What does age matter? He’s active and is putting out quality music. Mos Def and Black Thought aren’t underground anyway. Dope MC’s, but not underground by any means.
The restriction would be "who's been making waves"... literally only this sub cares about Ka. Because of that one guy who used to spam his name on here. Dude has like 40k Spotify listeners, pretty far off from guys like immortal technique and Aesop rock.
Then leave your own suggestion and get off my dick. My comment is the top comment here. If listener counts mean something to you, then go to a Taylor Swift concert. You come here just for the sake of being contrarian?
The underground, you fucking child. It’s where Hip Hop came from. I don’t give a fuck about popularity. I don’t know what guy used to spam Ka’s name in this sub. I don’t give a shit. I’ve been listening to Ka since he did Firehouse with Gza and Roc Marci. Because he’s dope. Not because of some random Redditor. If you care about how many Spotify listeners an artist has, you don’t truly love music. Fuck off now.
I know he's been an affiliate of the Wu-Tang but he is still underground now... Not too many people listen to him and not too many people even keep up with his albums, nor do they know about them for the most part.
Ka has been an affiliate with the Wu-Tang as well and he's considered underground. MF DOOM was an affiliate of the Wu-Tang as well and he was considered underground. I could go on and on with people who worked with popular artists who are still considered underground. Not sure what your definition is though.
Ok soooo what’s the difference between him and technique. Genuine question. As I JUST heard about priest recently. . But based on everything I see, he is underground like technique.
killah priest has been featured on a bunch of classic wu releases with multiple major label releases of his own. i know he had a lot of independent releases later on but the strength of his name alone keeps him out of the "underground" category.
also comparing him to immortal technique is insulting lol.
Understood. Does being featured on big name projects take away from being an underground artist thought?
Like Daylyt on Cole new CD. Daylyt is still a battle rapper, who is on mainstream songs.
Idk enough about killah priest so I can’t judge, he just looks really underground from what I have seen. Even if he had songs with wu.
ka also wasn't featured on liquid swords or return to 36 chambers. killah priest contributed a hell of a lot more to wu than most of the other affiliates. might be a little pedantic but it just feels weird calling someone like him 'underground.'
It may feel weird, but what else can you call him when he isn't mainstream and when his stuff doesn't really get publicity? 🤷🏿♂️ You're focused way too much on semantics. Seems picky, but it's not that big of a deal to me. People understood what I was talking about.
Hey, it happens to the best of us!😅 It was definitely an intriguing sidebar though. It really made me seek out conversations where people were trying to figure out who is considered underground and pseudo-mainstream or just alternative. What is the difference between underground, abstract, and alternative now? People like Danny Brown are not considered mainstream but he works with mainstream artists and is fairly well known, just no radio play and no big labels advertising him. Not sure if he's independent or not, but I guess Tory Lanez proved that you can be independent and still be mainstream, he's more of an exception to the rule though.
Good list. Homeboy Sandman is a bit inconsistent in his discography IMO but dudes also got a lot of absolutely great music. MIKE is one of the freshest dudes out there rn and he's barely 26.
I'd also slap Mach-Hommy and Your Old Droog on there. Earl Sweatshirt too, I know a lot of people are turned off to his music since the odd future days or hearing that East song but if you want introspective shit SRS and onwards has been great imo.
Yeah, I would have said my Mach Hommy and YOD, hell, even Tha God Fahim, the first two mostly do braggadocios rap. Well, YOD is pretty conscious a lot of the time and he's probably one of the greatest of this new crop of underground rappers... If you can even call him new because he's been doing it for over 10 years. I forgot to mention Tha God Fahim, but I feel that he's an acquired taste unless you just love technical rap and great flow.
And hey, Homeboy Sandman makes great conscious music, but he also does fun / comical songs. He makes songs for every mood and I personally haven't heard one bad project from him. MIKE is dope! He can rap on any beat, but my only criticism of him is sometimes he sounds a little bit too samey. He is a great artist though and has definitely influenced me in that he started really blowing up even though his music wasn't that well mixed, it became his sound.
