Overlooked rappers

Napoli

In this thread we name rappers that were overlooked or ignored in their time but you feel deserved better. PS: Please link to any youtube videos rather than embed them into the thread - I think it looks far tidier.

(1) Johnny J: He was mainly a latino hip-hop producer for Death Row Records and famously produced half of 2pac's All Eyez On Me album. But not many people know that he released a solo record in 1995 - I Gotta Be Me. Naturally he produced the whole album himself, with some amazing west coast beats mind you, but suprisingly his rapping skills are top notch too. Sadly he died last year in prison after an apparent suicide but there are rumours of him being beaten by the guards and being raped in jail etc. I really feel this album deserved so much more attention. It's out of print and is rare to find so here are some of the best tracks from the album:

"Diggin' Um Out"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvIu4IA4NUE&feature=related

"Better Off"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHJpM7Fj8pY


(2) DJ Quik: Another west coaster here from Compton. Like Johnny J, DJ Quik's main focus was production and he also did a stint with Death Row. He perfected the G-funk sound of the time imo. But he released several solo albums to prove that he can spit a verse too. He is still making albums, with one due this year according to Wikipedia, but I find it sad that he remains unknown to many self-proclaimed rap fans. Here are two tracks from 1995's Safe & Sound. I can't praise this guy enough!

"Dollaz + Sense"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HHa3Hak3lA

"Itz your fantasy"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuSIeRSwXM

Nolanger

J Rock - no links just have the CD .

Chewabacca

Psycho Realm. A must for every hip-hop enthusiast.

lapses

immortal technique - personally i like his song obnoxious, but he has some other really cool beats. He has been offered record deals with various big name companies but always refuses. Hes really cool

You mentioned psycho realm there cool too. But lets not forget B-reals main project: Cypress Hill. Who are defo way overlooked. Alot of really famous artists quote their lyrics (recently: lil jon roll call, and snoop dogg from years back- cant remember the song name but in the video people transform between dogs and humans). Alot of their songs have being sampled over the years but yet I find when I talk about them nobody knows who they are.

Rant over.

Chewabacca

I agree immortal technique is excellent and a true underground rapper.

In the beginning Psycho Realm had nothing to to with b-real and recorded alot without anything to do with him. He only became involved after he had heard them.

I would'nt say Cypress Hill are overlooked in the slightest. They are possibly the biggest hip-hop band that never went commercial. It's undeniable that Cypress Hill are better than Psycho Realm but everyones heard of Cypress Hill and Psycho Realm are somewhat of a forgotten gem.

I think Del the Funky Homosapien is well deserved of some recognition. His stuff is a breath of fresh air amidst the modern "hip-hop".

lapses

Wasnt going to post these till I saw your response chewabacca

Diabolic - is considered by a good lot (apparently) to be next eminem. Check out his song The Truth - its pretty good but maybe the lyrics might not be to your taste.


Also another excellent, and I mean excellent rapper is Beast1333. Its really really hard to get his stuff. Aparantly he's banned from youtube. Though heres a youtube link to one video. Seriously check this out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vTbvvKdBwg

godspal

Cormega, been in the game since the 80s and only got an album released in 2001 (The Realness) He has a gritty flow, and his lyrics are just visceral and fluid.

Freestyle Fellowship an amazing westcoast alternative rap group, there albums are quiet raw when it comes to production values but when it comes to lyrics the group has bouncy fluid flows.

CYNE are essentially an electronica rap group, amazing stuff, the lyrics are stream-of-conciousness and they push past the norms of normal rap they focus on mainly philosophy both eastern and western and sometimes they dabble in eastern religious motifs, they are very strong group.

Jungle Brothers, I know this may seem like a bizarre choice but if you consider who came out of the Native Tongue Possey (De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Mos Def, Talib Kwali) they are certainly overlooked in retrospect.

Main Source, one great, great album before Large Professor split, it is also the album where Nas made his debut. Breaking Atoms is the name of that album and it is certainly one of the best albums of 1991.

Paris, West Coast, angry, Nation of Islam, miltant, intelligent, G-Funk, 6'4, economist, produces his own albums, controversial. These are the descriptions that come to mind when it comes to Paris.

