The nobody's of hip-hop
 

With soulja boys and 50 cent's clogging the mainstream, there are plenty of MC's who, unrightfully, go unnoticed or unappreciated (Gift of Gab from Blackalicious and Black Thought of the Roots to name a couple) give me youor top picks for the MC's that really deserve to be known but, sadly, aren't.

Aesop Rock
Atmosphere
Brother Ali
Cage
Crooked I
El-P
Eyedea
Jin (although I hear he hung up the mic for good)
Murs
Sage Francis

All you need is Del.

I don't know man, alot of the people on your list are getting a fair amount of internet attention these days, which we all know is what every artist wishes to achieve.

True, but with all the exposure from The Eleventh Hour I assumed he would be somewhat known by now (he is in my circle of friends anyhow), good call though.

I saw Brother Ali on posters and TV when in Iceland.

yeah mate...Iceland

I should have made this a bit clearer when I started the forum but I wanted some justification for your picks, I'll start with mine.

Tariq Trotter aka. Black Thought released his first album with The Roots, Organix, in 1993 (that's back when Nas' biggest accomplishment was getting a verse on the Main Source single, "Live at the Barbeque" YouTube - Live At The Barbeque - Main Source and Jay-z was still a Big Daddy Kane groupie YouTube - Big Daddy Kane - Show n Prove)
The Roots are often cited as one of the top 10 in hip hop and yet still there have been countless discussions where I hear people say "Black who?" and then go on about how Lil' Wayne is the best ever because he's gangsta, Black Thought had both parents murdered- that's pretty hardcore...YouTube - Black Thought freestyling with ?uestlove

Gift of Gab is the resident MC of the duo Blackalicious with Chief Xcel as producer. I have him up here because he's done things with his flow I didn't know were possible, it changes on virtually every track if it wasn't for his distinct voice you could easily listen to his album (he has a solo album) and think it was four different guys if you haven't heard here's a couple links.
Freestyle (note his multiple changes in flow)-
YouTube - Freestyle 101: Gift Of Gab
Just so ill:
YouTube - Gift Of Gab "Rat Race"

^ya i feel like lot of people that like the Roots, like them for their band, which is cool cuz they are a sick band, but Black Thought should b recognized for his lyrical talent as well...

Blueprint.

There are plenty of good talented artists who are in mainstream. And any real hip hop fan isn't listening to Soulja Boi anyways.

your point being...?

Don't we have at least 5 of these threads already? Blue & Exile.

Who cares? Stop being such a bitch. This forum never sees activity anyway.

My point was you said name more unknown artists. But 99% of what I saw were some of the biggest names out there. Not attacking you just was hoping to steer your thread in the right direction.

Yeh, just pointing that we have a bunch of identical threads. :rolleyes:

There's like one other thread on underground rappers, boohoo.

As far as hip-hop artists who really don't receive the credit their due I would definitely say Digable Planets. They had a hit with Cool Like That 15 or so years ago and then sorta fell off of everyone's radar, but Reachin' and Blow-out Comb are two of the best hip-hop albums I can think of.

Well, Blow Out Comb's good and all, but I don't think it's the classics Reachin' is.

I Like Blow Out Comb better. Its not as accessible as Reachin', but the beats are extraordinary especially considering the time period.

Maybe I'll give it another listen...We'll see, I like it already.

I defnitely agree, Digable Planets were one of the first groups to experiment with the jazzy hip-hop sound they're the predecessors to A Tribe Called Quest and pretty much the rest of the Native Tongues Posse.

Rezz: I see what you mean, but I was just trying to make a point. Sorry if it came off a bit brashly.

MF Doom
Mos Def
Kidz In the Hall
Del tha funky homosapien

You've got to be kidding, at least 3 of the artists on your list are some of the bigger names in hip hop today, hardly unknown.

In the underground. I see where hes comin from as they're not at all mainstream. Del maybe, cause he used to be huge.

I think Busdriver has good flow.

I got that, but these days the underground is just as popular as the mainstream, respectively. To suggest that someone like MF is a nobody is crazy.

Busdriver freestyling:

Busdriver has always reminded me so much of Aesop.

Mos Def is very, very well known, underground or otherwise. None of the people he mentioned are really nobodies, even Kids.

I realize that, but its not like he was naming off like Jay Z, and Luda and shit. Clearly anyone who listens to hiphop knows who those artists are for the most part..but it doesnt make them all that well known to the majority of the public. Most people would probably recognize Mos Def as an actor rather than a rapper.

Sorry, just tired of hearing the same names being mentioned again and again as nobodies.

I think he becomes a mor viable candidate if you put Mos Def in the context of Blackstar- the late 90's collaboration with Talib Kweli of which they released only one album. it is one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever produced and definitely not all that well known.

Amazing album. Respiration and RE: Definition are definitely 2 of my favourite hip hop songs ever.

Thing is, everyone who knows Hip Hop knows Black Star, they're always in discussions of underground Hip Hop.

Yeah, but generally how many people listen to Black Star? I know die-hard Talib Kweli fans that I can guarantee have never heard of or listened to them.

IMO one of the best hip-hop collabs ever. Danger Doom and Deltron 3030 are up there too...

^

I think I would like The Mouse and the Mask alot more if they did without the cartoon voices. Thus Madvillainy remains my favorite collab album.

Bigger names in hiphop today? riiiiight up there in mainstream with jay-z, nas, 50 and dre huh? ya doom fits right in..

Again, my point being that he is hardly unknown.

Quasimoto