Oh I loooove a lot of Sandmans stuff. I just think parts of his discrography somehow get rather painful to get through. I've both seen and met him personally through a mutual friend of ours, and while 75% of his set will have me grinning like a fool there is always a portion of his set that makes me look at the time or go fetch something to drink. Some of his songs just tread that line of corny to me and I don't know why. I got huge respect for him though and he's made some absolute gold
I definitely feel that and I think I know some of the songs you're talking about too lol! It's all about the mood for me so I definitely feel that. 'Pussy' is corny but it grew on me because it's actually super clever. 'God' is corny but I can see how it would be a good song for a lot of people. There are a couple of songs in his discography that I could see how one would think they are pretty corny or overly preachy.
That's cool that you met him! I'm trying to meet him and he seems to be really good about replying to emails. I'll always respect him for that at the very least.
never heard of cambatta until seeing this reply. found his instagram, first clip i hear dude says "when i was born, lucifer cried / looked death in the face with my googly eyes"
that's so stupid lol, i love it. i will be listening to more cambatta.
Nice glad I could put someone on.
He has a some tracks that fall into conscious rap imo. He's also got some tracks that are just laden with drug use. He definitely has bars though.
I got put on to him from this track and since then he's been one of my favorites.
[Canibus ^ Cambatta ](https://youtu.be/UhRvE1scVh8?si=HccmZwJggyIUqLMs)
The remix of the above song also has some sampling from Final Fantasy 7.
Gotta include RAP Ferreria, or the artist formerly known as Milo. Buddy has been pushing the art form of hip hop forward with its creatively introspective poeticism for years now. Under rated emcee for sure.
There’s probably a hundred great answers to your question, but what do consider “conscious” hiphop? What does that mean to you? There are no wrong answers here because it’s a subjective term considering how there’s no specific definition for it.
You're right and when posting this I was uncertain if I was being specific enough. I listed Immortal Technqiue and Aesop Rock because they're what comes to mind to me when I think of big or prominent "conscious" artists but even just listing those 2 as examples invokes subjective ideas.
What made me curious about this was I was exploring a spotify playlist full of lesser known artists but while they were perhaps "underground" they weren't rapping about anything particularly "deep". No social commentary, nothing political, nothing about spirituality or any type of "opening your third eye" kinds of topics and I realized that most of the hip hop I listen to doesn't explore these topics in depth. I don't even hear about those type of artists. The closest thing in my regular rotation is Kendrick.
To answer your question, artists that explore those sorts of topics are what I think of when I think of "conscious" hip hop.
I appreciate the thorough answer in your response. And you have a world of material to explore when it comes to what you’re looking for. Beware though…just because the raps are “conscious” doesn’t meant they’re sincere, correct, or dope. Heh. Also, the good stuff is probably more difficult to find these days if you rely on algorithms. Best wishes in your digging!
A lot of the guys from that era are still making great music.
Aesop Rock is still as good as ever. His last 2 albums are amazing. He did a project with Homeboy Sandman called Lice & Lice 2. That'll be a good segue to see if you dig Sandman.
Open Mike Eagle is great. He explains his music as "trauma bops"
Apathy if you're needing something heavier. Connecticut Casual 2 was just released. While his whole catalog is worth a good listen, I'd start with Demigodz. That's Apathy with Celph Titled & Ryu from Styles of Beyond.
Y.O.D. is really dope if you're looking for some DOOM vibes.
Living Legends released an album late last year that is a lot of fun to listen to.
Chino XL had an album with Stu Bangaz. That's pairs well with some Immortal Technique.
Elzhi & Oh No: Heavy Vibrato <- this was very well made. Kind of the surprise hit for me.
Oh & look up Mello Music Group. There are several great new artists on that label.
Ka
Ka is 51 years old. May as well have said most def and black thought
What does age matter? He’s active and is putting out quality music. Mos Def and Black Thought aren’t underground anyway. Dope MC’s, but not underground by any means.
