 | | Frequently and rightly placed in the same context as DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and Kanye West, J Dilla (aka Jay Dee) built and sustained a high standing as a producer's producer while maintaining a low profile. |
 | | In the mid-'90s, Sean Price, known then as Ruck, and partner Rock dropped their debut album, Nocturnal, as the rap outfit Heltah Skeltah during a time when East Coast hip-hop was delivering mainstream and underground classics left and right. |
 | | Widely known initially for his work as a producer and MC with the rap group Main Source, Large Professor soon after became a full-time producer working with such acts as Big Daddy Kane and A Tribe Called Quest. |
 | | Aside from his rhyming skills and bright prospects, Skyzoo is probably best remembered for his loss to fellow rhyme-slayer Jin on BET's 106 & Park freestyle contest. |
 | | Roc Marciano is an MC from New York City's tradition-rich Long Island. His work, first with the U.N. |
 | | Rising from the rugged streets and rich musical tapestry of Detroit, Slum Village were poised to carry on the old-school, funk, and soul-filled hip-hop torch of genre pioneers A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and the Pharcyde. |
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 | | Camp Lo is a rap group from the Bronx who melds hip-hop with jazz sensibilities and funk. After having a hit single, "Coolie High," from The Great White Hype soundtrack in early 1996, they released their debut album, Uptown Saturday Night, in February 1997. |
 | | Born in Washington, D.C., to a Sudanese father and an African-American mother, Amir Mohamed grew up in Maryland, influenced by soul and rap as well as the myriad of musicians on both sides of his family. |
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 | | The High & Mighty's momentary affiliation with Rawkus Entertainment in 1999 brought them national acclaim, and the duo returned to the underground thereafter and used the newfound clout to promote their Eastern Conference label. |
 | | Born James Campbell in Westbury, NY, in 1969, gruff-voiced MC Freddie Foxxx (aka Bumpy Knuckles) was in a group by the age of ten and made his recorded debut as Freddie C. |
 | | San Mateo native Rasco (whose name is an acronym for "realistic, ambitious, serious, cautious, and organized") worked as a member of the West Coast hip-hop groups Various Blends and Cali Agents. |
 | | Hailing from East Orange, NJ, Chino released his debut album, Here to Save You All, in 1996 and has since had plenty of now famous appearances on DJ Sway and Tech's morning radio show called "The Wakeup Show. |
 | | Growing up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the boy who would become producer 9th Wonder, Pat Douthit, performed in the school band and also played keyboards at home. |
 | | Casual was third out the gate (following Del tha Funkee Homosapien and Souls of Mischief) from the Hieroglyphics crew, the undisputed kings of the Oakland underground scene. |
 | | Massachusetts-born rapper Termanology quickly rose from underground obscurity to working with some of hip-hop's elite producers, particularly DJ Premier. |
 | | The most influential MC-and-DJ tandem of the 1990s, Gang Starr set new standards for East Coast rap with a pair of early-'90s touchstones, Step in the Arena (1991) and Daily Operation (1992), whose appeal has only grown over the decades. |
 | | With an impressive resume in rap that includes membership in the legendary Juice Crew (along with Marley Marl, MC Shan, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Roxanne Shante, and Craig G) and a verse on the 1988 classic posse cut "The Symphony," Brooklyn's Masta Ace is truly an underappreciated rap veteran and underground luminary. |
 | | A layered wordsmith, Queens rapper Homeboy Sandman was born to a boxing father who emigrated from the Dominican Republic to New York and fought on the heavyweight circuit. |
 | | Planet Asia (born Jason Green) rose from the uncharted hip-hop territory of Fresno, CA, to become one of the stars of the West Coast "true school" generation that emerged in late '90s. |
 | | Common (originally Common Sense) was a highly influential figure in rap's underground during the '90s, keeping the sophisticated lyrical technique and flowing syncopations of jazz-rap alive in an era when commercial gangsta rap was threatening to obliterate everything in its path. |
 | | One of the most talked-about rappers of 2008, Jay Electronica built his reputation via the Internet and word of mouth, without so much as a single commercial release to his credit. |
 | | Hailing from the West Michigan town of Grand Rapids, Apollo Brown is a hip-hop producer currently based in Detroit. |
 | | The underground Los Angeles-based duo of MC Blu (b. Johnson Barnes) and DJ/producer Exile (b. Aleksander Manfredi) earned widespread acclaim right out the gate with their debut album, Below the Heavens (2007), which critics crowned as the seemingly perfect marriage of Blu's everyday-struggle raps and Exile's Pete Rock- and J Dilla-inspired production. |
 | | A longtime friend of Definitive Jux leader El-P, rapper Murs first appeared as a solo artist in 2003, after nearly a decade of working with various groups in the underground. |
 | | Born to teenage parents in a working-class area of Connecticut, rapper Apathy first discovered hip-hop at age five when his uncle played him Chaka Khan's 1984 cover of the Prince song "I Feel for You," which featured Melle Mel rapping. |
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 | | As golden age rap suddenly gave way to West Coast gangsta in the early '90s, an East Coast variety of hardcore rap arose in turn, with Mobb Deep initially standing tall as one of New York's hardcore figureheads on the basis of their epochal album The Infamous. |
 | | Bringing together the talents of respected West Coast solo rappers Rasco and Planet Asia, both of whom had piled up music awards and critical praise within the hip-hop community, Cali Agents issued their debut album in 2000 with How the West Was Won. |
 | | Although his status within Boston's rap underground is legendary, hardcore underground rapper Big Shug is widely known for his long-time affiliation with hip-hop duo Gang Starr and its producer-half, DJ Premier. |
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 | | Beginning with his classic debut, Illmatic (1994), Nas stood tall for years as one of New York City's leading rap voices, outspokenly expressing a righteous, self-empowered swagger that endeared him to critics and hip-hop purists. |
 | | The underground hip-hop outfit People Under the Stairs was formed by Mike Turner (Double K) and Chris Portugal (Thes One), who met on the fringe of L. |
 | | Consisting of MCs Ryu and Takbir, Styles of Beyond take their inventive Los Angeles-based hip-hop to the millennium and try to propel the form into uncharted territory. |
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 | | Born in Watts, CA, hardcore rapper Jay Rock was raised in the city's Nickerson Gardens Projects. With most neighborhood teens joining a gang, it was a no-win situation for Rock since hanging with any of his childhood friends meant he has engaging in "anti-social behavior" according to the law. |
 | | He may sound like Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah, but when rapper Action Bronson calls upon his past life as chef and spits heavy culinary knowledge, you certainly wouldn’t confuse the two. |
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 | | Rapper Brother Ali spent much of his life living in various cities in the Upper Midwest, starting in Madison, Wisconsin, then moving to Michigan as a young child -- where he was first introduced to breakdancing and graffiti and rapping -- and finally settling in northern Minneapolis with his family when he was 15. |
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 | | El-P, aka El Producto, is one of hip-hop's most obstinate and adventurous pioneers, combining a lo-fi old-school aesthetic with a progressive rock musician's inclination to push boundaries. |
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 | | Part of the new millennium resurgence of alternative rap, Little Brother drew from atypical inspirations for Southern hip-hop: classic Native Tongues outfits like De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, as well as more recent torch-bearers like the Roots and Black Star. |
 | | Compton, California's Kendrick Lamar initially rapped as K. Dot and released a series of mixtapes under that name. |
 | | Hailing from the same California town, Oxnard, that brought Lootpack and Madlib to the world, Roc 'C' was first introduced to the world with his appearance on Oh No's (another Oxnard native) single "Move, Pt. |