Dubhthamlacht

Chewabacca wrote: »

I think Del the Funky Homosapien is well deserved of some recognition. His stuff is a breath of fresh air amidst the modern "hip-hop".

Totally agree on this. His work on Deltron 3030 was inspired.

To the list of underrated I would add Edan. His show in Dublin a few years ago was mesmerizing. His album "Beauty and The Beat" still ranks as one of my all time favourites.

ghostface ste

lapses wrote: »

Diabolic - is considered by a good lot (apparently) to be next eminem. Check out his song The Truth - its pretty good but maybe the lyrics might not be to your taste.

In fairness i think Diabolic has been around for a good while now and can't see anything ever coming of him. Another Immortal affiliate Akir i think is really really good. Give his alum Legacy a listen, super stuff but haven't heard much since then

Edit: he just put up a new mixtape on hos myspace 3 days ago!

John 187

Scarface the rapper not the film, but that's ace as well.

imported_guy

AOTP/jedi mind tricks... really define rap. shout out to vinnie paz too

Cookie Jar

Jedi mind tricks, Immortal technique, atmosphere.

horsebox09

From Back in the day,the doc was really underrated,no on can better is a classic.
Kool g rap is so underrated these days too,never gets mentioned dispite being one of the greatest to grace the mic.
Masta Ace is another one.
Rappers from more recently that are underrated,breezly brewin' (the juggaknots) incredible mc.
Apathy is fairly underrated too.
For anybody who likes political hip hop id advise you to look up the lost children of babylon,they get outshined by immortal technique,but may actually be better.

Boom_Bap

horsebox09 wrote: »

From Back in the day,the doc was really underrated,no on can better is a classic.
Kool g rap is so underrated these days too,never gets mentioned dispite being one of the greatest to grace the mic.
Masta Ace is another one.
Rappers from more recently that are underrated,breezly brewin' (the juggaknots) incredible mc.
Apathy is fairly underrated too.
For anybody who likes political hip hop id advise you to look up the lost children of babylon,they get outshined by immortal technique,but may actually be better.

Have to agree with alot of the above post.

D.O.C. also had an album called Helter Skelter which was amazing.
G Rap is a hero, im not sure if i would call him under-rated though.
Masta Ace is also not one i'd call under-rated. I grew up listening to them so maybe i'm just assuming everyone else did

Breeze Breewing is an excellent mc, looking forward to his new album. He done a concept album with Prince Paul before called A Prince Among Thieves which is well worth checking out.

Apathy, Celph Titled, Louis Logic, Demigods are all dope, they should be on everyones playlists.

There are also way too many other undderrated acts to list.

horsebox09

Boom_Bap wrote: »

Have to agree with alot of the above post.

D.O.C. also had an album called Helter Skelter which was amazing.
G Rap is a hero, im not sure if i would call him under-rated though.
Masta Ace is also not one i'd call under-rated. I grew up listening to them so maybe i'm just assuming everyone else did

Breeze Breewing is an excellent mc, looking forward to his new album. He done a concept album with Prince Paul before called A Prince Among Thieves which is well worth checking out.

Apathy, Celph Titled, Louis Logic, Demigods are all dope, they should be on everyones playlists.

There are also way too many other undderrated acts to list.

Ive never heard the helter skelter album,apparently he uses the verses he wrote for dr dre after they fell out so i think ill check that out!
Yeah i agree g rap and masta ace might not be underrated as such,i just don't think they get enough credit these days.
Prince among thieves is a dope album,you should out juggaknots-clear blue skies if you haven't,insane album.
Oh yeah louis logic i forgot about him,sin a matic is hilarious!
I'm surprised that celph titled still hasn't put out a proprer solo album.
I didn't realise that breezly had a new album coming out,looking forward to that! Is he signed to def jux??

