UNDERRATED EMCEES PART 1

Here's my list if my underrated emcees. This is purely opinion, and I don't expect you to agree with me 100% but I feel each emcee I list is underrated for certain reasons. Not all reasons are the same also. You might not even think they're underrated so bear with me.

50 Cent - This man is very underrated as an emcee. Keep in mind his career's success overshadows everything he has ever fallen short on in terms of music making. He became extremely wealthy off capitalizing off the Eminem/Dr. Dre connection, blowing up on the mixtape circuit, and finding ways to profit off his brand name. When you think 50, you think of his big business and his gangsta. However, pay closer attention to the songs he writes. 50 Cent actually has a versatile style in flow structure and writing. He's very under appreciated for his skills, but at the same time it's harder to see the talent because he's gotten so rich he probably doesn't care as much about the music as before.

Fabolous - Fab isn't really underrated, but he's misrepresented. The Fab I know spits gangsta on mixtapes and comes with those sick metaphors...all Brooklyn style. Mainstream American views Loso as a rapper for the women, like an LL Cool J in a sense. People always criticize Loso for his albums, and say that his mixtapes are bangers. I think in the eyes of mainstream America, Fabolous is underrated in terms of his skills and true talents, and has to dumb it down for the more pop oriented crowd.

Kanye West - Kanye West isn't as wack as everyone thinks on the mic. In fact, his most recent stuff is getting ever more complex and he's got great metaphors, and rhyme structures. It's funny to see Kanye West come into the game as a backpacker, only to become a mini Jay-Z with commercialism in his raps and boasts of arrogance. Not hating either, I'm a big Jay-Z fan. Kanye West is more known for his production, where as I think he is also an extremely capable emcee.

Obie Trice - This man is so slept on, it's ridiculous. His first album Cheers was a monster, and he dropped Second Round's on Me and that was hot too. I admit, the second album wasn't quite as good as the first, and I'm not sure if it was because of the production, or because he started freestyling everything, but both albums were fire. If you're unfamilar with Obie Trice, I want you to check out a lot of his mixtape material and even peep his albums, his lyricism speaks for itself.

There are plenty more of underrated emcees that I know about and would like to share my knowledge with you on them because they too deserve their shine. I'll put that in another post sometime. There's a lot of NY rappers who don't get love because the south is what's hot right now. A lot of dudes from Chicago don't get attention either because if you think Chicago, you think either Lupe, Kanye, or Common. Detroit is full of great emcees as well. I got love for the south, but if you're a hip hop fan, you gotta pay attention to these other regions even though BET and MTV don't give them equal airtime.