One of the most popular and artistically engaging groups in the hip-hop underground, Jurassic 5 brought the conscious-rap style of the Native Tongues movement and a cratediggers ear for samples and production to L.A.'s overwhelmingly gangstafied rap …

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 …

Featuring an infamous human beatbox/turntable backing up three MCs, the Roots have elevated hip-hop music by using live instrumentation instead of samples. Performing in the underground hip-hop circuit since 1987, the group has made waves in both the…

Considered one of the best lyricists to emerge in the wake of the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac's deaths, Jay-Z has since carried the flag of hip-hop narrative skill. His Roc-A-Fella family had already created a solid reputation based on Jay-Z's 1997 de…

Hailed as a potential savior of the East Coast hardcore sound in an era when West Coast G-funk held a monopoly on the hip-hop audience's attention, Nas garnered no end of critical praise and street credibility with his debut album, 1994's influential…

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…

Kanye West first gained fame as an acclaimed hip-hop producer, working with Jay-Z, Foxy Brown, Mase, and others. West's solo debut was delayed due to a serious car accident, but when THE COLLEGE DROPOUT finally appeared in 2004, it took the hip-hop w…

Born Lonnie Rashied Lynn in Chicago, the rapper who would become an integral part of the 1990s underground hip-hop scene started out as Common Sense. His 1992 debut CAN I BORROW A DOLLAR? showcased a politically conscious, musically eclectic artist i…

Atlanta-based hip-hop duo Outkast succeeded in bringing an unorthodox rhyme style and quirky, P-Funk-influenced sound and presentation into the rap mainstream. Successful since their 1994 debut, Outkast have gotten progressively more idiosyncratic. T…

The early-1990s advent of A Tribe Called Quest represented one of the key evolutions in rap music. The New York group signaled a shift from the boisterous braggadocio of the old school to a more laid-back, fun-loving form buoyed by sophisticated prod…

This west coast hip-hop duo, comprising MC The Gift Of Gab (b. Tim J. Parker, USA) and DJ Chief Xcel (b. Xavier Mosley, USA), has attracted the same attention as the members of the east coast-based Black Star crew for their promotion of a new "consci…

Dr. Dre has dictated the pace of change in West Coast rap more than any other single figure. As DJ/producer for N.W.A., he ushered in a whole new era in rap by adapting the raw sonics of Public Enemy & Boogie Down Productions to the ethos of L.A.'s y…

Striking the perfect balance between street cred and sophisticated musicality, Guru and DJ Premier of Gang Starr emerged as hip-hop pioneers in the late 1980s with their sophisticated, jazz-influenced sound. They are among the select few who command …

Minneapolis progressive hip-hop duo Atmosphere (rapper Slug and DJ Ant) crossed over to an indie-rock audience with their 2002 album GOD LOVES UGLY but stayed resolutely underground in their approach. While remaining on their own label, Rhymesayers, …

Originating from Oakland, California, USA, the members of this lauded underground rap collective all enjoy concurrent solo careers. The most notable are Del Tha Funkee Homosapien (b. Teren Delvon Jones, 12 August 1972, Oakland, California, USA), Casu…

Turning the music world on its head, Eminem, the blond-haired rapper from Detroit, forced the hip-hop world to accept him as an equal. Despite lyrics full of anger, misogyny, violence, racism, and homophobia, Eminem has been a major commercial succes…

Atlanta, Georgia-based rapper Ludacris was a local success story. As a former intern on an Atlanta radio station, he became known for his theatrical station IDs. In 2000 he parlayed this notoriety into a successful debut album that he self-marketed t…

Chicago rapper Carl Mitchell, better known as Twista, once made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's fastest rapper (not for nothing was his original moniker Tung Twista). An influential artist since the early 1990s, Twista combi…

Like pop stars in the days of yore, late-1990s hip-hop icon DMX has made his mark both as a recording artist and as an actor. His charisma and intensity serve him as well on screen as they do on record, and he has appeared in such popular films as RO…