Boom_Bap

horsebox09 wrote: »

Ive never heard the helter skelter album,apparently he uses the verses he wrote for dr dre after they fell out so i think ill check that out!
Yeah i agree g rap and masta ace might not be underrated as such,i just don't think they get enough credit these days.
Prince among thieves is a dope album,you should out juggaknots-clear blue skies if you haven't,insane album.
Oh yeah louis logic i forgot about him,sin a matic is hilarious!
I'm surprised that celph titled still hasn't put out a proprer solo album.
I didn't realise that breezly had a new album coming out,looking forward to that! Is he signed to def jux??

Celph Titled has label issues as far as i know. But he released a 4 disc compilation of most of the songs he's been on. He also has an album with J-Zone called Bo$$ Hog Barbarians which is quite good.....come to think of it, he has one with Apathy too.

Breeze isnt on Def Jux, there is a new single and vid banking about for him, cant track it down at the moment.

Boom_Bap

Boom_Bap wrote: »

Celph Titled has label issues as far as i know. But he released a 4 disc compilation of most of the songs he's been on. He also has an album with J-Zone called Bo$$ Hog Barbarians which is quite good.....come to think of it, he has one with Apathy too.

Breeze isnt on Def Jux, there is a new single and vid banking about for him, cant track it down at the moment.

the last couple of posts about the D.O.C. got me reading up on him a bit more. Besides having and unbelievably girly reall name (Tracy Lynn Curry) he was a HUGE factor in why The Chronic, DoggyStyle and Staright Outta Compton (and other albums) are so good. He's cited as being a "creative force" behind these albums and ghostwriting alot of the songs, coming up with the ideas for the Interlude, giving direction on production. If you listen to his first album closely you'll hear that it is a blueprint that The Chronic and Doggystyle where made from, although Dre could be a huge factor in this.

But it turns into a bit of a sad story for The D.O.C., i knew that he was in an accident that caused problems to his voice. If you listen to Helter Skelter or even the $20 Pyarmid skit off the Chronic you'll know what i mean.
It turns out that he could his vocal chords could have healed naturally after the accident if he done some physio but apparently he got into a slump of depression and didnt hard enough.
Interestingly enough, Snoop is now paying for an operation to have his voice repaired.

horsebox09

Yeah i heard about The D.O.C being one of the main ghostwriters behin those projects you listed,pretty amazing considering their some of the most influential albums to come out of the west coast.
He wrote Dr. Dres verses for an album he was doing with ice cube called helter skelter,him and Dre fell out and D.O.C used them verses on his helter skelter album!
Yeah his voice sounds made devilish on that album. As far as i know he ghostwrote alot of Dre 2001 aswell.

Snoop is paying for his operation?? That's very decent,surprised he waited so long to get the op though.

Da GOAT

just found this forum. started listening to immortal tech now based on this places recommendations, sounds very good. Ive not kept up to date at all on whats going on.

Boom_Bap

I've been listening to bits and pieces of Immortal Tech since some positive feedback here as well but i only dig a few of his songs. I can only take him in small doses at the moment

evil_seed

horsebox09 wrote: »

Kool g rap is so underrated these days too,never gets mentioned dispite being one of the greatest to grace the mic.

he is constantly mentioned by rappers on allhiphop.com when they do they top 5 dead or alive. absolute legend. just cos he never gets mentioned here, does not mean he is under rated imo.

Boom_Bap

evil_seed wrote: »

he is constantly mentioned by rappers on allhiphop.com when they do they top 5 dead or alive. absolute legend. just cos he never gets mentioned here, does not mean he is under rated imo.

he's also on the best posse cut in history

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSoXHUlwraU

horsebox09

Ok i take my comment back about G Rap being overlooked,i wasn't aware that rappers on allhiphop.com name him in their top 5 and i totally forgot about ''the symphony'':o

Boom_Bap

There is a rapper called Crescent Moon from a group called Kill The Vultures/The Oddjobs who is really really underrated.
He's affiliated with Doomtree and Rhymesayers and would drop a verse on alot of thier releases and mixtapes. He also was the hypeman for Atmosphere on a lot of thier tours, if you check out the Sad Clown Bad Dub DVD's of Atmosphere's you'll see him on them alot.
He has this really powerful voice (for a little skinny dude ) and really creative lyrics and a dope delivery. I'm just not quite sure why he hasnt releasd a full length album yet. If he ever does i'll be first in line to buy it.

