognition for his collaboration with MF DOOM under the name Madvillain, producing the critically acclaimed album Madvillainy (2004). He was also credited for his work on "The Unseen (album), The Unseen" (2000) under h ...
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Zion I
Zion I was an American Hip hop music, hip hop project founded by Rapping, MC and Record producer, producer Baba Zumbi (real name Stephen Gaines) in Oakland, California. K-Genius and Amp Live were also project members. Career Originally formed as a group, Zion I released the debut studio album, ''Mind over Matter (Zion I album), Mind over Matter'', in 2000. It was nominated for "Independent Album of the Year" by ''The Source (magazine), The Source''. ''Deep Water Slang V2.0'' was released in 2003. In 2005, Zion I released ''True & Livin'''. It featured guest appearances from Gift of Gab (rapper), Gift of Gab, Talib Kweli, and Aesop Rock. ''Heroes in the City of Dope'', the first collaborative album with The Grouch (rapper), The Grouch, was released in 2006. In 2009, Zion I released ''The Takeover (Zion I album), The Takeover''. In 2010, Zion I released ''Atomic Clock (Zion I album), Atomic Clock''. ''Heroes in the Healing of the Nation'', the second collaborative studio album ...
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