East Coast hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in New York City during the 1970s. Hip hop is recognized to have originated and evolved first in The Bronx, New York City.
Underground hip-hop is an umbrella term for hip hop music that is outside the general commercial canon. It is typically associated with independent artists, signed to independent labels or no label at all. Underground hip hop is often characterized by socially conscious, positive, or anti-commercial lyrics. However, there is no unifying or universal theme – AllMusic suggests that it "has no sonic signifiers". "The Underground" also refers to the community of musicians, fans and others that support non-commercial, or independent music. Music scenes with strong ties to underground hip hop include alternative hip hop and conscious hip hop. Many artists who are considered "underground" today were not always so, and may have previously broken the Billboard charts.
The Cenobites LP is the eponymous debut album by the American hip hop duo the Cenobites, composed of rapper Kool Keith and producer Godfather Don. It was first released as an EP in 1995 via Fondle 'Em Records and was later expanded for LP in 1997 and CD in 2000. Percee P and Bobbito Garcia made guest appearances on the record.
Ryan Daniel Montgomery, known professionally as Royce da 5'9", is an American rapper. Best known for his association with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem, they became acquainted in 1997 and formed the hip hop duo, Bad Meets Evil the following year. Their 2011 single, "Lighters" peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and preceded the release of their debut extended play (EP), Hell: The Sequel (2011). The song and its parent EP, which debuted atop the Billboard 200, have yielded Montgomery's furthest commercial success.
Rodolfo Franklin, known professionally as DJ Clark Kent, is a Panamanian-American hip hop record producer, DJ and music executive. His crew of DJs is called "The Supermen", and his DJ moniker is derived from the name of Superman's alter ego.
WKCR-FM is a radio station licensed to New York, New York, United States. The station is owned by Columbia University and serves the New York metropolitan area. Founded in 1941, the station traces its history back to 1908 with the first operations of the Columbia University Radio Club (CURC). In 1956, it became one of the first college radio stations to adopt FM broadcasting, which had been invented two decades earlier by Professor Edwin Howard Armstrong. The station was preceded by student involvement in W2XMN, an experimental FM station founded by Armstrong, for which the CURC provided programming. Originally an education-focused station, since the Columbia University protests of 1968, WKCR-FM has shifted its focus towards alternative musical programming, with an emphasis on jazz, classical, and hip hop.
Joseph Kirkland, better known by his stage name Diamond D, is an American hip hop MC and record producer from The Bronx, New York City, and one of the founding members of the Diggin' in the Crates Crew, abbreviated as D.I.T.C.
Robert "Bobbito" Garcia, also known as DJ Cucumber Slice and Kool Bob Love, is an American DJ, radio host, author, and member of the Rock Steady Crew. He is known as a former co-host of hip hop radio show The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show, alongside Adrian "Stretch Armstrong" Bartos, from 1990 until 1999. He later moved to Washington, D.C., where he currently hosts a new podcast on NPR called What's Good? alongside Bartos. Garcia was the announcer for the video game NBA Street Vol. 2.
Peter J. Nash, known by his stage name Prime Minister Pete Nice or simply Pete Nice, is an American baseball historian and author, member of the Society for American Baseball Research, Hip Hop historian, and former rapper and record producer. Nash gained recognition as one-third of Def Jam's golden age hip hop group 3rd Bass.
Fondle 'Em Records was a hip hop record label founded and owned by Bobbito Garcia from 1995 to 2001, based in New York City. Garcia formed the label after realizing that the many unsigned rappers making guest appearances on The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show, a program Bobbito co-hosted with DJ Stretch Armstrong on Columbia University radio station WKCR 89.9 FM, did not have a proper outlet for their talents.
Giant Step is a media, events and marketing company headquartered in New York City and Los Angeles. The company formerly released music through its record label, Giant Step Records. Giant Step is divided into two entities – the Giant Step brand, which promotes music and the creative agency, Giant Step Marketing, which provides marketing services to consumer brands.
Calvin LeBrun, known professionally as Mister Cee or DJ Mister Cee, was an American DJ, broadcaster, record executive, and radio personality. Credited with the discovery of both rappers, he guest featured on Big Daddy Kane's 1988 debut album Long Live the Kane, and served as associate executive producer for the Notorious B.I.G.'s 1994 debut album, Ready to Die. Mister Cee is widely considered to be a pioneering figure in East Coast hip hop.
Godfather Don is an American rapper and record producer from New York City. He has been "a creative force within New York City's underground hip-hop scene" since he made his debut in 1991.
Angel Del Villar II, better known by his stage name Homeboy Sandman, is an American rapper from Elmhurst, Queens, New York, United States.
"Slam" is a song by American hip hop group Onyx. It was released on May 11, 1993 by JMJ Records and Rush Associated Labels as the second single from Onyx's debut album, Bacdafucup. The song introduced slamdancing into hip-hop.
Jonathan Miles Shecter, an American magazine editor and music promoter, is also known as "Shecky Green" and "J the Sultan." He is the co-founder of the music and culture magazine The Source, former Director of Programming for the Wynn Las Vegas, and current Editor-In-Chief for Cuepoint at Medium.
Siddiq Booker aka Creature is a New York City-based independent underground rapper, vocalist, writer and composer who works in the rap, hip hop, and afro-punk genres.
Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives is a 2015 documentary film about the Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show, starring Adrian "Stretch Armstrong" Bartos and Bobbito Garcia. The influential show helped to launch the careers of numerous hip hop artists, particularly those along the East Coast.
The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show was an underground hip hop radio show broadcast in New York, originally on 89.9 WKCR-FM, the student radio station at Columbia University, and later on 97.1 WQHT-FM. The show was hosted by Adrian Bartos and Robert "Bobbito" Garcia, and functioned as an alternative to commercial hip hop radio by airing unsigned artists, rarities and B-sides from commercial artists, and live freestyles and DJ scratch sessions. The show has been credited with introducing the world to Biggie Smalls, Eminem, Jay-Z, Big L, Big Pun, Fat Joe, Wu Tang Clan, Fugees and many other names which would rise to prominence in the mid to late 1990s.
Corey Lawrence Banks, is an American rapper and songwriter, currently performing under the name Corey Drumz. When he emerged from the late 1980s Hollis, Queens Hip hop scene, Banks was known professionally as CeStyle. In 1991 he co-founded the group Total Pack with Kamal B Wize.
