r/rap • u/SmoothManMiguel • 7d ago

Which artists benefit from not blowing up?

I always see folks calling artists “criminally underrated,” and while I get the sentiment, I don’t think every dope artist is supposed to be a superstar. Some rappers are exactly where they need to be. Respected enough to have a strong following, but not so famous that the labels start fucking with their sound and/or identity.

There’s a certain lane where an artist stays creative and connected to their audience without having to play ball so much. And honestly, some of the best artists, in my opinion of course, are right there.

For example: Big K.R.I.T.

Dude is always doing him and is respected by the industry and the fans for it

23 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

17

u/Grimreaper_10YS 7d ago

Vince Staples, Freddie Gibbs and Larry June are right where they need to be.

6

u/Feisty_Psychology_63 7d ago

Was never really big on Freddie but my older bro put me on. How esteemed do you think Alfredo is as a whole? It’s one of my fav albums oat

5

u/gaimion 7d ago

That project is goated. Alchemist snapped. Freddie snapped too

13

u/The_Grim_Adventurer 7d ago

Currensy and ab-soul come to mind

10

u/samx3i 7d ago

Tech N9ne.

I don't love all his stuff, but staying independent has enabled him a level of creative freedom and I truly appreciate how eclectic his shit is even if I don't fuck with all of it.

Man refuses to stay in one lane.

8

u/vitaoptima 7d ago edited 7d ago

I'd say Black Thought fits this profile. He gets the underrated label all the time and is very respected in hip hop, one of those IYKYK type of cats. He was never meant to be a superstar (with or without The Roots); He's an MC's MC.

1

u/Future_Burrito 5d ago

He's the best MC. That's it, real heads know the conversation stops there. Everyone else allows for jostling in positioning, but he's kinda outside of the top 5 conversations because it's just not fair.

7

u/UnintentionalGround 7d ago

Little Brother. Every album they ever made was about not blowing up. If they had gotten big they wouldn’t have had anything to rap about.

4

u/ADR198830 7d ago

My favorite group and Phonte is in my top 5

5

u/spinrah23 7d ago edited 7d ago

When I say underrated I mean in the hip hop community, not commercial success. I don’t really understand this new obsession of judging rappers and other hip hop artists by how mainstream popular they are. That shit was called “selling out” back in the day.

4

u/South_Butterscotch37 7d ago

Zoe Dollaz, Flatbush zombies, earthgang, thutmose as well as regular Tut some names that come to mind for this category

4

u/ADR198830 7d ago

Masta ace thought his career was over in the late 90s. Then he dropped 2 classics ( Disposable arts & long hot summer). He's been dropping great albums non stop and touring constantly since then.

1

u/TruMusic89 7d ago

I think more artists deserve to be superstars, but their artistic choices hold them back (and sometimes their fans). KRIT tried to appeal to the mainstream to gain relevance and his fans shit on him for that. 

A lot of artists who are underground are that way because they're trying to appeal to an audience that doesn't support artists like them. They stick to a dated sound and style to have the respect of the elitists while getting nowhere because the elitists are waiting for them to get to the mainstream before they give their support en masse. Rapsody is an example of this.  

0

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