 | | Atmosphere are a hip-hop group from Minneapolis centering around rapper Slug (aka Sean Daley). The son of a black father and a white mother who divorced when he was a teenager, Slug became entranced with hip-hop, graffiti, and breakdancing, and formed the Rhymesayers collective with two high-school friends -- Siddiq Ali (Stress) and Derek Turner (Spawn). |
 | | 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. |
 | | Building on the rapping style of eccentrics Kool Keith and Del the Funky Homosapien, Def Jux headliner Aesop Rock became one of the hottest MCs in the post-millennial underground. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Before Eyedea & Abilities were an MC/DJ pair, they were Mike Larsen and Gregory "Max" Keltgen, two friends from Minneapolis. |
 | | The Living Legends, a loose collective of MCs and DJs from the Oakland/San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Japan, and Europe, are unique for both their down-to-earth songs and approach to the music business. |
 | | Felt initially started as a joke between friends Murs (from Living Legends) and Slug (from Atmosphere) after a discussion came up during a 2001 joint tour about who would have the best chance of sleeping with Christina Ricci. |
 | | Born Paul Francis in 1977 in Miami, FL, Sage Francis spent most of his youth in Providence, RI. Interested in the poetic side of rap, Francis has been rhyming since age eight, later winning the Superbowl Battle in Boston in 1999 and the Scribble Jam in Cincinnati in 2000 and 2001 (the last under the name of his "metal" alter ego, Xaul Zan). |
 | | The underground hip-hop duo Jedi Mind Tricks started out in the streets of Philadelphia in early 1996. |
 | | The progressive Southern duo Cunninlynguists' combination of witty lyrics and edgy production has made them a favorite of underground hip-hop fans. |
 | | The Oakland-based Hieroglyphics are an underground rap collective who, at their best, combine an offbeat sensibility with a strong grounding in battle rhyming, freestyling, and other hip-hop traditions. |
 | | Born Felipe Coronel in a military hospital in Lima, Peru, in 1978, Immortal Technique moved to Harlem with his parents when he was two years old. |
 | | The underground hip-hop supergroup Deltron 3030 features Deltron Zero (Del Tha Funkee Homosapien), the Cantankerous Captain Aptos (producer/remixer Dan "The Automator" Nakamura) and Skiznod The Boy Wonder (turntablist Kid Koala). |
 | | With just a few (mostly underground) releases, Dilated Peoples energized the rap underground in similar fashion to fellow West Coast crew Jurassic 5. |
 | | Patterning his persona and logo after the Marvel Comics super villain Dr. Doom, the man behind MF (Metal Face) Doom's iron mask is actually Daniel Dumile, aka Zevlove X, a member of former Big Apple hip-hoppers K. |
 | | Cousin of renowned gangster rapper Ice Cube, Del tha Funky Homosapien (real name Teren Delvon Jones) was born in Oakland, California on August 12, 1972, and got his start with Ice Cube's backing band, Da Lench Mob. |
 | | Though there's actually six of them, Jurassic 5 got everything else right on their self-titled debut EP. |
 | | Initially regarded as one of the most promising rappers to emerge in the late '90s, Mos Def turned to acting in subsequent years as music became a secondary concern for him. |
 | | 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. |
 | | The meeting of two West Coast rappers fuelled this talented Canadian band. In 1996, Mad Child was a solo artist performing in San Francisco when he returned to his hometown of Vancouver. |
 | | Like a few other West Coast rap acts, including the Pharcyde and Jurassic 5, Blackalicious has generally favored what hip-hoppers call the "positive tip"; in other words, its lyrics have often been spiritual and uplifting rather than violent or misogynous. |
 | | Largely responsible for making Columbus, OH, a viable medium for hip-hop, Blueprint may have a cartoonish-sounding voice, but his lyrics are definitely not one-dimensional, varying from complex narratives to rhyme-battling punch lines to office humor. |
 | | If skills sold, Talib Kweli would have been one of the most commercially successful rappers of his time. |
 | | Another fantastic collaboration in the partner-heavy rap underground, Danger Doom brought together producer Danger Mouse (Gorillaz, plus his own heavily publicized production career) with rapper MF Doom (owner of a half-dozen aliases, all with full-length releases). |
