ContentMost people probably associate independent music with indie rock and shoe-gazing college kids who wear their hair in their eyes and their hearts ironically thumbtacked to the sleeves of their academy blazers as they debate the etymology of the word “emo” while trying to get the perfect lo-fi sound out of a homemade stompbox built out of two transistors and a roll of aluminum foil. While those bands do exist, and many of them are making brilliant music, the independent music scene was originally the only place that hip hop could exist. Long before a major label would even consider touching rap music, mcs and djs were putting out their own vinyl in warehouse studios. Although some ground-breaking labels (such as Def Jam) have moved on and sold out, independent hip hop is alive and well, and much of it is considerably better than the rehashed Top 40 formats and overproduction of P Diddy and Jay-Z. Independent hip hop tends to elevate the lyrics and the flow instead of multi-layered vocal harmonies and slick studio beats, and almost everyone you’ve ever heard of got their start on a 4-track and an 808.
Read on to find some of the artists, labels, and sites putting out real independent hip hop…
Labels and artists:
Definitive Jux, featuring Aesop Rock, Mr Lif, and Cannibal Ox
Epitaph, featuring Atmosphere
Coup D’Etat, featuring Rasco and Soul Purpose
Hieroglyphics / Red Urban, featuring Del, Hieroglyphics, and Souls of Mischief
Brickbrain, featuring Grand Buffet
Songs:
Pink Deadly, Grand Buffet, Undercover Angels
Freeze, Aesop Rock, Bazooka Tooth
Vein, Cannibal Ox, The Cold Vein
Cats Van Bags, Atmosphere, Seven’s Travels
Endless, Rasco, Escape From Alcatraz
Let’s Go, Soul Purpose, Breaking Records
Sites:
Stink Zone - Grassroots hip-hop, featuring interviews, reviews, and regional news
Hip Hop Infinity- The store carries vinyl, CDs, and gear, and the site has reviews and a forum
Hip Hop Music - Website of the Underground Railroad radio show, updated frequently with hip hop news, reviews, photos, and some older freestyles
Underground Hip Hop - A decent place to buy hip hop online, but be careful, not everything is independent
Since this is obviously just a small sample of the independent hip hop out there, bring what you know over to Blacklabel and share with the rest of us.