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; East Coast hip hop only became a distinct subgenre after artists from other regions of the United States emerged with different styles.
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.
Australian hip hop traces its origins to the early 1980s and is largely inspired by hip hop and other urban musical genres from the United States. As the form matured, Australian hip hop has become a commercially viable style of music which is no longer restricted to the creative underground, with artists such as The Kid LAROI, Manu Crooks, ONEFOUR, Iggy Azalea, Hilltop Hoods, Bliss n Eso and Youngn Lipz, having achieved notable fame. Australian hip hop is still primarily released through independent record labels, which are often owned and operated by the artists themselves. Despite its genesis as an offshoot of American hip hop, Australian hip hop has developed a distinct personality that reflects its evolution as an Australian musical style.
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, songwriter, and record producer. Montgomery is currently one half of the rap duo Bad Meets Evil with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem, and is one half of the hip hop duo PRhyme with producer DJ Premier. He was also one quarter of the Shady Records hip hop group Slaughterhouse with Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz and Kxng Crooked. Alongside his recording career, Montgomery served as a ghostwriter for the likes of Puff Daddy and Dr. Dre. Online magazine About.com ranked the rapper as one of the "Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007)".
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 emphasis 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, author, streetball player, streetball coach, 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.
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 Robert "Bobbito" Garcia from 1995 to 2001, based in New York, New York. Bobbito 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, didn't have a proper outlet for their talents.
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.
Vladimir Lyubovny, commonly known as DJ Vlad, is an American interviewer, journalist, director, and former disc jockey. He is the CEO of video and news website VladTV.com. His YouTube channel, djvlad, features his interviews of multiple music artists and entertainers and currently has over five million subscribers. He has also produced and directed films. He currently lives in Calabasas, California.
Copyright Criminals is a 2009 documentary film directed and produced by Benjamin Franzen examining the creative and the commercial value of sampling including the related debates over artistic expression, copyright law, and money.
DJ EFN is an American record label executive and DJ, based in Miami, who specializes in hip-hop. Since the early 1990s, operating most often under the banner of Crazy Hood Productions, EFN has worked in the hip-hop industry in a variety of capacities, including as a mixtape producer, album producer and A&R consultant, radio host, marketing and promotions specialist, clothing retailer, artist manager, and film producer. He is currently best known as the creator and co-host of "Drink Champs," a weekly podcast carried by Sean "Diddy" Combs's Revolt TV network.
Vivian Wilson Fernandes, better known by his stage name DIVINE, is an Indian rapper and songwriter from Mumbai, Maharashtra. He started to gain popularity after the release of his song "Yeh Mera Bombay" (2013). He broke through with the release of his song "Mere Gully Mein" (2019) featuring fellow Mumbai rapper Naezy. On 12 December 2020, DIVINE became the first Indian rapper to be featured on Spotify Times Square billboard in New York City for his album "Punya Paap" (2020), which had claimed the top spot on Apple Music India. He made his debut at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in 2022 becoming the first Indian hip-hop star to attend the Grammys.
Maimouna Youssef is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. She is of Choctaw, Creek, Cherokee and African American heritage. She performs music under the stage name Mumu Fresh.
The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show was an underground hip hop radio show broadcast in New York, originally on 89.9 WKCR-FM, from a basement 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.
Adrian Bartos known professionally as DJ Stretch Armstrong is a New York-based DJ and music producer, known as a former co-host of hip hop radio show The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show, alongside Bobbito Garcia.
Corey L. 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.
