East Coast Underground

On its own, the term underground hip-hop would indicate a status rather than an aesthetic. After all, most indie or underground artists do aspire to grow bigger and better, and few have ever passed up the opportunity to sign with a major label. But there are also stylistic tendencies that have developed over the years. There's a direct link between the approaches of pioneering groups such as De La Soul and Ultramagnetic MC's and their modern day counterparts such as Black Star, Cannibal Ox and MF Doom. Throughout the early '90s, this meant the sort of jazzy loops and socio-conscious lyricism developed by Native Tongue groups as Tribe Called Quest and the Jungle Brothers. As the decade progressed, the focus fell on N.Y.C.'s Rawkus Records, who would bring the world the likes of Company Flow, Sir Menilik and aforementioned Black Star. The definition of indie has recently expanded, both in terms of artistic vision and geographic terrain, and currently covers everything from wannabe Bostonian thugs to acting school causalities steeped in irony and theory.
In general terms, these acts tend to cover themes and create sounds that mainstream audiences are either unwilling or not yet ready to hear. The results are occasionally indulgent and regrettable, yet just as often they are visionary and trendsetting. Some of the biggest names in hip-hop -- from the Roots and Kanye West to 50 Cent and Eminem -- first received notice in what we call "the underground."
For most of hip-hop's existence, the East and West Coasts have been the harbinger of all things indie. The reason for this is simple: up until a decade ago, all Midwestern and Southern hip-hop was essentially underground. This market domination has allowed these regions to establish ongoing infrastructures to develop talent away from the MTV/ Clear Channel hegemony. Labels such as Def Jux, operated by former Company Flow frontman El-P, and Stones Throw are artist-based collectives more than they are propagators of better business models, and their acts operate free of the constraints placed upon major label artists -- although it must be said that they are not privy to the various artistic and business resources given to those artists.