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Underground hip-hop

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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.[1]

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 musicians, fans, and others that support non-commercial, or independent music. Music scenes with strong ties to underground hip-hop include alternative hip hop and conscious hip hop. Many artists who may be considered "underground" may not have been so, and may have previously broken the Billboard charts.[2]

Characteristics

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Underground hip hop encompasses several different styles of music.[further explanation needed] Numerous acts in the book How to Rap (2009) are described as being both underground and politically or socially aware, these include B. Dolan,[3] Brother Ali,[3] Diabolic,[4] Immortal Technique,[5] Jedi Mind Tricks,[6] Micranots,[7] Mr. Lif,[4] Murs,[4] Little Brother,[2] P.O.S,[8] Zion I, and Madlib.[9]

Underground artists and groups with critically acclaimed albums include Atmosphere,[3] Binary Star,[6] Blu, Cannibal Ox,[2] Company Flow,[10] Del the Funky Homosapien,[11] Roc Marciano, Danny Brown, Freestyle Fellowship,[6] Hieroglyphics,[12] Juggaknots, Jurassic 5,[10] Kool Keith,[5] Little Brother,[3] MF DOOM,[13] Non Phixion,[14] Planet Asia,[15] RJD2,[5] and MC TP.[16]

Additionally, many underground hip hop artists and groups have been applauded for the artistic and poetic use of their lyrics, such as Aesop Rock, Aceyalone,[6] Busdriver, Cage,[15] CunninLynguists,[17] Dessa, OhSo Kew,[18] Doomtree, El-P,[4] Eyedea & Abilities,[4] Illogic,[13] Onry Ozzborn, MF Doom, Rob Sonic,[11] Billy Woods,[19] and Sage Francis.[2]

Some underground artists and groups produce music that celebrates the fundamental elements or pillars of hip hop culture, such as Artifacts, Dilated Peoples, People Under the Stairs, and Fashawn, whose music "recalls hip hop's golden age".[5]

History

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Origins (1970s-1990s)

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In hip hop's formative years, the vast majority of the genre was underground music, by definition. Although the Sugarhill Gang gained commercial success in 1979, most artists did not share such prominence until the mid-1980s. Ultramagnetic MCs' debut album, Critical Beatdown (1988), can be seen as one of the earliest examples of "underground hip hop".[20] New York underground rapper Kool Keith received notable success with his album Dr. Octagonecologyst, gaining more attention than any contemporary independent hip hop album "in a while".[21] The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show was a notable underground hip hop radio show that was broadcast on WKCR, and later WQHT, in New York City from 1990 until 1999.[22][23] It featured rappers such as The Notorious B.I.G., Big L, Jay-Z, and Eminem, as well as groups like Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Onyx, and Fugees, all before they gained their popularity.[24] In 1999, Prince Paul and Breeze Brewin' created one of the first rap opera albums, named A Prince Among Thieves. Rolling Stone gave the album a 4.5/5.[25]

In the late 1990s, progressive rap acts such as Black Star and Juggaknots helped inspire and shape the underground hip hop movement that would follow in subsequent decades.[26]

Digital Age (2000s-2020s)

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See also: Internet rap § Blog rap, and Mumble rap § SoundCloud rap scene

During the late 2000s to early 2010s, Internet rap emerged as a growing style of hip-hop ushering in a new period of underground rap music that was heavily influenced by the Internet, streaming services and social media. Online rap music emerged out of the early online blogosphere, initially spreading through online social media platforms like Myspace[27] as well as mixtape-sharing site DatPiff[28][29], the movement was later further developed by influential rapper Lil B, which later proliferated with the rise of artists like Yung Lean as well as the influential online underground rap collective Drain Gang consisting of Bladee, Ecco2K, Thaiboy Digital and producer Whitearmor.[30][31]

Industrial hip-hop artists like Death Grips, JPEGMAFIA, Injury Reserve would also prove influential to the underground rap scene.