 | | Though popular success has largely eluded the Roots, the Philadelphia group showed the way for live rap, building on Stetsasonic's "hip-hop band" philosophy of the mid-'80s by focusing on live instrumentation at their concerts and in the studio. |
 | | The Florida-based political rap duo Dead Prez consists of Stic.man and M-1, a pair of rappers inspired by revolutionaries from Malcolm X to Public Enemy. |
 | | A founding member of Freestyle Fellowship, Aceyalone played an important role in the evolution of left-field hip-hop on the West Coast during an era when hardcore gangsta rap reigned. |
 | | An influential alternative rap quartet from South Central Los Angeles, the Pharcyde was formed by MCs/producers Tre "Slimkid" Hardson, Derrick "Fatlip" Stewart, Imani Wilcox, and Romye "Booty Brown" Robinson. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Without question the most intelligent, artistic rap group during the 1990s, A Tribe Called Quest jump-started and perfected the hip-hop alternative to hardcore and gangsta rap. |
 | | Marcus Garvey, founder of the united Negro Improvement Association manifested his ideas by creating the Black Star shipping line, designed to repatriate blacks to Africa. |
 | | Emerging in 1993, when Dr. Dre's G-funk had overtaken the hip-hop world, the Staten Island, New York-based Wu-Tang Clan proved to be the most revolutionary rap group of the mid-'90s -- and only partially because of their music. |
 | | A self-taught bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, and drummer, P.O.S. (which stands for a variety of things, including Product of Society, Piece of Sh*t, and Promise of Skill) spent most of his childhood influenced by the energy of punk, drumming for Cadillac Blindside and singing and playing guitar for Building Better Bombs. |
 | | 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. |
 | | The East Oakland backpacker crew are members of the loose underground hip-hop consortium known as Hieroglyphics. |
 | | Gift of Gab made his name as the technically adept MC in the vaunted underground rap duo Blackalicious, in partnership with producer/DJ Chief Xcel. |
 | | Rjd2's music is a collage of cut-and-paste hip-hop that combines disparate elements to make for soulful, moody portraits of the world. |
 | | Mac Lethal, born David McCleary Sheldon, is a rapper representing Kansas City, MO. He released his first album, Men Are from Mars, Porn Stars Are from Earth in 2002, years after having already garnered a reputation on the freestyling/battle-rhyming circuit. |
 | | When he began releasing singles in the late '90s, party rap and gangsta rap were the dominant styles most MCs favored, but Mr. |
 | | 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. |
 | | The Wu-Tang Clan's chief producer, the RZA (aka the Abbott, Prince Rakeem, the Rzarector, Bobby Steels, and Bobby Digital) was born Robert Diggs. |
 | | The Genius, aka the GZA, was the most cerebral MC in the Wu-Tang Clan, as well as perhaps the most acclaimed. |
 | | The Grouch was a founding member of the Living Legends crew, a loose collective of MCs and DJs from the Bay Area, Japan, and Europe. |
 | | KRS-One (born Kris Parker) was the leader of Boogie Down Productions, one of the most influential hardcore hip-hop outfits of the '80s. |
 | | Alternative rock band from Panama Cage was formed by ex-Tempest Evan Rodaniche, who was joined by drummer Jorge Loaiza, bassist Giancarlo Costa, and guitarist Ricardo Costa. |
 | | While a member of the New York City duo Organized Konfusion, Pharoahe Monch developed a reputation as one of underground hip-hop's preeminent lyricists, crafting intricate and intelligent raps with partner Prince Poetry. |
 | | Comprised of the Harlem duo Vast Aire and Vordul Megilah, Cannibal Ox debuted in 2001 on the Def Jux label with The Cold Vein, produced by El P. |
 | | After single-handedly redefining "warped" as the mind and mouth behind the Bronx-based Ultramagnetic MC's, "Kool" Keith Thornton -- aka Rhythm X, aka Dr. |
 | | At the time of its 1989 release, De La Soul's debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, was hailed as the future of hip-hop. |
 | | Side by side with companion Seattle-based rap groups Common Market and Boom Bap Project, the Blue Scholars led the charge in proclaiming the Pacific Northwest as a breeding ground for "true school" hip-hop. |