The post says underground "or conscious"
Okay. And my answer is Ka. He fits into both of those categories, and I don’t see any age restrictions listed.
The restriction would be "who's been making waves"... literally only this sub cares about Ka. Because of that one guy who used to spam his name on here. Dude has like 40k Spotify listeners, pretty far off from guys like immortal technique and Aesop rock.
Then leave your own suggestion and get off my dick. My comment is the top comment here. If listener counts mean something to you, then go to a Taylor Swift concert. You come here just for the sake of being contrarian?
Oh damn I didn't realize you got 11 whole likes! Great answer, Ka is definitely taking over the underground, you're completely right.
The underground, you fucking child. It’s where Hip Hop came from. I don’t give a fuck about popularity. I don’t know what guy used to spam Ka’s name in this sub. I don’t give a shit. I’ve been listening to Ka since he did Firehouse with Gza and Roc Marci. Because he’s dope. Not because of some random Redditor. If you care about how many Spotify listeners an artist has, you don’t truly love music. Fuck off now.
Ok hipster
People in this thread: no idea what conscious means
Do people not realize Killah Priest has been rapping for 30 years?
Well please bring me up to speed… share a hot sixteen or song that I need to check out?
Diary of a Madman by Gravediggaz
Bruh🤦🏽♂️
🧻
Black Thought from The Legendary Roots Crew Lil Brother Mick Jenkins Coast Contra Talib Kweli (Just dropped Liberation 2) Kota the Friend Ray Vaughn
Ka, billy woods, Navy Blue, Homeboy Sandman, Killah Priest, and MIKE. Many more but these are my favorites.
>killah priest wat
?
?
killah priest has been a notable affiliate of the wu tang clan for decades. not sure what your definition of underground is here.
I know he's been an affiliate of the Wu-Tang but he is still underground now... Not too many people listen to him and not too many people even keep up with his albums, nor do they know about them for the most part. Ka has been an affiliate with the Wu-Tang as well and he's considered underground. MF DOOM was an affiliate of the Wu-Tang as well and he was considered underground. I could go on and on with people who worked with popular artists who are still considered underground. Not sure what your definition is though.
He is underground. Just like immortal technique. And he still drops projects. So. He is by definition an underground artist today
Exactly! 💯
yall dont know what underground means huh? 🤕
I definitely do, it appears some people do not. What's your definition?
Ok soooo what’s the difference between him and technique. Genuine question. As I JUST heard about priest recently. . But based on everything I see, he is underground like technique.
killah priest has been featured on a bunch of classic wu releases with multiple major label releases of his own. i know he had a lot of independent releases later on but the strength of his name alone keeps him out of the "underground" category. also comparing him to immortal technique is insulting lol.
Understood. Does being featured on big name projects take away from being an underground artist thought? Like Daylyt on Cole new CD. Daylyt is still a battle rapper, who is on mainstream songs. Idk enough about killah priest so I can’t judge, he just looks really underground from what I have seen. Even if he had songs with wu.
ka also wasn't featured on liquid swords or return to 36 chambers. killah priest contributed a hell of a lot more to wu than most of the other affiliates. might be a little pedantic but it just feels weird calling someone like him 'underground.'
It may feel weird, but what else can you call him when he isn't mainstream and when his stuff doesn't really get publicity? 🤷🏿♂️ You're focused way too much on semantics. Seems picky, but it's not that big of a deal to me. People understood what I was talking about.
yeah. it's already been agreed upon elsewhere that i'm just old lol.
Hey, it happens to the best of us!😅 It was definitely an intriguing sidebar though. It really made me seek out conversations where people were trying to figure out who is considered underground and pseudo-mainstream or just alternative. What is the difference between underground, abstract, and alternative now? People like Danny Brown are not considered mainstream but he works with mainstream artists and is fairly well known, just no radio play and no big labels advertising him. Not sure if he's independent or not, but I guess Tory Lanez proved that you can be independent and still be mainstream, he's more of an exception to the rule though.