Other influential movements included Florida's Soundcloud rap scene which initially encompassed SpaceGhostPurrp's Raider Klan, Denzel Curry, Lil Ugly Mane and Metro Zu, though later gave rise to mainstream artists like Lil Peep, Lil Pump and XXXTentacion who later influenced artists like Playboi Carti, $uicideBoy$, [32] Trippie Redd, Lil Uzi Vert, and SoFaygo, some of which would sometimes be referred to as mumble rap.[33][34]

In the 2020s, a new generation of underground rap music emerged, with Rolling Stone describing them as "extremely online". Acts such as Nettspend, Osamason, ian, Xaviersobased, Yeat, Summrs, Rich Amiri, Tana, Autumn!, and Lazer Dim 700.[35][36] These artists often find success online through TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.[37]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "GrowYourFlow.com".
  2. ^ a b c d How to Rap, p. 342.
  3. ^ a b c d How to Rap, p. 317.
  4. ^ a b c d e How to Rap, p. 325.
  5. ^ a b c d How to Rap, p. 332.
  6. ^ a b c d How to Rap, p. 326.
  7. ^ Edwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. 316.
  8. ^ How to Rap, p. 333.
  9. ^ How to Rap, p. 334.
  10. ^ a b How to Rap, p. 315.
  11. ^ a b How to Rap, p. 322.
  12. ^ How to Rap, p. 316.
  13. ^ a b How to Rap, p. 321.
  14. ^ How to Rap, p. 323.
  15. ^ a b How to Rap, p. 327.
  16. ^ "MC TP". SoundCloud. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  17. ^ Chilton, Adam; Jiang, Kevin; Posner, Eric (12 June 2014). "Rappers v. Scotus". Slate.
  18. ^ "'Toonami': Anime-themed event to feature local musicians and vendors". The Lantern. 2022-02-25. Retrieved 2022-10-04.
  19. ^ "Intertextuality of Literature in Billy Woods' Lyrics" (PDF).
  20. ^ Price, E "Hip hop culture", ABC-CLIO, 2006. p. 295.
  21. ^ Huey, Steve. "Review of Dr. Octagonecologyst". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
  22. ^ Scott, Dana (August 22, 2016). "Stretch and Bobbito Speak on the Greatest Hip Hop Radio Show Ever. Their Own". HipHopDX. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  23. ^ Tobak, Vikki (August 3, 2017). "Stretch and Bobbito: kings of New York City radio". Andscape. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  24. ^ Bobbito Garcia (director). Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives (Documentary). Saboteur Media.
  25. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004-01-01). The new Rolling Stone album guide. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0743201698. OCLC 56531290.
  26. ^ Gill, Jon Ivan (2019). "Multi/race/less/ness as underground hip-hop identity in process". Underground Rap as Religion: A Theopoetic Examination of a Process Aesthetic Religion. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781351391320.
  27. ^ "MySpace Played a Big Role in Hip-Hop History; Now Much of That Record Is Gone". CBC Radio. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  28. ^ Michael Humphrey (August 4, 2011). "Datpiff: How Love For Mixtapes Grew To Lil Wayne Levels". Forbes. Archived from the original on November 30, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  29. ^ Meaghan Garvey (December 16, 2014). "The Minds Behind Music's Biggest Tech Advances in the Last 10 Years". Complex. Archived from the original on November 30, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  30. ^ Brady, Keegan (19 April 2022). "Inside the Cathartic Bliss of Drain Gang, Gen Z's Emo Torchbearers". Rolling Stone.
  31. ^ George, Cassidy (5 May 2023). "Drain Gang". 032c.
  32. ^ Kearse, Stephen. "JPEGMAFIA: All My Heroes Are Cornballs". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  33. ^ Turner, David (2017-06-01). "Look At Me!: The Noisy, Blown-Out SoundCloud Revolution Redefining Rap". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  34. ^ Aroesti, Rachel (2018-11-21). "Lil Pump review – mindless, parent-resistant mumble rap". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  35. ^ Lindert, Hattie (2024-03-14). "The Future of Underground Rap Is Extremely Online". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  36. ^ Cartter, Eileen (2025-03-21). "Nettspend Grows Up". GQ. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  37. ^ Press-Reynolds, Kieran. "Yeat: Lyfë". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2025-06-01.

Further reading

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