alternative hip hop | Musicosity

alternative hip hop

Dr. Octagon

Dr. Octagon is one of Kool Keith's many alter egos. His initial release as Dr. Octagon was 1996's Dr. Octagonecologyst, on which he collaborated with Dan the Automator Nakamura and DJ QBert. After the name was dropped in favour of Dr. Dooom, it was widely believed that it wouldn't be used again until the release of 2006's The Return of Dr. Octagon, which Keith maintains was changed and released without his consent.

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Blackalicious

Gift Of Gab (Tim Parker) and Chief Xcel (Xavier Mosley) met at John F. Kennedy High School in 1987 in Sacramento, California and formed the group in the early 1990s. They released their first recording, "Swan Lake", on . The Solesides Crew consisted of the duo, as well as other friends of theirs they had met at University of California - Davis, including DJ Shadow, Lyrics Born and Lateef The Truth Speaker. The single was an underground hit, but label trouble prevented the duo from immediately capitalizing on their fame.

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Boca 45

Boca 45 is DJ and producer Scott Hendy, from Bristol, UK. Since 2004 he has been signed to the independent record label, Grand Central Records. Prior to this, he released material on Hombré Recordings, Illicit Records, Superslick Stereo Sounds and High Noon Records. The name is derived from the Argentinean football team Boca Juniors, and a common name for a 7" single (so called because of the speed, in revolutions per minute, that a record of this size plays at).

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ZZ Ward

ZZ Ward (Zsuzsanna Ward) is an American singer, musician and songwriter born in Pennsylvania and raised in Oregon, USA, in a small town called Roseburg. In 2009 she was signed to the Boardwalk Entertainment Group, and in 2011 signed to Hollywood Records. She released the mixtape 'Eleven Roses' and the EP 'Criminal' in early 2012, prior to releasing her debut album 'Til the Casket Drops' on October 16, 2012.

Read more about ZZ Ward on Last.fm.

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Wax

Eight artists go by the name Wax:
1. An American creative/experimental Hip Hop/Rap/Acoustic artist.
2. A pop group active in between 1985 and 1988 consisting of American singer-songwriter Andrew Gold and British singer Graham Gouldman of 10cc fame.
3. An American Pop Punk band known for the 1995 song California
4. A female South Korean singer active in the 2000s (see: 왁스)
5. An alias of Dutch dance producer Robert Meijer
6. A short lived Swedish punk band active in the early 1980s
7. A Japanese rapper from the group SD JUNKSTA

Read more about Wax on Last.fm.

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Immortal Technique

Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is a Peruvian rapper, and an urban activist. He was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Harlem, New York. Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics. The views expressed in his lyrics are largely a mixture of socialist commentary on issues such as class hierarchy, poverty, religion, government and institutional racism.

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Cadence Weapon

Cadence Weapon continues to firmly establish his legacy as a sonic pioneer while constantly pushing the rap and electronic music envelope. Following his critically-acclaimed, Polaris Music Prize nominated albums Breaking Kayfabe and Afterparty Babies and a two year term as Edmonton’s Poet Laureate, he returns with his new album Hope In Dirt City this Spring. A clearly defined and emotionally mature statement of intent, Hope In Dirt City represents the culmination of these experiences.

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Intuition

Intuition is the name of 1) a synthpop group and 2) a hip hop artist. 1) Intuition is the duo of vocalist Garrett Miles and programmer Ken Porter. Hailing from sunny Phoenix, Arizona, they have taken the music world by storm with their infectious and unforgettable sound. Fusing together elements of techno-pop, R&B and traditional rock with an electronic backbone, Garrett's smooth and soulful voice gives the synthetic wizardry a warm richness and unique trademark rarely found in today's commercial music world.

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JJ DOOM

JJ DOOM is a collaboration between producer Jneiro Jarel and the masked hip-hop artist MF DOOM. Their debut collaborative album, titled KEY TO THE KUFFS, is scheduled to be released on August 21, 2012 via Lex Records. Key to the Kuffs features guest appearances from Beth Gibbons (of Portishead), Damon Albarn (of Blur/Gorillaz), Boston Fielder, and Jneiro Jarel's fellow partner from the duo Willie Isz, Khujo Goodie (of Goodie Mob).

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Artifacts

There are two artists known as Artifacts:
1. The Artifacts, a hip hop duo
2. Artifacts, a hardcore punk band 1.) The Artifacts were a throwback hip-hop duo from Newark, NJ. Their music reflected and emphasized three of the four elements of true hip-hop culture: MCing, DJing, and their specialty, graffiti writing or “bombing”; both Tame One and El Da Sensei are proficient at all three. With unique styles that play off each other well, Tame and El’s graff-rap was well received by underground audiences and continued in the Jersey rap tradition of Redman and Lords of the Underground.

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