Underground hip-hop

Underground hip hop (also known as underground rap or simply underground) is a scene and style of hip-hop music, defined as countercultural in nature, while existing outside and in contrast to mainstream hip-hop. In the 21st century, the term evolved to describe a style of hip-hop closely associated with internet rap-based genres such as cloud rap, plugg, lowend, emo rap, phonk, mumble rap, sigilkore, digicore, and jerk.^[1] However, some underground rap artists, develop into mainstream artists, through broader internet virality and appearances on the Billboard charts.^[2]

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: This section primarily focuses on artists who later became commercially successful, rather than accurately representing the history and stylistic origins of underground rap as a distinct cultural movement. The term "underground rap" refers to more than just early-career status—it encompasses a specific artistic ethos, community, and history. The section should be revised to better reflect this. Please help improve this section if you can. (July 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

In hip hop's formative years, the vast majority of the genre was underground music, by definition. Although the Sugarhill Gang gained commercial success in 1979, most artists did not share such prominence until the mid-1980s. Ultramagnetic MCs' debut album, Critical Beatdown (1988), can be seen as one of the earliest examples of "underground hip hop".^[3] New York underground rapper Kool Keith received notable success with his album Dr. Octagonecologyst, gaining more attention than any contemporary independent hip hop album "in a while".^[4] The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show was a notable underground hip hop radio show that was broadcast on WKCR, and later WQHT, in New York City from 1990 until 1999.^[5][6] It featured rappers such as The Notorious B.I.G., Big L, Jay-Z, and Eminem, as well as groups like Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Onyx, and Fugees, all before they gained their popularity.^[7] In 1999, Prince Paul and Breeze Brewin' created one of the first rap opera albums, named A Prince Among Thieves. Rolling Stone gave the album a 4.5/5.^[8]

In the late 1990s, progressive rap acts such as Black Star and Juggaknots helped inspire and shape the underground hip hop movement that would follow in subsequent decades.^[9]

Early underground rap artists during the 1980s and 1990s included Jedi Mind Tricks, Kool Keith, B. Dolan, Brother Ali, Diabolic, Immortal Technique, Micranots, Mr. Lif, Murs, Little Brother, P.O.S, Zion I, Atmosphere, Binary Star, Blu, Cannibal Ox, Company Flow, Del the Funky Homosapien, Roc Marciano, Freestyle Fellowship, Hieroglyphics, Juggaknots, Jurassic 5, Little Brother, Non Phixion, Planet Asia and RJD2,

Additionally, many underground hip hop artists and groups have been applauded for the artistic and poetic use of their lyrics, such as Aesop Rock, Artifacts, Dilated Peoples, People Under the Stairs, and Fashawn, Aceyalone,^[10] Busdriver, Cage,^[11] CunninLynguists,^[12] Dessa, OhSo Kew,^[13] Doomtree, El-P,^[14] Eyedea & Abilities,^[14] Illogic,^[15] Onry Ozzborn, Rob Sonic,^[16] and Sage Francis.^[17]

In the early 2000s influential underground rap artists included MF Doom, Edan^[18], Clouddead and Madlib.^[19]

During the late 2000s to early 2010s, Internet rap emerged as a growing style of hip-hop ushering in a new period of underground rap music that was heavily influenced by the Internet, streaming services and social media. Online rap music emerged out of the early online blogosphere, initially spreading through online social media platforms like Myspace^[20] as well as mixtape-sharing site DatPiff^[21][22], the movement was later further developed by influential rapper Lil B, which later proliferated with the rise of artists like Yung Lean as well as the influential online underground rap collective Drain Gang consisting of Bladee, Ecco2K, Thaiboy Digital and producer Whitearmor.^[23][24] Other notable artists during this period included Black Kray and Danny Brown, later Zelooperz, Mach-Hommy, Quelle Chris, Boldy James and Freddie Gibbs.^[25] As well as influential collectives Odd Future and Brockhampton.

Contemporaneous developments in underground rap during this period, included industrial hip-hop artists like Death Grips, JPEGMAFIA, Clipping and Injury Reserve. Alongside, abstract hip hop artists such as Ka, Billy Woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Elucid, the Alchemist, and collective Armand Hammer.

In the mid to late 2010s, South Florida's Soundcloud rap scene became an influential movement that helped in further proliferating underground rap music and the use of streaming services like SoundCloud. Initially encompassed by artists like SpaceGhostPurrp's Raider Klan, Denzel Curry, Lil Ugly Mane and Metro Zu, the scene later gave rise to mainstream artists like Lil Peep, Lil Pump and XXXTentacion who were influential in the emergence of later underground artists who would break into the mainstream such as Playboi Carti, $uicideBoy$, ^[26] Trippie Redd, Lil Uzi Vert, and SoFaygo, whose style of music led to the coining of the term "mumble rap".^[27][28]

Additionally, Playboi Carti's label, Opium became responsible for the emergence of notable artists such as Ken Carson and Destroy Lonely in the late 2010s, who both reached wider popularity in the early 2020s.^[29] Artists associated with the label pioneered a fashion style described as "opiumcore",^[30][31] which drew from punk and alternative fashion,^[32] with the broader underground rap scene's internet-driven aesthetics being noted as influential to the high fashion world.^{[33][34][35][36][37]}

During the early 2020s, many internet rap microgenres emerged or would primarily develop such as sigilkore, digicore, rage, jerk, krushclub, pluggnb, ambient plugg, terror plugg and hexd,^[1] with Rolling Stone describing the 2020s underground rap scene as "extremely online".^[38] Subsequently, various influential scenes and artists began to gain wider popularity, though some originated earlier, prominent acts included Summrs, Tana, Weiland, Kankan, Izaya Tiji and Autumn! in the plugg and pluggnb scene^[39]; Yeat, Osamason, and Che in the rage scene; as well as Xaviersobased, Nettspend and Yhapojj in the jerk scene. Although, these artists initially emerged out of these scenes, some later embarked onto other musical styles and movements. Other prominent artists include ian, Yabujin^[40], 2hollis, Sematary, Rich Amiri, and Lazer Dim 700.^[41][42] As well as UK-based rappers YT,^[43] Fimiguerrero, Lancey Foux^[44] and Fakemink^[45] who have frequently been referred to as "underground rap".^[46]

• Alternative rap
• Internet rap
• Experimental hip hop
• Progressive rap

• Media related to Underground hip hop at Wikimedia Commons