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Listen to the Underground Hip-Hop Essentials playlist on Apple Music. 109 Songs. Duration: 6 hours, 50 minutes.
- Kota The Friend. If you only walk away with one new artist after reading my top ten, please let it be Kota. He’s the people’s champ, a true underdog that has decided to do things his way on the indie route.
- Ronsocold. Ronsocold is from Charlotte, North Carolina but is quickly getting his sound heard across the country thanks to his debut self-titled album, RonSoCold, which dropped earlier this year on May 15th.
- 2KBaby. 2KBaby is an emerging Louisville, Kentucky artist that is signed to Warner Music Group. He dropped his most recent project, Pregame Rituals, on April 10th and as the title suggests, he is just getting started!
- Curtis Roach. Although he’s been making great music for a few years now, it was on TikTok that this 21-year-old Detroit artist received his big moment earlier this year.
Mar 22, 2022 · In this piece, you will find 100 underground Hip Hop albums – no compilations, no mixtapes, no instrumental albums, no EPs – we consider to be essential, not ranked but presented in release year order. No major label albums on this list, strictly indie or no label projects – which btw does not mean there are no classics on this list: some ...
- Madvillain – Madvillainy (2004) Sprawling, ambitious, dense, funny, and consistently refreshing, MF Doom and Madlib’s 2004 collaboration Madvillainy represented the crescendo of an amorphous movement, capturing the inventive spirit of the American underground through a set of uncompromisingly weird and adventurous sounds.
- Cannibal Ox – The Cold Vein (2001) Though released in months prior to 9/11, Cannibal Ox’s seminal Cold Vein may as well have sonically predicted the disastrous days ahead.
- Aesop Rock – Labor Days (2001) Shouldering high expectations after his touted signing to Def Jux, Long Island wordsmith Aesop Rock delivered a career defining statement in Labor Days, an album that expanded on his trademark abstraction while dipping further into his favorite themes (modern labor, the effects of city living on the psyche, artistic creation) and a kind of lucidity nonexistent on previous releases.
- Company Flow – Funcrusher Plus (1997) Before El-P took the reins of Def Jux and assaulted listeners as a solo artist, he and cohorts Bigg Jus and Mr. Len crafted one of independent Hip-Hop’s most aggressive and indelible statements, an anti-mainstream screed that expressed its dissatisfaction in every ounce of its being.
- MF Doom
- Mos Def
- Talib Kweli
- J Dilla
- Immortal Technique
- Quasimoto
- Gang Starr
- KRS-One
- Denzel Curry
- Joey Bada$$
MF Doom, or Daniel Dumile, was one of the major names of underground hip-hop music from the 2000s until his death in 2020. He was famous for his brilliant wordplays and his “supervillain” stage character built with his signature metal mask, offensive attitude, and lyrics. One of his most celebrated albums, ”Madvillainy” from 2004, is considered o...
Known for his great releases such as “Oh No,” “Ms. Fat Booty,” and “Mathematics,” Yasiin Bey or commonly known as Mos Def, is considered one of the best lyricistsand MCs of hip-hop history. He has been a part of the conscious rap movement as he often talked about social and political causes like police brutality and the struggles of African-America...
Talib Kweli Greene is an American indie rapper mainly known for his collaborations with famous artists such as Mos Def, Kanye West, and Pharell Williams. His first steps onto the underground hip-hop scene were with his fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def, as they formed the Black Star hip-hop duo. Talib Kweli is a highly political artist and activist, o...
James Dewitt Yancey, commonly known as J Dilla, is one of the most influential producersand rappers of the 90s underground hip-hop scene. He was most appreciated for his way of creating melodic and long loops with great breakbeats and vocal samples. His approach helped hip-hop to reach a more musically complex level. The most important innovation h...
Felipe Andres Coronel, better known by his stage name Immortal Technique, has been one of the strongest defenders of indie hip-hop music and the underground rap scene since the 2000s. He is against record labels, who profit more than artists, and has been releasing his music without labels. He has been a famous name in the rap battles scene, which ...
One of the most famous names in the underground hip-hop scene is Madlib, who later created a side project with his alter ego Lord Quas and called it Quasimoto. Lord Quas uses a high-pitched voice, instead of the deeper vocals of Madlib and often talks about violence and drug use with a sarcastic stand. Madlib records his songs with a slow beat befo...
The American hip-hop duo Gang Starr was a collaboration between the record producer DJ Premier and the rapper Guru, which was quite famous among underground hip-hop fans and was considered one of the best hip-hop duos in history. The duo rocked the audience with their jazz-rap style, which they pioneered. Their recordings, such as “Mass Appeal,” “F...
Lawrence “Kris” Parker, or KRS-One, is a highly influential hip-hop artist who stepped onto the underground hip-hop scene during the mid-80s with the hip-hop band Boogie Down Productions. The band released some of the most iconic underground hip-hop songs, such as “Love’s Gonna Get’cha (Material Love)” and “Sound of da Police.” Later, KRS-One start...
One of the newer names in the underground hip-hop scene is Denzel Curry, who started rapping when he was only in the 6th grade and released his first mixtape in 2011. Since then, he released many albums like “Nostalgic 64”, “Ta13oo,” and “Zuu,” which all had quite commercial successes. Curry is famous for his aggressive style and lyrics, which have...
Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott, or Joey Bada$$, is another relatively new underground hip-hop artist who is the founder of the hip-hop project Pro Era. Influenced by names like Nas, 2Pac, Black Thought, and MF DOOM, he uses sugar-sweet beats and lyrical flow that takes the audience back to the swagtastic golden age of hip-hop. Joey Bada$$ released three ...
485K views • 48 tracks • 2+ hours. Best Underground Hip Hop Songs 2020 (Underground Rap Music Playlist Updated in 2020) Survival of the Fittest (feat. Laylow)
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Listen to Underground Hip-Hop Essentials by Apple Music Hip-Hop/Rap on Apple Music. Stream songs including \'Feelings Don't Feel (feat. Mick Jenkins)\', \'Drug Trade (feat. Black Thought)\' and more.
