This thread is to discuss those rappers who you believe don't receive enough recognition for their abilities to produce quality music.

For me, one of my biggest underdogs is Joe Budden. I swear if the dude was from New York he'd be all over the place, but he's from Jersey so people hate on him. I mean, yea, his voice don't have the ability to convey his wordplay and punchlines as well as other rappers can, but the dude is nice. His lyrics are far above average, his lyrical content is actually interesting and is a lot deeper than most other rappers.

Who do you think deserves some props, but never seems to get them?

AK'SENT

hahahaha this is going to be so cliche but AZ is up there with all the underrated mcs.

Deacond the Villain is underrated too, because Kno's the one always getting the recognition.

Ras Kass is obviously underrated. Soul On Ice... Cmon!

Masta Ace... wow... I mean what an amazing career this guy has had, and still he's so underrated that it makes me sad T-T

Cormega is also pretty underrated, I'll admit the dude's got a weird voice but he definitely makes it up with his mic skills

One.Be.Lo... one half of Binary Star... released probably the best album last year with SONOGRAM (imo tied with A Piece Of Strange).

Seriously... there's way too many underrated mcs to list. I'd literally take hours trying to sum up all the underrated cats

haha ras kass brings back memories nature of the threat was my sh*t i used to play that track to piss white people off.

Dead Prez and the whole RBG camp is sadly slept on
Edo G is slept on
Das efx is slept on
Lost childeren of babylon
AZ was hot back in the day but now is forgotten

peep s.i's dead soul much love for my homeboy Ian Ferro R.I.P you were underated brother man
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=46023

yeah Dead Prez is pretty much slept on but then again... I ain't surprised on that. Their little viva la revolution dealio is kind of out there

It's too bad AZ didn't blow up like Nas did. I know "Life's a b****" is Nas' song, but AZ was so ill, I think his verse overshadowed Nas.

Also, I think Big Pun is a bit underrated. He has one of the nicest flows of any rapper and Capital Punishment is a classic.

Oh, and Soulz of Mischief is underrated too.

AZ put out a new song called The Format, produced by Premier. It's tight, Premo alwasy kills the beat.

Big Pun had the ability to string 10 syllable words in consecutive order and still make sense and flow effortlessly.

I think Royce Da 5'9 is underrated too.

eh Royce is just alright to me. Big Pun... I don't think he's overrated at all. He gets his due props to me. Hahaha mj, nice to hear the AZ on Life's A B comment. That's probably my favorite guest verse of all time along with Nas on Verbal Intercourse (but my opinion on greatest guest verses changes frequently except for Life's A B... that'll always be at the top). But then again, it seems people don't give Nas his due props on that song. His verse is definitely a classic one too.

"I switched my motto, instead of saying f tomorrow, that buck that bought a bottle could've struck the lotto"

supposedly that dude Young Joc is supposed to be nice, from what I've heard from him, he's trash... can anyone show some lines from him that'll make me think of him as a little better?

i think immortal technique is underrated. they say some pretty meaningful stuff, i just wish they will put a just a little beat into their songs

immortal technique is one person. He's not mainstream rap because of the topics he raps about. in all honesty the ghetto don't care about what he's rappin' about.

Believe me on this, Immortal Technique is NOT underrated. As a matter of fact, he's pretty damn overrated. He has a HUGE following, mainly from people that think he's the savior of hip hop and mainly from people that think that they are "conscious" politically and ghetto-ically ;;... when, sadly, they're........ not.

Honestly speaking, the man can't rap for crap. His flow is garbage. I'm sorry if you're an IT fan, but I'm trying to keep my opinion on him as honest as possible. I do like most of his content, but DANG it gets too repititive after a while you know?

Still, disregarding his terrible flow, I still like a few songs by him. Point Of No Return, Harlem Streets, and Obnoxious are all pretty ill joints. His most famous track, Dance With The Devil probably gets the title for Most Disturbing Song Ever.

Damn though, thanks for bringing up IT, because that just reminded me of a REALLY underrated mc and he just happens to be affiliated with IT. The name's Akir... check him out (I've got both his mixtapes and his album). If you listened to IT's Revolutionary Volume 2, then you would know him as the dude on One (Remix).

u guys know what happen to zane (lil zane)? damn i loved his music.
so underrated he disappeared

LOL, he's supposed to be good? If anyone has lines to prove it, please feel free to enlighten me as well.

Also, I heard young artists like Saigon and Papoose are supposed to have outstanding lyrical abilities. Any recommendations?

