Welcome To The Underground

Underground hip-hop is

an umbrella term for hip-hop and rap music outside the general commercial canon.

We have found that the underground society within hip-hop acts as a “baseline” to the hip-hop culture. Normally the underground remains close to hip-hop’s origins while other areas of hip-hop tend to branch out away from its roots. While remaining true to its original purpose, the underground incorporates many of the characteristics of the old culture. Artists and participators alike enjoy the subcultures of graffiti, breakdancing, and emceeing in the same fashion as the hip-hop culture of the 70’s and 80’s. The underground also has a major focus on its lyrical content, as did the older hip-hop music, along with emphasis on community, rejuvenation, and rebuilding. Partying, togetherness, self-respect, dedication to self-exposure, and innovation are only a few of the characteristics found in the underground hip-hop sub community.

There is one important distinction to make, though: underground hip-hop is not “old-school” by any means – its merely the form of rap closest to its origins today, like an evolved state. Lyrically and structurally, the underground is so diverse in its content and beats that only a portion can be considered old-school style. Mostly the diversity is due to a different era than Grandmaster Flash and company grew up in, and the enormity of the underground today compared to rap’s roots: basically the world versus the Bronx and SoCal. However, most definitions of the underground compare it to mainstream hip-hop music, where in contrast undie is much more similar to rap’s origins. And in truth, while there is a good amount of underground rap that sound similar to mainstream performers’, an equally appreciable part is more community/personal/unity based like old-school, and hip-hop fusion groups continue the old-school trend of musical evolution, pushing the boundaries by connecting bizarre beats with lyrics and music from every genre imaginable. For more info on the music and lyrics, check out our Cater to the DJ page and the highlights at the end.

From Jurassic 5 to Eminem to Snoop Dogg to Kanye West all of these artists have something in common; they have all performed shows demonstrating their talent before they were widely known artists. The underground hip-hop scene is an enriched environment for aspiring artists to get ahead in their field without the means that mainstream media can provide. With outlets like The Good Life Cafe and the Project Blowed movement, it is becoming easier for new talent to be heard without requiring a substantial amount of money.  Check out more about this movement and underground shows.

Underground hip-hop is not all about the music but also includes the other elements of hip-hop such as graffiti. Like underground rappers, graffiti artists are all about getting back to the origins of the movement. With graffiti, originality and creativity are key, but many have strayed away from this concept and continuously bite of other people’s work. The act of self expression and the ability to inspire are also critical elements of the medium. When graffiti first started with guys like TAKI 183 and CORNBREAD it was all about getting yourself across. Early Graffiti artists also sought to inspire by transforming dire and dull environments into colorful milieus. But in recent years this has all changed with the advent of corporate graffiti which essentially stifles everything graffiti stands for; self-expression and creativity. Underground hip-hop is all about preserving the characteristics and traditions of the original movement with the hopes of bringing back what many consider to be “real” hip-hop. To gain more insight into the world of graffiti visit our Bombing The System page.