Like many rappers, New York underground hip-hop hero Mos Def was first heard on guest appearances with other artists, in this case Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. It was his 1998 collaboration with the like-minded Talib Kweli in the duo Black Star tha…

New York MC and beat-maker Aesop Rock offers rapid-fire, often stream-of-consciousness lyrics, stuttering beats, and a frequently murky, atmospheric production aesthetic, making him one of the most distinctive hip-hop artists of his era. Though he be…

Brooklyn-born Talib Kweli got his start as a hip-hop recording artist when he collaborated with DJ Hi-Tek. After numerous guest appearances and compilation tracks, the intelligent and thoughtful lyricist teamed up with his longtime friend Mos Def in …

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 LAs late-90s hip-hop underground The duo devoted to jazzy samples danceable beats intricate rhyming skills …

The first artist to release an EP on San Franciscos Soleside Records Lyrics Born went under the original moniker Asia Born on 1993s Send Them before changing it three years later on his collaborations with labelmate Lateef After being featured on Lat…

Underground hip-hop duo Jedi Mind Tricks started out in the streets of Philadelphia in early 1996 Producer Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind and MCs Vinnie Paz aka Ikon the Verbal Hologram and Jus Allah aka Megatron released the Amber Probe EP in 1996 and …