By: Mike & Ry
Run The Jewels
Label: Fool's Gold
Run The Jewels is one of my favorite current hip hop acts. With El-P’s production which is some of the most hard-hitting stuff we’ve heard in years, and Killer Mike’s menacing tones mixed with raw lyricism. It’s a shock the duo hasn’t been around longer. As of early 2016 they have released two near-perfect albums and a remix album created solely with cat noises and way too much time on their hands. Run The Jewels is signed to Fool’s Gold. The same label that Danny Brown is signed too based out of Brooklyn New York. The label has housed artists such as Kid Cudi and Danny Brown since forming in 2007. With an independent label supporting them, RTJ has the creative freedom to put out some of the best hip-hop music in years and hopefully will continue to do so for years to come. -Ry
Run The Jewels is one of my favorite current hip hop acts. With El-P’s production which is some of the most hard-hitting stuff we’ve heard in years, and Killer Mike’s menacing tones mixed with raw lyricism. It’s a shock the duo hasn’t been around longer. As of early 2016 they have released two near-perfect albums and a remix album created solely with cat noises and way too much time on their hands. Run The Jewels is signed to Fool’s Gold. The same label that Danny Brown is signed too based out of Brooklyn New York. The label has housed artists such as Kid Cudi and Danny Brown since forming in 2007. With an independent label supporting them, RTJ has the creative freedom to put out some of the best hip-hop music in years and hopefully will continue to do so for years to come. -Ry
KYLE
Label: Indie-Pop
KYLE or SuperDuperKyle is one of my favorite rappers today as he blends styles reminiscing of Childish Gambino, Chance The Rapper, Drake & Kid Cudi. He bounces between goofy word play, vulnerable lyrics and passionate vocals. While he can be classified as a fun rapper or as some people would call “corny”, KYLE also has a deeper side to him as shown through songs like ‘Wait On Me’ and ‘Remember Me?’ KYLE is signed to Indie-Pop which is based out of Los Angeles and houses artists such as Carnage and Theophilus London. I am wildly eager to watch KYLE blow up as he continues to make music that you can easily blast on a cool summer night with your friends but can also make you see the world through the eyes of the super hero, SuperDuperKyle. -Ry
KYLE or SuperDuperKyle is one of my favorite rappers today as he blends styles reminiscing of Childish Gambino, Chance The Rapper, Drake & Kid Cudi. He bounces between goofy word play, vulnerable lyrics and passionate vocals. While he can be classified as a fun rapper or as some people would call “corny”, KYLE also has a deeper side to him as shown through songs like ‘Wait On Me’ and ‘Remember Me?’ KYLE is signed to Indie-Pop which is based out of Los Angeles and houses artists such as Carnage and Theophilus London. I am wildly eager to watch KYLE blow up as he continues to make music that you can easily blast on a cool summer night with your friends but can also make you see the world through the eyes of the super hero, SuperDuperKyle. -Ry
Chance The Rapper
Label: Chance The Rapper LLC.
Chance The Rapper is one of the most widely popular artists of today and is also famously known for still being independent. Chance has stated that he believes once you sell yourself to a major label, you immediately lose worth or credit to your name. You become a less valuable artist. Because when you aren’t signed, like Chance, labels scramble to offer you the best deal with the most amount of money in order to get you on their roster and not only make waves for signing you but to make a shit ton of money off your creative projects. Chance has been fighting to not let himself go down that path as he has been offered millions of dollars in deals and exposure to put his music everywhere for sale. Instead, he continues to take his time creating projects, do it all with his friends, and release it all for free. He released Surf back in May 2015 with his band The Social Experiment with which he is the lead singer of. Be on the lookout for his still untitled third mixtape. Which should be arriving shortly with singles ‘Angels’ & ‘Somewhere In Paradise’. -Ry
Chance The Rapper is one of the most widely popular artists of today and is also famously known for still being independent. Chance has stated that he believes once you sell yourself to a major label, you immediately lose worth or credit to your name. You become a less valuable artist. Because when you aren’t signed, like Chance, labels scramble to offer you the best deal with the most amount of money in order to get you on their roster and not only make waves for signing you but to make a shit ton of money off your creative projects. Chance has been fighting to not let himself go down that path as he has been offered millions of dollars in deals and exposure to put his music everywhere for sale. Instead, he continues to take his time creating projects, do it all with his friends, and release it all for free. He released Surf back in May 2015 with his band The Social Experiment with which he is the lead singer of. Be on the lookout for his still untitled third mixtape. Which should be arriving shortly with singles ‘Angels’ & ‘Somewhere In Paradise’. -Ry
Aesop Rock
Label: Rhymesayers Entertainment
