what's underground rap?

Question

I don't know what that is. Is it just regular rap or something?
can you guys tell me any good songs or artists of that type of music so I can get an idea of what it is?

Mr. Wizard: wow. um yeah. I heard this one was the different from regular rap.

what's mainstream?

Answer 1

Alternative Hip Hop or Underground Hip Hop is defined as a culture that stems from a distinct musical genre, rather than just the musical genre itself.

You can read more about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_rap

Answer 2

What I would once call underground rap I would now call independant rap.....aside from a few that made it.

The Roots were more commercial than mainstream for a long time. They didn't get rich and famous off album sales. They put out 4 albums before they even went gold. I don't know that they've *ever* gone platinum. However, they toured like 285 days of the year, every year, for about a decade.

Mos Def and Talib Kweli came out of the underground.

Even Eminem came out of the underground.

It used to be this tenuous thing, where, the were rules for rapping and all this stuff. Now the rules have changed, things are different.

Underground could be many different things. What it is mostly, is a bunch of whiteboys without a lot of talent making records because other whiteboys feel more of a "relation" to it. Then you've got all the hardcore black people who rap about how hard it is to be black but are way too focused on race and never seem to get big (except for like, Dead Prez. Dead Prez did some good tracks though).

I do production. I make beats, I rap. I record. I've made 3 mixtapes and lots of random beats/freestyles. Written hundreds of rhymes. Freestyled for hours. You could say *I'm* underground.

It's just a label. just like grunge, punk, new wave, thrash, metal, and blues are all pretty much rock. Just different genre's, inside the genre.

Before they *really* realized raps potential net worth you had to make it through/from the underground just to GET in the spotlight. Which insured more talented artists getting paid. It also insured the same backwards politics involved in music. It's a dirty game on all sides. Race really has nothing to do with it.

Answer 3

Underground rap, just like underground rock, is just music that the top 40 stations don't play. People who are familiar with the music recognize artists that are talented in their own right but don't get airplay for whatever reason (bad contract, etc.)

I'm hard pressed to come up with an example, because everyone that I can think of has been on the radio at some point, even if it's just a cameo on someone elses song. Maybe Cubo for Spanish rap....he's got a CD coming out sometime soon but isn't out yet. Chingo Bling also...but he's more of the Weird Al variety. Keak Da Sneak for the Bay Area, but even he has been on MTV. Also Jean Grae. She had an album out in 05 but it didn't do very well even though she's talented. She didn't have the label push she needed.

Answer 4

underground rap is where artist record they stuff so that they can git noticed and hopefully go mainstream. thats y rappers put out mixtapes to let people know wat will be comin in the future like mike jones's still tippin or slim thugs' 3 kings whenever u here gangsta gri-zill in a song its underground or if u ever here da bottom ***** in a song its underground


Try these underground people
gorilla zoe
4seen
gillie da kid

Answer 5

It's rap that should be "performed" underground, right where it belongs --- the deeper the better, so no one can hear it !!!

Answer 6

It's rap that should go in a pile where ALL rap should go: buried DEEP below the earth.

Rap is CRAP, without the letter "C".

Answer 7

I think, I don't know. Maybe you should just go on wikipedia.org and type ity in and see what it means.

Answer 8

its anything that isn't mainstream