Little Brother, Murs, Aceyalone, The Pharcyde

Saigon and Papoose are both pretty good in my opinion. Papoose's ability to change his flow, large vocab, and multi-verse rhymes makes him a heavyweight. A lot of people compare him to Big L. His voice, like Big L's is kind of annoying, but his other abilities far outweigh that characterisitic. Papoose is also very versatile. He can rap about a plethora of topics, from gun talk to political talk. He has a huge knowledge on a lot of subjects.

i dont hear people mentioning Black Thought of The Roots very much..

AK'SENT is really pretty but her song wasn't THAT catchy. I do respect her for what she's accomplished at her age though.

Rakim (He has some SERIOUS skills~ And I know he's gotten a lot of recognition as one of the most influential people of Hip Hop culture, but I still don't think his stuff is appreciated just ENOUGH)
Ghostface Killah
Jadakiss
Jin Tha MC (I know most people don't consider him much since he's "Asian" and all...but I really liked him. As a freestyle rapper, he was good, but I have to admit his 1st album did kind of flop~)
Yung Joc (I dunno if anyone knows of him, but he's really popular in the South....I love his songs "It's Goin' Down" & "I Know You See It")

Oh and I dunno about E-40 (like is he new/old/good/bad), but his latest song "U and Dat [ft. T-Pain & Kandi Girl]" is really addicting.

^I don't think Rakim is underrated, just that his recognition is fading. A lot of younger listeners don't really know the genius behind the Eric B and Rakim duo. I guess he's just too old school for some people.

E-40's pretty old, he's been around.

I think Sarai is underated. I don't think her song Ladies showcased her true talent.

LOL @ Young/Yung/wtvr Joc being mentioned. No comment on Freeway being mentioned.

Saigon isn't underrated. Pretty overrated actually. Everyone was riding on him hard when he released his mixtape. But, seriously, he's been hyped WAY too much.

Little Brother = not underrated. Their Minstrel Show album was hyped a LOT. The album ended up just being above average. Nothing too special though.

As for Rakim, he ain't underrated. He gets his dues and more.

If we're going to get into femcees now, might as well mention Jean Grae. Best femcee? No doubt.

^ I like Freeway's voice.
Maybe he's not that "ill" or whatever, but that song really hit it off with me.
Maybe HE'S not underrated, but I thought that song should have been more popular than it was.

And Yung Joc TO ME has potential. I really like his voice and his songs.
He really hit it big with "It's Goin' Down"~ At least in the South he did.

Rakim IMO is underrated because nobody mentions him.
Everyone gives their ups and dues to Tupac, but nobody (or rarely ever) gives their dues to Rakim. "Tupac was my inspiration" everyone says, but I usually don't see anyone saying "I respect Rakim, he was one of my role models as a kid."

^True. I think Tupac is overrated, but I still stand in my point of Rakim not being underrated. People don't mention Rakim as saying he was a role model for them because most of the younger generation didn't grow up with him. Tupac was later than Rakim, so you might hear a lot of people praising Tupac but not Rakim because (1) he's too old for some of them or (2) people don't know him. HOWEVER A lot, and I mean A LOT of people put Rakim as #1 best emcee, hands down. Lack of recognition in today's society doesn't necessarily mean that he's underrated.

And Young Joc and "It's Going Down"...to me, that wasn't that good of a song. If people are saying that this kid's got talent and mention that song, then it's like contradicting each other. I think Young Joc makes music that appeals to a lot of fans, and is successful doing that, but I definately don't think he's underrated.

To add to the list of underrated rappers - I don't think Redman is getting the attention that he deserves. First album = classic. And he's releasing a new album "Red Gone Wild." Also, Canibus is pretty underrated, in my opinion. Even though he's always got wack production, his lyricism is off the charts.

I'm sorry, but no way is Rakim underrated. If you're on the top 10 MCs of all time for MTV you are NOT underrated. MTV is the shi* hole of all music genres, and should never be allowed to rate artists because of their inability to truly expose unknown artists. They simply use popular MCs. Just look at the #1 of all time. Jay-Z? I'm sorry, he's a great rap artist but best MC of all time?Hell no! Rakim's a pioneer in the game, and laid the foundation for the rappers now, but what about KRS-One? Big Daddy Kane? People know who they are, and give them respect, they just don't listen to them.

As for Freeway, I'm from Philly, but I can't stand the dude. He sounds like he's whining on each and every one of his songs. He's not able to change up his flow because of his voice either. I get heat from a lot of my people because I don't like a Philly dude, but I don't think he deserves much respect. Just look at what Cassidy did to him. He was beggin' for a beat during the battle.

^ Hahaha
I like Freeway's voice but yeah it has this weird whiny tone or something to it. O_O

I really like Redman & Methodman, and I definitely think they deserve some more props.

