First
things first, we’ll start with what we disqualified. No mixtapes. No
major label stuff. No albums by the artist after they went mainstream.
We know that many people hate the moniker “underground,” and that it
sometimes feels demeaning to artists. And we know that, for some people,
there will be a difference between “underground” and “alternative” Hip
Hop. We know that more still will find a difference between those two
and “indie.” And we know that can go on ad-nauseum because the
“underground” is something different, maybe, to everyone. Of course,
also, we are only considering albums made since the Y2K scare. We also know that people will feel as
though we left some of their favorite albums off this list, and for
that we’d like to say to feel free to drop your own list in the comment
section. But, for us, these were the albums that set themselves apart.
In the early 2000s, it was about hitting the record shops and being part
of the scene, supporting your favorite artists that didn’t have a major
label machine behind them. Later on it became about blogspots and now
defunct forums where people shared music and thumbed their noses at
those who weren’t in the know. All the while crate digging and hitting
shows outside of the know of many. More importantly, the “underground”
lives forever, because it represented artists who weren’t afraid of
topics and structures and sounds normally left off the table at A&R
meetings. Those who didn’t clamor for radio play or acceptance. Those
that you had to find.
Busdriver - Temporary Forever
The Project Blowed member’s debut was
full of the most humorous and mind numbing free-associative rhymes one
will ever hear. Looking deeper into Busdriver’s mind, themes on gun
violence and major labels complications among others give a feeling of
something deeper.
Quasimoto - The Unseen
Madness is the pleasure of the unseen, and Madlib’s pig-nosed hippo with the brick is everyone’s unseen.
The lost thoughts of a rambling stairwell dweller, or the undine styled
under-thoughts of a producer living in a basement studio, Lord Quas was
our one and only pleasure of pure id. A bit of jazzy ultra-violence in a
squeaky ass voice never felt so good.
Little Brother - The Listening
For many, The Listening could
be considered one of the most groundbreaking underground Hip Hop
records of the modern era. Before their more commercially successful
sophomore follow-up The Minstrel Show,
the North Carolina trio felt like a polished major label act with a
level of creativity that could only come from within the underground.
Phonte and Big Pooh’s chemistry was undeniable while 9th Wonder held
everything together effortlessly production wise.
Brother Ali - Shadows Of The Sun
Mr. Ali Newman really hit his stride on his sophomore album Shadows Of The Sun.
Besides Brother Ali’s way better than average beat selection, the album
proved how lyrically far the Rhymesayers Entertainment emcee. Though
he’s improved with every release, Shadows Of The Sun could be considered his best.
Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow
Blazing Arrow
wasn’t appreciated when released in 2002. However, it’s only gotten
better with age thanks to Gift of Gab and producer Chief Xcel. There
wasn’t a topic the duo wouldn’t touch. For example, how many people did
“Chemical Calisthenics” help through high school Chemistry?
Z- Ro - Let The Truth Be Told
Former Gorilla Mob member Z-Ro has a storied history in Houston Hip Hop. Several albums in, he dropped a bonafide classic in Let The Truth Be Told.
For the first time in his career, he made an album that felt more than
something local. From the intro “Mo City Don” to “Respect My Mind,” Let The Truth Be Told is an honest Southern tale.
Edan - Beauty & The Beat
Beauty & The Beat was
an unlikely critical smash in 2004, garnering the dark-dust-feather
topped Edan Portnoy (not to be confused with Portnoy, the ballsy,
corrupt main character of Portnoy’s Complaint by Phillip Roth) an 85% Metacritic score and cementing him as a dim forefather in the realm of middle-class rap. Think American Beauty, but no dads, no beauty, and mostly zaniness refined into a brainy, cathartic lilt.
J - Live - The Best Part
Like forward, free-thinking
Gods-among-men, DX gave this album the 4.5 it deserved in 2001 just
months before the towers fell and everything changed forever. Looking at
it through a lens of xenophobia, groupthink and recklessness, J-Live’s The Best Part reads like a tome from another world lamenting the lack of intellectual rigor that would inevitably follow.
Murs & 9th Wonder - Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition
Murs has been, and been quite well, an everyman with an edge. On Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition he found his very capable footing on Def Jux by ditching the skateboard and sliding into a kind of existential angst.