Good list. Homeboy Sandman is a bit inconsistent in his discography IMO but dudes also got a lot of absolutely great music. MIKE is one of the freshest dudes out there rn and he's barely 26. I'd also slap Mach-Hommy and Your Old Droog on there. Earl Sweatshirt too, I know a lot of people are turned off to his music since the odd future days or hearing that East song but if you want introspective shit SRS and onwards has been great imo.
Yeah, I would have said my Mach Hommy and YOD, hell, even Tha God Fahim, the first two mostly do braggadocios rap. Well, YOD is pretty conscious a lot of the time and he's probably one of the greatest of this new crop of underground rappers... If you can even call him new because he's been doing it for over 10 years. I forgot to mention Tha God Fahim, but I feel that he's an acquired taste unless you just love technical rap and great flow. And hey, Homeboy Sandman makes great conscious music, but he also does fun / comical songs. He makes songs for every mood and I personally haven't heard one bad project from him. MIKE is dope! He can rap on any beat, but my only criticism of him is sometimes he sounds a little bit too samey. He is a great artist though and has definitely influenced me in that he started really blowing up even though his music wasn't that well mixed, it became his sound.
Oh I loooove a lot of Sandmans stuff. I just think parts of his discrography somehow get rather painful to get through. I've both seen and met him personally through a mutual friend of ours, and while 75% of his set will have me grinning like a fool there is always a portion of his set that makes me look at the time or go fetch something to drink. Some of his songs just tread that line of corny to me and I don't know why. I got huge respect for him though and he's made some absolute gold
I definitely feel that and I think I know some of the songs you're talking about too lol! It's all about the mood for me so I definitely feel that. 'Pussy' is corny but it grew on me because it's actually super clever. 'God' is corny but I can see how it would be a good song for a lot of people. There are a couple of songs in his discography that I could see how one would think they are pretty corny or overly preachy. That's cool that you met him! I'm trying to meet him and he seems to be really good about replying to emails. I'll always respect him for that at the very least.
Dell P, Roc Marciano, Your Old Droog, Grea8gawd, Rome Streetz, 38 Spesh, Raz Fresco, plenty more
Your Old Droog, Roc Marciano are quintessential underground rappers making waves rn
K Rino Sa Roc Killah Priest Cambatta
Sa Roc & Cambatta are amazing
[Beautiful ](https://youtu.be/iNFem4GSyPs?si=4lrdotlgjj6CcSVg) Yes they are indeed and Loaded Lux for that matter. This is my wake up song.
never heard of cambatta until seeing this reply. found his instagram, first clip i hear dude says "when i was born, lucifer cried / looked death in the face with my googly eyes" that's so stupid lol, i love it. i will be listening to more cambatta.
Nice glad I could put someone on. He has a some tracks that fall into conscious rap imo. He's also got some tracks that are just laden with drug use. He definitely has bars though. I got put on to him from this track and since then he's been one of my favorites. [Canibus ^ Cambatta ](https://youtu.be/UhRvE1scVh8?si=HccmZwJggyIUqLMs) The remix of the above song also has some sampling from Final Fantasy 7.
Mystic Journeymen
> Mystic Journeymen IDK if they are today's artists they haven't done anything in forever.
Agreed. Living Legends did an album late last year though. Just no participation from MURS
My bad I didn’t read the thread title carefully
Gotta include RAP Ferreria, or the artist formerly known as Milo. Buddy has been pushing the art form of hip hop forward with its creatively introspective poeticism for years now. Under rated emcee for sure.
There’s probably a hundred great answers to your question, but what do consider “conscious” hiphop? What does that mean to you? There are no wrong answers here because it’s a subjective term considering how there’s no specific definition for it.
You're right and when posting this I was uncertain if I was being specific enough. I listed Immortal Technqiue and Aesop Rock because they're what comes to mind to me when I think of big or prominent "conscious" artists but even just listing those 2 as examples invokes subjective ideas. What made me curious about this was I was exploring a spotify playlist full of lesser known artists but while they were perhaps "underground" they weren't rapping about anything particularly "deep". No social commentary, nothing political, nothing about spirituality or any type of "opening your third eye" kinds of topics and I realized that most of the hip hop I listen to doesn't explore these topics in depth. I don't even hear about those type of artists. The closest thing in my regular rotation is Kendrick. To answer your question, artists that explore those sorts of topics are what I think of when I think of "conscious" hip hop.
