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Originally Posted by PuebloFuerte
Very interesting article...although I had a general insight into Hip Hop history, this helped to clarify things. One question how comes conscious rap tends to have lesser beats than their more commercial counterparts? For example I dislike most things G Unit stand for glorifying gun culture etc, but I must admit their swagger and beats are among the most contagious out there...is their a conscious rapper that can equal those beats?
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Since nobody else replied...
I think saying the beats are "lesser" is a bit harsh, personally i don't like club beats i like beats that actually sound hip hop (hard for me to describe). Anyway here's a few underground/independent artists you should check out, they've all worked with great producers or have great producers in their stable.
FYI i'm not saying i like all of these rappers but i'm trying to keep it limited to rappers with some sort of lyrical ability lol (and who fit what you want - good production)
^^ Zion I are all about making young black males think differently and see the world for what it is.
^^ chali 2na is by far one of the most underrated rappers in america, check out his solo stuff and anything by jurassic 5 if you haven't already. Lyrically the guy is phenomenal.
JMT are one of the few rap groups in america worth listening to now. Vinnie Paz is a dope rapper but this isn't a great example because rugged man (featured on this track - second verse) pretty much dominated the entire thing. Great production but it's not for the club (obviously). Problem with wanting conscious rappers on club beats is that the majority of the time that kind of beat doesn't suit the topic they're rapping about.
immortal technique^ a politcal rapper who's big on conspiracy theories, i'm not his biggest fan but he's decent. Worth a listen. Biz zoo, the guy on the 2nd track seems to be decent as well but i've never managed to find any of his stuff aside from being featured on this lol.
Now this is some great production. The rap group is an american group called cyne who are decent. But the producer is a japanese producer called Nujabes, he is by far one of the greatest and most underappreciated producers of our time. He doesn't do so much rap production now he just enjoys making instrumentals usually with a jazz or funk kind of feel, the majority of the time his music is really chilled out.
This is blackalicious, and in my opinion this is their best song. The hook is great, expresses hip hop very well.
here's a few more underground/indie rappers but these guys aren't really "conscious" rappers. Just good rappers with good beats who aren't mainstream lol.
AZ - Typical gangster rapper but an incredible lyricist. nas blew up but in my opinion AZ should have been the one who became famous. Lyrically he surpasses Nas in every way. Produced by DJ Premier who i'm sure you're familiar with even if you don't know it.
Blu and Exile - really chilled, really good flow, nice lyrically. Good production. Enjoy.
Celph Titled - a horrocore/gangster rapper who is lyrically quite strong but imo is very repetitive (meaning every song sounds the same) he needs to mix it up a bit. Anyway, enjoy..
Tech N9ne - makes club music, occasionally does darker stuff. Lyrically reasonably strong. Great flow/rhythm, strong delivery. If you're looking for something you would hear in a club but that isn't in the mainstream this is the guy for you.
There's many more and i'm sure others will reply to you. I'm going to continue this list in another post since this one's getting a little big. But i'm going to step outside of america (because i.m.o rap is universal and america is just the tip of the very chilled out iceberg). Some of the best rappers in the world are outside of america.