Ka - Grief Pedigree
One of the hardest (that’s right, hardest) NYC Hip Hop albums ever released, Ka’s foray
into the depths of Brownsville proved a bit too much for the tastes of
the Internet intelligentsia, but that doesn’t mean the sheer propensity
for verse and meanness on this album should be overlooked.
Madvillain - Madvillainy
Madlib and MF Doom joining forces were something that only could’ve happened under the Stones Throw umbrella. For it’s time, Madvillainy
became the super rap album, reaching unforeseen creative heights. Since
then, both esteemed producer and emcee have elevated themselves into
Gods for many core Hip Hop heads. It’s an album so good, some doubt its
brilliance out of the right to be contrarian. A bonafide classic, either
way.
Blu & Exile - Below The Heavens
Blu & Exile’s classic LP barely
found an audience in 2007 when it was released. What a shame. This
deeply visceral, almost perfectly executed album featured two amazing
artists surpassing themselves to create this piece lightening in a
bottle. Just the first 16 bars on “Greater Love” make it one of the best
rap love songs of all-time, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Blu
rollicked through a lush field of production, and it stands a testament
to how good Hip Hop can be.
El-P - Fantastic Damage
El-P’s debut Fantastic Damage was
an unrelenting kick to the rap nuts of fuckboys everywhere before there
was even a term for that level of human soap scum. What a year that
was! Production for Cannibal Ox’s classic Cold Vein and then an abstract turn at lighting a molotov cocktail and calling it music. It blew almost everyone away, and it still does.
Aesop Rock - Labor Days
Def Jux tumbled out of the lost days
at Rawkus ready to incite, well intelligent shit into the Hip Hop
meta-sphere. Who better than Aesop Rock to do just that? Surgical is the
only term you need for this album, as it tackles the topic of labor of
all forms in concentrated bursts of brilliance. Produced mostly by
Blockhead with a few self-produced cuts, Labor Days serves as a
companion piece to The Cold Vein’s concentrated fury at the state of rap.
Cunninlynguists - A Piece Of Strange
A Piece Of Strange is
when Cunninlynguists got serious. Kno hung up the mic for all but one
verse, but what he dragged to the grave with him in the way of humor he
more than made up for behind the boards. Deacon lit the intricate
production ablaze with Natty this time, as Mr. S.O.S went back to his
solo career. No one missed a single, solitary beat, and the album
suffers from little to no real flaws. The emceeing is superb, and the
high concept is done so well that it melts away and deeply lodges itself
into your veins.
Oddisee - The Good Fight
Oddisee came all golden skinned out of his last record and created The Good Fight. The album almost completely avoided the status quo, bringing to light a rap realism that hadn’t been really traversed since The College Dropout. His is the other side of the coin, though, having graduated into how a dream takes hold only after wild efforts. The Good Fight, then, is a manual on how to join your luminescence with reality in a way that gets you closer to your dreams.
Atmosphere - God Loves Ugly
Unrelentingly angry, God Loves Ugly
is a journey into the deep unconscious mind of Slug and all his issues
with women and with people in general. It defined the angsty tug-of-war
many people feel with the opposite sex, and then it lit a cold blue
flame of despair to your mind as you listened.
Jedi Mind Tricks - Servants In Hell, Kings In Heaven
If the mainstream bet its money on
longing as the way to people’s wallets, then the Jedi Mind Tricks truly
could not have cared less. Although this was their first album to chart
on the Billboard 200, JMT had already secured a cult following at this
point due to their ability to explore topics normally shoved under the
rug. A masterpiece of pacing, lyrical variety, and fervor, Servants In Hell, Kings In Heaven stands as one of the group’s most mercurial pieces of work.
Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein
Easily one of the best Hip Hop albums of all time, The Cold Vein
is full of the stuff everyone was trying to avoid. You’ll hear all
manner of sounds flood your consciousness and you’ll miss them when they
fade away into a kind of mechanical abyss. It is the Ghost In The Shell of Hip Hop, contorting and examining just long enough to force you to understand the stark reality of your universe.
Zion I - Mind Over Matter
The Source gave this album three
stars out of five when it dropped in May of 2000. Baba Zumbi and Amp
Live melted down eclectic production and socially conscious lyrics into a
maelstrom of sonic variability. Oh, and then The Source nominated them
for independent album of the year. Too late.
Eyedea & Abilities - First Born
One of the most obscure records out of Rhymesayers Entertainment’s catalog is probably Eyedea & Abilities’ First Born.
