BY Joseph Rowan/LifeAtStart.com Reporter
Throughout my life I have listened to many different genres of music, but I would consider rap and hip-hop among my favorites. This means that in my 17 years of being alive I have listened to many different artists. In this countdown I am going to mention six rappers who are either unknown or underrated.
- XXXTENTACION- Within the last couple months or so XXX has blown up. But that doesn’t mean that he still isn’t underrated. XXXTENTACION is a rapper out of Florida who mostly makes music for his soundcloud but cannot in the recent months due to him being incarcerated. His music is very aggressive and mainly focuses around women, sex, and gang violence. His music also is very explicit and has a lot of bad words, so don’t listen to his music if you want to keep your ears pure.
Songs to check out: YuNg BrAtZ, RIP ROACH, and Teeth
- Post Malone- Even though this is a list about “unknown” rappers and Post Malone has two really popular songs, his two new albums are relatively unknown. In 2016 he released his albums August 26th and Stoney. Both of these albums are barely known but are very well made. Throughout 2016 Post Malone opened up for Justin Bieber on his Purpose tour, which allowed Post Malone to collaborate with him, in which they released the song Deja Vu. Post Malone can rap but he can also sing which he proved on his album Stoney with the song Feeling Whitney. Post Malone is talented and can make a song work even when you think it won’t.
Songs to check out: Deja Vu, Feeling Whitney, and Too Young
- Joji- Joji is a rapper out of Tokyo and New York (depending on where he lives at the time). He also makes music under the pseudonym Pink Guy for his YouTube channel, these songs are way too inappropriate to talk about. Joji is a nickname he has which he uses on his soundcloud to make his “real” music. He isn’t much of a rapper, but he is very experimental and is willing to take a risk when it comes to beats and production. Lately he hasn’t made any music because he released a full length album for his YouTube channel, but I expect some music to come out soon.
Songs to check out: Old yeller, Thom, and Yung Michael
- Pouya- Pouya is the second rapper from Florida on this list, but his style is different from XXXTENTACION. Pouya makes a lot of music, but his style rarely changes. His music has meaning behind it and it sounds great. Pouya mostly makes music with his two friends: Fat Nick and Shakewell, but I don’t really like the way they rap. A lot of his lyrics focus around being depressed and suicidal, but he also makes music about money, drugs, and girls.
Songs to check out: Suicidal Thoughts in the Back of the Cadillac, Terminal Sex, and Great Influence
- MF DOOM- MF DOOM has been rapping for longer than I have been alive, he is from Britain but you cannot tell that through his stuffy voice. MF DOOM is considered the best rhymer in the game and uses many different types of literary devices to make his songs work. One of the best lyrics I’ve heard from MF DOOM is “Land of milk and honey with the swirls. Where reckless naked girls get necklaces of pearls.” This line uses a double entendre when he says “necklaces of pearls” because it describes a sex act and exchanging sex for items such as a pearl necklace.
Songs to check out: Curls, ?, and Rhinestone Cowboy
- Aesop Rock- Aesop Rock has been rapping longer than MF DOOM and was one of the first underground rappers in New York. He started rapping around 1990 after he graduated from college and started to gain a cult following. A lot of people believe his lyrics are verbose (uses more words than needed) but I believe they are complex and abstract usually forcing me to look the meaning up in the dictionary. A study in May 2014 found that Aesop Rock has the largest vocabulary in hip hop. He released his most recent album in 2016 and he doesn’t plan on stopping soon.
Songs to check out: Kirby, Dorks, and ZZZ Top