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.
Daniel Dumile, also known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom, was a British-American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and "supervillain" stage persona, he became a major figure of underground hip hop and alternative hip hop in the 2000s.
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.
KMD was an American hip hop trio active from 1988 to 1994, during the golden age. The core of the group was composed of brothers Daniel "Zev Love X" Dumile and Dingilizwe "DJ Subroc" Dumile. The group's original third member, Jade 1, left before the group signed with Elektra Records, being replaced with Onyx the Birthstone Kid. The group dissolved in 1994 following the sudden death of DJ Subroc in 1993, the departure of Onyx and conflicts with Elektra that resulted in them being dropped from the label.
Operation: Doomsday is the debut studio album by British-American rapper MF Doom, released through Fondle 'Em Records on 19 October 1999 and reissued by Sub Verse Records in 2001 with a slightly altered track listing. It was his first solo release under the MF Doom moniker after previously performing as Zev Love X in the group KMD. Operation: Doomsday is regarded as one of the most influential albums in independent hip-hop history. A deluxe remastered version of the album was released by Doom's own Metal Face Records on 24 October 2011.
Percy Carey, also known by the stage names MF Grimm, Grimm Reaper, GM Grimm and originally Build and Destroy, is an American underground rapper, music producer, CEO, and Eisner Award-nominated comic book writer from New York City. Grimm has released five solo albums, five collaborative albums and two compilation albums.
Christian Palko, better known by his stage name Cage, is an American rapper from Middletown, New York. With a majority of his career being spent with record labels Definitive Jux and Eastern Conference, he has released six solo albums, in addition to two compilation albums and two EPs.
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.
Scars & Memories is an album by Manhattan, New York rapper MF Grimm, released on July 19, 2005, via his own Day by Day Entertainment label. While most of the tracks were written during the early 1990s, the original song reels were stolen, forcing Grimm to re-record many of the tracks. This album blends past hip hop styles with new techniques, and features exclusive interviews with Grimm that show not only how his evolution as an artist, but also the changes in his perspective of life.
Siah and Yeshua DapoED was an East Coast hip hop duo from New York.
Farewell Fondle 'Em is a compilation album that marked the ending of Fondle 'Em Records. It was released on Definitive Jux on October 30, 2001.
Dingilizwe Dumile, known professionally as DJ Subroc, was an American hip-hop artist and a member of KMD and Constipated Monkeys.
Jorge Antonio Alvarez, better known by his stage names Kurious or Kurious Jorge, is an American hip hop recording artist from New York City.
British-American rapper and record producer Daniel Dumile, also known under several stage names, most notably MF DOOM, released six studio albums, two live albums, three compilation albums, 10 instrumental albums, seven collaborative albums, 14 singles, and 32 music videos in his career.
Sub Verse Music was a record label specializing in hip hop. It existed from 1998 to 2003 and released recordings by MF Doom, Blackalicious and KMD, among others.
Black Bastards Ruffs + Rares is an EP containing rare and demo tracks by KMD from the album Black Bastards. It was released in 1998 on Fondle 'Em Records, available on 12" vinyl only. The EP contains eight tracks in total, four of which are instrumental.
Eastern Conference Records is an independent record label based in New York City. It is owned and operated by DJ Mighty Mi, the DJ/producer for the High & Mighty.
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.
Bucket of B-Sides Vol. 1 is a 2005 compilation album released by American hip hop record label Definitive Jux. It featured tracks which had appeared as B-sides on some of the label's previously issued singles and EPs.
Cashless Society also known as The Hard Cashless Society or THC Society are a southern African hip hop crew from Gaborone, Botswana and Johannesburg, South Africa. The group consists of Snazz D, Draztik, X-Amount, Black Intellect, Fat Free & DJ IQ, the group made later acquisitions of other like minded artists with Criminal, Tizeye & Gemini joining to form the group well known as Cashless Society.