When I think of independent rappers my mind immediately brings up Aesop Rock, low key my favorite bearded rapper (sorry Bronson). A lyrical savage Aesop Rock uses the widest vocabulary in rap, his lyrical content is insane, using words you'd think wouldn't be heard in a rappers dialect. Some prime examples include "Put one up for Shackle Me Not, clean logic procreation I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent While the triple sixers' lassos keep angels roped in the basement", that's from his second album Daylight (2001), a literary genius some have even compared him to Shakespeare. He's signed to the independent label Rhymesayers Entertainment and has been in the undergound hip/hop scene since the 90's, this guy knows his shit. A New York native and college student in Boston his sound streams from the underbelly music scene in the cities he's lived in. Despite his powerful vocabulary and grimey beats not many know who he is. But that's just the way it goes for an artist that's making music because that's what they're passionate about and not trying to play into any specific image. -Mike
When I think of independent rappers my mind immediately brings up Aesop Rock, low key my favorite bearded rapper (sorry Bronson). A lyrical savage Aesop Rock uses the widest vocabulary in rap, his lyrical content is insane, using words you'd think wouldn't be heard in a rappers dialect. Some prime examples include "Put one up for Shackle Me Not, clean logic procreation I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent While the triple sixers' lassos keep angels roped in the basement", that's from his second album Daylight (2001), a literary genius some have even compared him to Shakespeare. He's signed to the independent label Rhymesayers Entertainment and has been in the undergound hip/hop scene since the 90's, this guy knows his shit. A New York native and college student in Boston his sound streams from the underbelly music scene in the cities he's lived in. Despite his powerful vocabulary and grimey beats not many know who he is. But that's just the way it goes for an artist that's making music because that's what they're passionate about and not trying to play into any specific image. -Mike
Earl sweatshirt
Label: Tan Cressida
Earl Sweatshirt, one of my absolute favorite rappers. With so much swagger and flow he had to branch away and eventually separate from the hip/hop collective of Odd Future. A guy who's name has garnered recognition for the low grovel of bass in his voice and the smooth chop of his beats as he raps about whats happening in the world to him. The California native has been making some of the best new music out there, two albums in and Earl seems to be doing everything right when it comes to maintaining a following as an independent artist. All you would get out of this guy is just straight bars developed right out of his psychosis and into the ears of those who don't want to worry about anything else and ask the question, why don"t I listen to Earl more often. -Mike
Earl Sweatshirt, one of my absolute favorite rappers. With so much swagger and flow he had to branch away and eventually separate from the hip/hop collective of Odd Future. A guy who's name has garnered recognition for the low grovel of bass in his voice and the smooth chop of his beats as he raps about whats happening in the world to him. The California native has been making some of the best new music out there, two albums in and Earl seems to be doing everything right when it comes to maintaining a following as an independent artist. All you would get out of this guy is just straight bars developed right out of his psychosis and into the ears of those who don't want to worry about anything else and ask the question, why don"t I listen to Earl more often. -Mike
mf doom
Label: Rhymesayers Entertainment
Where do I begin with MF Doom, a force within in the underground and independent hip/hop world it's a little tough to think about it without him. A wordsmith and producer unlike any other MF Doom isn't even from the U.S he's British, but he has spent most of his life in the New York. He's best known for his super villain character on stage and his strange lyrics, MF Doom has taken on multiple personalities while on stage. He's gritty, violent, and heavily influenced by other New York MC's but just as much by everything else that isn't. In other words his own personal style is so abstract and off the wall that his music is hard to compare to others. Another member of Rhymesayers entertainment he works along side other independent artist of all likes. He's been around for a while (since the 90's) don't expect him to go anywhere soon because he remains one of the most prominent figures in this stream of hip-hop. -Mike
Where do I begin with MF Doom, a force within in the underground and independent hip/hop world it's a little tough to think about it without him. A wordsmith and producer unlike any other MF Doom isn't even from the U.S he's British, but he has spent most of his life in the New York. He's best known for his super villain character on stage and his strange lyrics, MF Doom has taken on multiple personalities while on stage. He's gritty, violent, and heavily influenced by other New York MC's but just as much by everything else that isn't. In other words his own personal style is so abstract and off the wall that his music is hard to compare to others. Another member of Rhymesayers entertainment he works along side other independent artist of all likes. He's been around for a while (since the 90's) don't expect him to go anywhere soon because he remains one of the most prominent figures in this stream of hip-hop. -Mike