I know that a lot of people don't care about Rakim anymore, since yeah he is pretty old...I don't even remember how *I* came across his music...but then again I used to be really into the Hip Hop Culture. You can't really know hip hop until you at least hear some of his stuff. And it's truly genious. I don't really pay attention to MTV so I wouldn't really know if he was on the top 10 emcees of all time or anything. Jay-Z...I don't feel he should be #1. He's great, but something about him...I think Nas was better him. I truly think so.

And I'll add "Nas" to the underrated rappers list.
He's not really "underrated" persay, because he's had his hits and fame here and there....but he got left in the dust awhile back and Jay-Z prospered instead. Nas's underground stuff that he did before going full mainstream is a lot better than Jay-Z's songs put together. Jay-Z has good beats and witty rhymes (sometimes) is what it is. And I thought his Black Album was supposed to be the grand finale? Pshhh I hear his voice "guest apperance" in so many songs coming out now.

?

LOL at the MTV comment. You know they had a top 100 lyricists right? Number one was none other than Tupac Shakur himself. And where was Raekwon? Like 97, HAHA.

And I wouldn't say Nas is underrated because it seems as if he's got a pretty solid fan base, both old and young listeners. He's got a lot of skills and a lot of recognition for those skills and Illmatic is a must have for anyone who listens to hiphop. And he's coming out with a new album, so it's not like he's going to disappear anytime soon.

^ Yeah that's why I was like "well he's not REALLY underrated," but after I read in the previous post that Jay-Z was #1 I was like whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?



He's coming out with a new album?
Man I haven't even heard wind of it. I don't keep track of him nowadays though. But thanks for the info.

Hahaha, another thing on Nas... ANYTIME you feel that Rakim is underrated, think about Nas. Nas has been compared to Rakim since DAY ONE, and not to mention, Nas doesn't fail to give Rakim major props (he freaking made a song dedicated to him). God... I love this guy. Illmatic... number one hip hop album of all time? No doubt, man, no doubt.

The MTV making Jay-Z #1, was bs. But I still do love the man. Even though I don't think he's the #1 MC, he still deserves love. This man can do things that your favorite mc (probably) can't... I know any hip-hop head would know what I mean by that. To put it simply, the man doesn't need paper and pencil. He makes songs up on the spot while in the booth... (I used to think it was just a rumor, but according to 9th Wonder it's all true).

Yeah, Redman, is pretty underrated, but don't forget that he has fallen off MAJORLY ever since his ill days. He probably deserves the little rec he gets.

Ouch. LOL, that's pretty harsh, man.

And at least Nas pays his due respects to Rakim. I remember once J-Kwon was in an interview or something and the guy goes "SO, do you know who Raekwon[of wutang] is?" LOL he didn't know. So sad.

I guess Jay-Z deserves his credit, although I personally don't really like the guy. I get where people are coming from, though, when they praise Reasonable Doubt.

"I know you see it" has the worst chorus ever


its catchy tho, i cant lie..


and hell no nas isnt underrated. if anything, hes overrated.. people hug his nuts all day because of his lyrical content but they wont realize that his flow and delivery have completely fallen off..

i went clubbin' yest. and what do i see when It's Goin' Down starts playin'? people doing the motorcycle dance... freaking whack

I disagree, he isn't underrated or overrated to me, and his flow and delivery is definitely still there. But then again, it really depends what time period you're talking about (because a lot of people mark Street's Disciple as his downfall... but screw that... it was a lot better than a bunch of albums that were released in 2004). Anyways, are you talking about ever since Street's Disciple? Stillmatic? God's Son? Personally, he hasn't fallen off at all. 2nd Childhood is probably my favorite hip hop song to have come out after 2000. Stillmatic was an ill album except for a couple songs (cough Braveheart Party cough). God's Son was a DAMN good album, I don't care what anyone says, that album was Nas proving that the Stillmatic comeback wasn't a fluke. That unreleased song that came out last year, Death Anniversary, was another ill song.

He most definitely deserves the props he gets.

Oh, oh! I also forgot to mention The Lost Tapes... got ill?

the lost tapes was by far my favorite Nas (pre)album. Doo Rags... it's the feel good shi*. reminds me of times on the block...

If I had to pick one, probably Lupe Fiasco.

