Underground hip hop is an umbrella term for hip hop music outside the general commercial canon. The term is almost exclusively associated with independent artists, signed to small independent labels or no label at all. Underground hip hop is often characterized by having more socially conscious, positive, or anti-commercial lyrics than the mainstream; however, there is no unifying or universal theme. Many artists produce music that celebrate the ...
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Underground hip hop is an umbrella term for hip hop music outside the general commercial canon. The term is almost exclusively associated with independent artists, signed to small independent labels or no label at all. Underground hip hop is often characterized by having more socially conscious, positive, or anti-commercial lyrics than the mainstream; however, there is no unifying or universal theme. Many artists produce music that celebrate the fundamental elements or pillars of hip hop culture: graffiti, b-boying, turntablism, and MCing. "The Underground" can also refer to the community of musicians, fans and others that support non-commercial, or independent music.
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 is seen as one of the earliest example of ...
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