Antipop Consortium emerged in the early 2000s as one of the underground hip-hop scene's most inventive groups, bridging the gap between New York hip-hop and glitchy IDM. Group members Priest, Beans, and M. Sayyid joined forces in 1997, along with producer E. Blaize, who would become the group's most celebrated member. After some underground... [+] Read More

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Boom Bip is a Cincinnati-based hip-hop artist whose command of the human beatbox and sample salvage has few equals beside Rahzel the Godfather of Noise. After playing in several bands during high school, he became a DJ in 1993 while attending college in Cincinnati. Offbeat turntablist methods gradually raised his profile, and he began recording... [+] Read More

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Chocolate Genius is the brainchild of Marc Anthony Thompson, an eclectic singer/songwriter who released two solo albums under his own name during the '80s. Thompson was born in Panama, raised in California, and later moved to New York, where he became involved in the downtown avant-garde scene. When his solo career (which included albums in 1984... [+] Read More

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The mysterious cLOUDDEAD combines a trio of underground hip-hop artists arranged in the Anticon collective -- Doseone, why?, and Odd Nosdam. Each of them are solo artists and featured artists on dozens of underground recordings, but their music as cLOUDDEAD is quite different and unlike anything you'd expect from a group of rap connoisseurs --... [+] Read More

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EL-P, aka El Producto, is one of hip-hop's most obstinate and adventurous pioneers, combining a mid-'80s lo-fi old school aesthetic with a progressive rock musician's inclination to push boundaries. He has never succumbed to the whims of corporate hip-hop, instead choosing to pursue his own decidedly uncommercial leanings. In the mid-'90s, he... [+] Read More

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KRS-One (born Kris Parker) was the leader of Boogie Down Productions, one of the most influential hardcore hip-hop outfits of the '80s. At the height of his career -- roughly 1987-1990 -- KRS-One was known for his furiously political and socially conscious raps, which is the source of his nickname, "The Teacher." Around the time of 1990's... [+] Read More

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Around since 1990, New Flesh took ten years to release an LP but quickly became dons of the British rap scene, as original and cutting-edge as their much-hyped Big Dada labelmate Roots Manuva. When originally formed (as New Flesh for Old), the group included York native and graffiti sprayer Part 2 (aka Keith Hopewell) along with rappers Toastie... [+] Read More

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Born David Madson in Cincinnati, OH, in 1976, producer Odd Nosdam first began experimenting with looping as a teenager, which eventually led to the purchase of a Dr. Sample and eight-track player while he was a student at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. Soon, he was working with future labelmates Doseone and Why? (with whom he formed cLOUDDEAD),... [+] Read More

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British rapper/producer Rodney Smith established himself as Roots Manuva in the late '90s and began releasing a series of highly regarded albums through Big Dada (which were usually distributed by Ninja Tune). Smith's work spanned the music spectrum, firmly rooted in dub and ragga but also incorporating much of the trip-hop style often... [+] Read More

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Following RJD2 from Columbus, OH, and into the ranks of the Def Jux crew, S.A. Smash is a duo formed by rapper/producers Camu Tao and Metro. After a single on the label named "Gangsta," the pair made their album debut in June 2003 with Smashy Trashy, inviting guests including Aesop Rock and Vast Aire. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide

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Mild-mannered British rapper Ty lacks the ragga flow and quick patois of most rappers from the Big Dada label; he's more the big brother, with clever, mature themes that commonly go far beyond the usual shot-callers involved in rap music. Born in London to Nigerian immigrants, Ty began recording during the mid-'90s, and appeared on tracks... [+] Read More

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