Production is an interesting blend of contemporary boom bap and
experimental. Thankfully, there are some great conceptual tracks
including “Color My World” and fan favorite “Big Shot.”
Roc Marciano - Marcberg
Phenomenal debut albums from
rappers/producers are rare. Roc Marciano managed to accomplish that and
more for his first go-around Marcberg.
The Fat Beats release featured stellar tracks ranging from “We Do It”
and “Thugs Prayer,” all doing a pretty great job of displaying vibes of
dread.
Masta Ace - Disposable Arts
Brooklyn's own Masta Ace could be considered one of the most underrated emcees out of New York. Disposable Arts
is an unfortunate reminder that sometimes, great conceptual bodies of
work and lyrical excellence didn't earn mainstream acceptance. Doesn’t
stop the album from featuring some dope guest features from Jean Grae
and Greg Nice.
Sean Price - Jesus Price Supastar
There’s a reason why Jesus Price Supastar was the first album from DuckDown Records to chart in years. His solo debut Monkey Barz felt more than a proper debut. However, Jesus Price Supastar
couldn’t have been grander on all aspects. Beat selection and bars were
better than ever. Plus, the usage of Reverend X samples put things over
the top.
Homeboy Sandman - The Good Sun
Five years ago it was impossible to
find an emcee who approached a track with the same style as Homeboy
Sandman. The Queens native flossed an uncanny, beat embedded,
often-rapid-fire-but-just-as-effective-when-slowed flow that came
impossibly close to singing without actually singing. It was singular
and absolutely appreciated, especially when merged with a range of
concepts and production. The Good Sun
tackled homelessness, heartbreak, mean mugs, environmental
sustainability and the art of emceeing like a lyrical J.J. Watt—and he
did it while leaving all profanity on the cutting room floor.
dead prez - Let’s Get Free
Let’s Get Free
became the wake up call Hip Hop needed at the turn of the millennium.
Especially with tracks ranging from the now standard revolutionary cut
“Hip Hop” and black nationalist themed “I’m a African.” It’s not all
fist pumps and activists sonics thanks to sinsual cuts like “Mind Sex.”
J. Dilla - Welcome 2 Detroit
While many count Donuts and The Shining as seminal works from J.Dilla, his debut Welcome 2 Detroit
is the perfect display of the Motor City’s crowned jewel. While later
acclaimed projects felt more like showcases of his production skills, Welcome 2 Detroit
include some of Dilla’s best bars as an emcee. This meant something
more in line of a “from scratch” album than incredible unfinished
material.
¡MayDay! - Take Me To Your Leader
Strange Music’s resident band reached rarefied air with Take Me To Your Leader.
Rap/Rock hybrids usually buckle before finding a balance between dope
rhymes and dope live percussion. Either the rhymes are awesome or the
music’s awesome, almost never both at the same time. Three years since TMTYL’s
release and ¡MayDay! still resonates righteously on-all-fronts. The
Miami natives’ witty social commentary viscerally captures American
plight post-Great Recession, all over production rich enough to be
described as wealthy.
Reflection Eternal - Train Of Thought
Considered by some as one of the best album Rawkus Records produced during their heyday, Reflection Eternal: Train of Thought featured
everything that Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek such a fierce Hip Hop duo.
Kweli’s smart aggression matched Tek moody production. While the
follow-up Revolutions Per Minute didn’t match their debut, their introduction as aged pretty well.
Jaylib - Champion Sound
Half the album was Jay Dee rapping on
Madlib beats and the other half was Madlib rapping on Dilla beats and
never was there a concept more arduously loved. The rhymes and beats, of
course, are stellar, but they transcend themselves in little genius
ways that redefine the way you look at production.
Andre
Grant is an NYC native turned L.A. transplant that has contributed to a
few different properties on the web and is now the Features Editor for
HipHopDX. He's also trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot.
Follow him on Twitter @drejones.Ural Garrett is a Los Angeles-based journalist and HipHopDX's
Senior Features Writer. When not covering music, video games, films and
the community at large, he’s in the kitchen baking like Anita. Follow
him on Twitter @Uralg. Justin "The Company Man" Hunte is the Editor-in-Chief of
HipHopDX. He was the host of The Company Man Show on PNCRadio.fm and has
covered music, politics, and culture for numerous publications. He is
currently based in Los Angeles, California. Follow him on Twitter@TheCompanyMan.
