The world first caught a whiff of Dirty Sanchez on the 2002 electroclash comp Badd Inc. and the track "Replicunt." A pointy-headed and prurient piece of posturing electro, it spurred chatter about the Los Angeles trio in dance clubs without signs and high-end hair-dye shops throughout the N.Y.C. epicenter of the fleeting electroclash "movement."... [+] Read More

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A protégé of Dr. Dre, rapper Eminem emerged in 1999 as one of the most controversial rappers to ever grace the genre. Using his biting wit and incredible skills to vent on everything from his unhappy childhood to his contempt for the mainstream media, his success became the biggest crossover success the genre had seen since Dre's solo debut... [+] Read More

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Second-wave Chicago house impresario Felix Da Housecat entered the elite via his recordings (as himself, Thee Maddkatt Courtship, Aphrohead, Sharkimaxx) as well as his ownership of Radikal Fear Records, one of the premiere Chicago labels of the 1990s. An introduction to Chicago legend DJ Pierre during the mid-'80s gave the 15-year-old Felix... [+] Read More

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The acronym N.E.R.D. stands for "No One Ever Really Dies," but childhood friends Chad Hugo, Pharrell Williams, and Shay most certainly used the group to proudly emphasize the nerdier aspects of their musical personalities. Before this side project took shape, Hugo and Williams -- as the Neptunes -- had established themselves as giants in the... [+] Read More

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Peaches (Merrill Nisker) burst into transcontinental favor with her very particular brand of cock-sure rapping and spurting groovebox beats. Indeed, this vulgar Canadian temptress may have come from an underground womb of acoustic folk (Mermaid Café), avant jazz (Fancypants Hoodlum), and deconstructed noise swarms (the Shit), but it wasn't until... [+] Read More

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A mysterious and highly experimental hip-hop group, Restiform Bodies deconstruct rap with the same approach that bands like Sonic Youth and Swans took toward punk in the early '80s. Often harsh, moody, and quite bizarre, the troupe is made up of producers the Bomarr Monk and Agent Six and rappers Passage and Telephone Jim Jesus. Inspired by... [+] Read More

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