NO... NO!... OH GOD NO... I try to give respect on these type of opinions, but this is too much bro!

snacky chan is awesome. he's having trouble getting recognition I think.

nas is indeed very good. illmatic I agree is the greatest hip-hop album ever. NY STATE OF MIND!!!!!!

jay-z...I don't really like jay-z. he seems to have fallen out recently, just talking about crystal and shiet. though I haven't heard much of his stuff, nor have I heard anything really from the black album. but nas owns jay-z

I disagree. I think immortal technique has very clean lines and agility on a beat. his flow is fine.

and yea jin is doooope. I have like 7 CDs full of his stuff haha.
-saif

lol at the Lupe Fiasco comment. Though, I haven't heard enough of his stuff to determine whether I like him or not.



HAHAHAHAHA.

listen to the songs on illmatic and focus on the flow and breath control


then listen to his flow on i am


his flow has gotten too choppy, and his breath control is sloppy.. i have this nas concert dvd and he ran out of breath so easily to the point that he couldnt even finish some lines.. and his rhyme patterns are unorthodox so that makes it sound even more choppy..

his flow on illmatic however, was straight BUTTER.. just listen to the 2nd verse on memory lane

the difference should be obvious

i think snacky chan is under rtated
havent seen or heard much recognition for one be lo and gift of gab either

Chan isnt really well known much like the ju ju mob

of course, he'll never be like how he was on Illmatic, but all I'm trying to say is that he can still flow (even if his skills have diminished since Illmatic). Besides, "I Am" was just one of his "okay" albums (btw, I Am has Nas Is Like, which is one of my favorite Nas tracks). But in all seriousness, no matter how his flow and delivery is like at the moment, he definitely does not suck. And bigs up for Memory Lane, that's also one of my favorite Nas joints

Memory lane is a great song, but my favorite Nas joint has to be "The World is Yours". Regardless of whether Nas still upheld his delivery throughout his rap career, I have to admit there were times where I wasn't feeling him too much. Anyone remember Nastradamus and "Hate me Now"? Haha.

Man, either I'm blanking out or I'm running out of underrated rappers. Nobody touched on Canibus when I mentioned him earlier. I still think he's mad underrated.

LL Cool J buried the dude... everyone though LL turned soft cause of the love tracks he been makin'... but the dude came back at cannibus and it was over... official career ender.. same thing happened to Buddens with Game.. except game had G Unit behind them.

^psh.


Bis > Todd Smith

the only reason why LL looked like he won because he had a much more aggresive delivery in his diss tracks than in "2nd round knockout" or other canibus diss tracks


but lyrically canibus eats ll cool j no question

Maybe Papoose? People were hating on him because he supposedly ruined Busta Rhyme's Touch It Mega Remix But I heard he's very good?

I think most of our ladies are, practically only Missy Elliot is recognized as a rapper.

yeah he goes wayyyyy back. he older stuff was better too.

Okay, yeah LL Cool J ruined Canibus' career (If his production didn't ruin it first) but I still side with Canibus on this one. Supposedly their beef started when they were supposed to be on a track together along with DMX, Redman, and Method Man. I guess LL Cool J went before Canibus and so Canibus' verse started out with "Lemme borrow that mic [the tattoo on LL Cool J's arm]." and LL took it as a diss. So I say LL Cool J was being quite irrational here, and 2nd Round Knockout was a way better song than that stupid "CAN I BUS?" return. And I understand when people criticize LL for his ballad raps because...well...they are kind of soft. "99% of his fans wear high heels", LOL.



Yes, lyrically Canibus owns LL Cool J.

I think Papoose, actually made the remix hotter. But the only complaint I have about Papoose is that he sounds like hes getting less lyrical, I dunno, maybe just because Alphabetical Slaughter was so crazy that I'm having high expectations lol.

Papoose is hands down the mixtape king right now. the dude put out over 25 mixtapes within a year and a half span. Granted a lot of his songs were recycled but he's called among many, as well as myself, as the most talented unsigned artist as of right now. rapping with only words starting with each letter in the alphabet has been done before, so i wasn't that impressed by it.

if you want to hear some of his better songs here's a list

• Law Library pt. 1-3
• Boys in Tha Hood
• Monopoly
• Sharades
• You Can't Murder Me ft. Murda Mook

Papoose to me, is the new Big L.

The Nastradamus comment: I agree, that album blew. It ashames me to be a Nas fan and know he released that album. Still... I love the dude, and he's still good no matter what!!!111

About the Canibus and LL beef. Yeah, a lot of people say that LL buried Canibus, but think about this for a sec: Canibus released 2nd Round KO, which was a DAMN good song. After that, all LL had to do was feed off the disses on that song and make it his own. Know what I mean?
Example:
"99% of your fans wear high heels"
"99% of you fans don't even exist"
case closed.

To me, Canibus won lyrically... even though his career hasn't been great or anything since the beef.

Rip The Jacker is his best album because of Stoupe (JMT is also kind of underrated now that I mention them).