We believe that not enough people appreciate real hip hop. Ask yourself: what is real hip hop? To us, real hip hop exists in the underground. This isn’t to say that all great hip hop is underground or independent, and that we are some cockamamie vessel that prides itself on delivering unknown music to you. It’s not like that. We wouldn’t stoop that low. What we believe is that in order to fully understand independent hip hop and where it is today, you need to retreat to the fundamentals.
Contrary to what Jay-Z, Kanye, and the Gentleman in the Bullet Proof Vest would have you believe, hip hop was never designed to be the hundred billion dollar industry that it is today. Hip hop was, in its infancy, simple, pure, modest, and most importantly: it delivered a message. This message had very little to do with getting rich or dying while trying or having hoes in a variety of different area codes. No, back then, it was all about one unifying factor: the music. What we’re trying to tell you that for some, it is still all about the music.
In a scene that is dominated by assclowns, good hip hop is out there. It exists. It exists in regional collectives, small hip hop troupes, MCs, DJs, and Bboys all across the country and around the world who still believe that hip hop is about the music. It’s about what they’re saying, how they’re saying it, and how what they’re saying impacts the bigger picture. The objective of this feature is to bring to life some of the genuinely beautiful stuff that is being produced by dozens of all-too-often underappreciated hip hoppers. We’re going to take you on a tour of North America, stopping at every major hip hop scene in the country in attempt to expose some lesser known musicians to the scene. 
In each region, we’ll try to bring out the roots, highlighting the famous musicians and analyzing their impact on the culture of the scene.
You may recognize some names, you may not. Please keep in mind that some artists who are considered mainstream today were not always so. As mentioned above, we are not an exhaustive encyclopedia of hip hop knowledge. Honestly, we could use your help. For every scene we stop at, shoot us a comment or submit a review about your favorite artists in the area. There is no way we can feature every artist from every scene, so we encourage you to give us input at every stop along the journey. This is gonna be fun folks so be sure to check in regularly to see if your favorite scene is being featured.
Despite somewhere around ten album releases between 1990 and 2000, Del remained an underground superstar… a mystery to the mainstream. Then came the new millenium and the release of two of my favorite hip hop albums of all time. First, in 2000, alongside legendary Bay Area producer Dan the Automator, Del released the groundbreaking “Deltron 3030″ album.
March 12th, 2010 | by el gringo rico | published in back to the basics, bay area, hip-hop | 1 comment
Moka Only – The Desired Effect
Moka Only gained fame from his role with the legendary Canadian hip hop crew Swollen Members. Since most of the Members are from BC/Vancouver, I originally planned to talk about them during our Northwest tour. But after their dismal showing on “Armed to the Teeth” (seriously, what happened there? I can’t tell if they completely lost their minds or if it’s a hoax, Joaquin Phoenix style…)
November 14th, 2009 | by el gringo rico | published in back to the basics, hip-hop, pacific northwest | 1 comment
One guy we gotta make sure to check out before departing the beautiful Pac Northwest is the uber talented Ohmega watts. He’s a bit of tornado in terms of his origins: his parents were Jamaican and he was born and raised in Brooklyn and Queens. He then spent some time in Florida before settling down in Seattle. His diverse history appears to have had a positive impact on his vision towards hip hop: philosophic, spiritual, relaxed, and well versed.
November 13th, 2009 | by el gringo rico | published in back to the basics, hip-hop, pacific northwest | 2 comments
Sweatshop Union – Water Street
The group’s latest album, Water Street, is awesomely refreshing. Listening to these guys gives you faith that (counter to what Talib might have reflected upon us in Reflection Eternal’s “Too Late”) hip hop is not dead.
November 2nd, 2009 | by el gringo rico | published in back to the basics, hip-hop, pacific northwest | 2 comments
In Common Market, Sabzi is paired up with MC RA Scion, who is slightly more aggressive than Geo in terms of his lyrics and political commentary. Scion rhymes with a reason, taking conscious hip hop to a whole different level than rhymers like KRS-One ever took it to.
November 1st, 2009 | by el gringo rico | published in back to the basics, hip-hop, pacific northwest
Geo is also a spoken word poet in Seattle and Sabzi is also a classically trained jazz pianist. This unstoppable duo would have you saying “this is the best thing to come out of Seattle since Starbucks!” except for the fact that Geo openly criticizes big business and Starbucks specifically.
October 30th, 2009 | by el gringo rico | published in back to the basics, hip-hop, pacific northwest
Max and the Wild Things – The Grass Is Always Greener
Strange Birds – Strange Birds EP
The Dirty Disco – Sista!
Moostache – Thrills
Watch Out For Rockets – Beasts With Hearts of Gold