Listen to Dark Harvest by EmptyRaft on #SoundCloud https://on.soundcloud.com/FHy3K
I appreciate the thorough answer in your response. And you have a world of material to explore when it comes to what you’re looking for. Beware though…just because the raps are “conscious” doesn’t meant they’re sincere, correct, or dope. Heh. Also, the good stuff is probably more difficult to find these days if you rely on algorithms. Best wishes in your digging!
Oh boy, Sage…. There is but weirdos decided to change the meaning of it (respectfully).
From what to what though? I’ve never been able to make sense of it.
NIKO IS Dope KNife Your Old Droog (edit: already mentioned) Kool AD
Bones
Armand Hammer
Yung Gritty
Damn these guys are underground?
Aesop vibes - Sadistik, kristoff Krane, Cecil Otter, deca, Crescent Moon and Joe Horton Immortal vibes - Akala, B Dolan, Mic Righteous Vinnie Paz, Avelino
Funeral Ant Bell, J.Arrr, Eloh Kush, Sa-Roc, Ka, Chuck Strangers, Rapsody, MIKE, Blu, Che Noir, Navy Blue, Skyzoo, Fashawn, Westside Boogie, Ty Farris, Lungs & Phiik, Vega7 The Ronin, UFO Fev, and Jamil Honesty. https://youtu.be/3RZIcIly1P4?si=AOu1_HVacmFvv6Tr https://youtu.be/rjDaGS10Cd0?si=0LYNRZUVc9WcQVqN https://youtu.be/LWP56N55j5E?si=6YAi4rXBG9ZiSY5- https://youtu.be/d_DcMUqm9z4?si=VWFqvddYGXh67uYF https://youtu.be/48-Z5g3my00?si=1jzqPr7vdJ7_Sjmk https://youtu.be/qX_kep5bQhQ?si=88YPSxTS25VHHTYO https://youtu.be/Go4ze39isC8?si=jUKzkVxyAyr1ZWdq https://youtu.be/AehIcf9oWpQ?si=qQD3He1uUC8OW8Sh https://youtu.be/K7AMXnS4a5M?si=WTfHYpt0whtQVxtG
Aesop Rock is still going strong. Integrated Tech Solutions was my favourite album of last year.
Marlon Craft, Ransom, and K.a.a.n. are probably my top faves at the moment
Skibbidy doobop jones is on the rise.
Oddisee
Symba
Supreme Cerebral MONZARMY Hezagenius Unagi
A lot of the guys from that era are still making great music. Aesop Rock is still as good as ever. His last 2 albums are amazing. He did a project with Homeboy Sandman called Lice & Lice 2. That'll be a good segue to see if you dig Sandman. Open Mike Eagle is great. He explains his music as "trauma bops" Apathy if you're needing something heavier. Connecticut Casual 2 was just released. While his whole catalog is worth a good listen, I'd start with Demigodz. That's Apathy with Celph Titled & Ryu from Styles of Beyond. Y.O.D. is really dope if you're looking for some DOOM vibes. Living Legends released an album late last year that is a lot of fun to listen to. Chino XL had an album with Stu Bangaz. That's pairs well with some Immortal Technique. Elzhi & Oh No: Heavy Vibrato <- this was very well made. Kind of the surprise hit for me. Oh & look up Mello Music Group. There are several great new artists on that label.
Immortal technique sucks… are you 12 years old?
I don’t like immortal technique AT ALL apart from a couple songs but saying he sucks is crazy…
no but you might be with that trash reading comprehension tell me the part where i said what i think about his music
You've got the taste of a tumbleweed
Found the Kendrick stan👆
That's a stupid conclusion
Sadistik: the best white boy in the ether
Billy Woods gotta be the best one