K-OS - Forget Kanye West you want a guy who produces his own music has a addictive hooks and intelligent rap dialog? K-OS--not Kanye is the king.
Sage Francis - Representative of the disenfranchised and angry. Leave Eminem in the discount bin pick up this guy instead.
Atmosphere - One of the smartest lyricists in the game. Raps mostly about social unrest and teen angst, and experiments with different instruments for the hooks. Its nice to find a rapper who is brave enough to use his voice as the main instrument and not the synthesizer.
Illa J - Mentioned this man in a previous blog, his beats are fresh and car radio friendly.
K'naan - This is the third time I've mentioned this guy, so hopefully someone (if anyone actually reads this) has gone out and listened to some of his tracks now. I'm starting to feel like a K'naan groupie so this will probably be the last time I mention him in my blog for awhile.
Kid Cudi - Ok fine you probably have heard of this guy. I started listening to "Day n' Nite" around January of 2008. There was no video for the song yet and no huge promotion of the single, but it was generating a lot of buzz online. About a year later it finally got its due and is now enjoying top 40 radio play. However Cudi has more cutting edge material that has been eclipsed by the dance anthem-y single, listen to "Embrace the Martian."
Charles Hamilton - He has had a lot of hype surrounding him lately but that's because his rhymes and style are so original. With his raspy voice and mixture of old school charm and futuristic spin on music Hamilton really is the wave of the future.
B.o.B. - Hip Hop's new southern son.
Kid Cudi - Ok fine you probably have heard of this guy. I started listening to "Day n' Nite" around January of 2008. There was no video for the song yet and no huge promotion of the single, but it was generating a lot of buzz online. About a year later it finally got its due and is now enjoying top 40 radio play. However Cudi has more cutting edge material that has been eclipsed by the dance anthem-y single, listen to "Embrace the Martian."
Lupe Fiasco - I put Lupe on the list because he is well known but still under appreciated. In a world dominated by Lil Wayne and T.I. Lupe is the nerdy kid brother.
The Cool Kids - Before Kid Cudi was known as Kid Cudi he was (and still is) one half of The Cool Kids, two eighties old school obsessed rappers from Cleveland.
N.E.R.D. - One of the most innovative hip hop groups that never gets enough attention from the mainstream press.
Lazee - Swedish rapper that does his own thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2NTQQPMIf0&feature=related
Adam Tensta -Another Swedish rapper most of his stuff (as well as Lazee's) are dance floor anthems, but that also means the hooks are addictive!
The Roots - Critically acclaimed with limited radio play. That's usually the way great music is these days, limited distribution on radio and loved by music critics, it shouldn't be.