BayCity

Yeah Immortal Tech is great..Dance with the Devil is a classic. MF DOOM is very much overlooked also.

Also..

Canibus
Rass Kass
Wordsworth
Jurassic 5
Killah Priest

Neamhshuntasach

A lot of the artists listed here are overlooked by people who follow mainstream hip hop. But most are well known in the underground circuit. Immortal Technique has been mentioned in almost every post here. Even a lot of mainstream fans know who he is.

Of the top here are some artists/groups i like that i haven't come across many people knowing are:

Akrobatik
Wise Intelligent
Eyedea
Rise
Asylum 7
Classified
Blue Scholars
Elohim Marino
Blue & Exile
Emanon
Hell Razah
Kanser
MF Grimm
One Be Lo
Krukid
illogic
Last Emperor
Planet Asia
Self Scientific
Swollen Members
Vakill
Grouch & Eligh
Blame One
Common Market
People under the stairs
Louis Logic
Murs
Zion I
Mr. Lif
Sound Providers
Superstar Quamallah
Ohmega Watts
P.O.S.
Evidence

horsebox09

Neamhshuntasach wrote: »

A lot of the artists listed here are overlooked by people who follow mainstream hip hop. But most are well known in the underground circuit. Immortal Technique has been mentioned in almost every post here. Even a lot of mainstream fans know who he is.

Of the top here are some artists/groups i like that i haven't come across many people knowing are:

Akrobatik
Wise Intelligent
Eyedea
Rise
Asylum 7
Classified
Blue Scholars
Elohim Marino
Blue & Exile
Emanon
Hell Razah
Kanser
MF Grimm
One Be Lo
Krukid
illogic
Last Emperor
Planet Asia
Self Scientific
Swollen Members
Vakill
Grouch & Eligh
Blame One
Common Market
People under the stairs
Louis Logic
Murs
Zion I
Mr. Lif
Sound Providers
Superstar Quamallah
Ohmega Watts
P.O.S.
Evidence

Great post,alot of these are overlooked even by undeground heads.
Vakill is a genius,one of my favorites at the moment.
I agree with everyone on your list

horsebox09

BayCity wrote: »

Yeah Immortal Tech is great..Dance with the Devil is a classic. MF DOOM is very much overlooked also.

Also..

Canibus
Rass Kass
Wordsworth
Jurassic 5
Killah Priest

Good choices their,especially Ras Kass and Canibus,two dudes screwed over with terrible production on their debut albums. If you like them check out Chino xl and Vakill if you haven't already,both actually did tracks with ras kass.
MF DOOM is overlooked by mainstream fans but he's big in the underground,Madvillainy sold over 100 thousand copies,his earlier stuff is overlooked though!

Boom_Bap

horsebox09 wrote: »

Good choices their,especially Ras Kass and Canibus,two dudes screwed over with terrible production on their debut albums. If you like them check out Chino xl and Vakill if you haven't already,both actually did tracks with ras kass.
MF DOOM is overlooked by mainstream fans but he's big in the underground,Madvillainy sold over 100 thousand copies,his earlier stuff is overlooked though!

have to agree there are some great posts recently.....in relation to the above comment about chino XL, dont bother with his recent stuff as it's pretty bad. His first album is almost flawless (and released well before Eminem started recording)

horsebox09

I haven't heard any of chino's recent material,but as you said his 1st album is great,fearless lyricist! ''avoid battling me like eazy e's blood samples!''
Yep no doubt eminem ''borrowed'' chino's style,especially on the M.M.L.P, i think xl was more controversial though, his disses towards 2pac were vicious!!

Boom_Bap

a friend of mine is a uber Chino fan and makes me listen to all his albums, there are some brief moments of brilliance on Poison Pen and I Told You So but mostly horrible.

his most recent one is dire, in fact mu Chino lovin pal is still trying to convince himself that it's good

something else that jumps out from Neamhshuntasach's list is the Grouch and Eligh, i've heard alot from thier new album and it's really impressive. need to get my hands on the full album