The Roots – “The Seed 2.0″

Top 10 Progressive Hip-Hop Artists

This is my list of Top 10 prominent Progressive Rap Artists

1. The Roots

The Roots have been the most successful vanguard rap group in the hip hop community for many years now. They are a complete live band able to shift from jazz to funk to hip hop to rock with the greatest of ease and skill. Their live shows are celebrations, clinics and testimonials to hip hop’s greatness. They have toured with 311, The Pixies, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Wilco, Outkast and Jurassic 5 to name a few. On their latest album, “Game Theory”, The Roots confront current issues in an intelligent and inspirational manor. The Roots are regarded as one of hip-hop’s all time greatest groups and when ranking progressive hip hop groups they are hands down number one.

2. Blackstar

Mos Def and Talib Kweli

Although both artists have had extensive solo careers and alone they both rank very high on the top ten progressive hip-hop artists list, Mos Def and Talib Kweli as the rap duo Blackstar are a force to be reckoned with.  By combining street rhymes and metaphors, beats courtesy of dj Hi-Tek (Talib Kweli’s partner in hip-hop group Reflection Eternal), Blackstar have been what the hip hop scene has needed. Equally progressive and impressive Blackstar ranks high among the top ten progressive rappers of all time for many reasons, mainly being their lyrics. In a time when so many rappers fall in line to the beat of the corporate music industries drum, Blackstar blazes their own trail to the beat of their own drum. Mos Def comes off as a hip hop Frank Sinatra at times to Talib Kweli’s Axl Rose (right down to the bandanna and leather jacket). No one knows when these two will get back together to record a sequel to their first album. The sooner Blackstar regroup the better and stronger progressive hip-hop will be.

3. Common

He is being touted as the Marvin Gaye of the hip hop community and for good reason. Common has been able to encapsulate his love for hip hop in his music but he often let’s that feeling become a metaphor for his love of Black people and the African American community. For Common it seems when hip hop is in trouble the community is in trouble. When hip hop is merely surviving the community merely survives and when the community is living up to its potential so is hip hop. Common has had a few miss-steps in his career but his last album “Be” (produced by Kanye West) showed off his potential as an artist and a story teller. The hope is, in 2007 Common will have more illuminating things to say and more stories to tell.

4. Jurassic 5

South LA has been the home of some great underground hip-hop artists and Jurassic 5 is one of the best of the backpack, rap pack. With two djs and four mc’s J-5 mix powerful, funky beats, syncopated rhymes, barbershop styled vocals and even singing into their brand of hip hop. They have a positive attitude and they have truly created a multiracial army of fans both in the US and over seas. Although this year they lost dj Cut Chemist they gained more praise and radio airplay thanks to their latest disc “Feedback” and the single “Work it Out”. While only ranked number four on our list and actually containing six members, Jurassic 5 has earned their place among other great progressive hip-hop groups.

5. Atmosphere

Atmosphere is made of DJ/producer Ant and rapper Slug. Their music is introspective and progressive and at times hyper emotional. Although they may cringe at the label “emo” (short for hyper emotional) rap that they have been saddled with, Slug is an amazingly charismatic emcee who has been able to rap about his ex-girlfriend “Lucy”, becoming a father, his current girlfriend and a tragic rape that took place at one of his shows among a multitude of other artistic themes. He is able to do it all against a back drop of old school beats and new school musicality. You have to admire and respect an mc that can spit knowledge about Public Enemy, KRS-One, Bad Religion and Sunny Day Real Estate all on the same album. Atmosphere is number five on our list which is an admirable rank. They would have ranked higher if not for the prejudice I have for their emo songs. I am not a big fan of emo rap, progressive or not. Sorry Slug.

6. Dilated Peoples

DJ Babu (producer/DJ), Evidence (emcee-producer) and Rakaa Iriscience make up the members of LA hip-hop group Dilated Peoples. There is no doubt Dilated Peoples are about REAL hip hop all the way. Lyricists Evidence and Ira Science are an amazing hip-hop tag team on stage and on wax. They summon the spirit of early Run-DMC shows in the live setting. They are backed by the nimble fingered turntablist dj Babu who keeps the energy of their live shows flowing with his funky beats, cuts and scratches. They rank high on our list for their unique and progressive style of hip-hop which has been a front runner of the alternative hip-hop movement of the mid to late 2000’s.

7. Lupe Fiasco

You have to give any rapper props for writing a song about the virtues of skateboarding and then releasing that same song as the first single on his debut album (Kick Push). Lupe Fiasco is a subtle story teller and his first album, “Food and Liquor” is an introspective manifesto set to potent, funky beats. Fiasco was thought to be the next Jay-Z but with his inward sounding, thoughtful lyrics, many music critics are already labeling him hip-hop’s Morrissey and that just may be what the art form needs. Lupe Fiasco stands alone as one of the most unique modern progressive rap artists. With the combination of his subversive lyrics, alternative style and inventive imagination Lupe Fiasco will maintain as one of the top ten progressive rappers of all time.

8. Blackalicious

Producer Chief Xcel and lyricist The Gift of Gab make a remarkable tag team as Blackalicious. The duo(who are sometimes joined by rapper Lateef the Truth Speaker) serve up street smart battle raps and rhymes and when they are not trying to wax philosophical in their live shows, they wow the audience by rapping the alphabet and all of the elements on the periodic table!

9. Sage Francis

When it comes to political manifestos no one hits harder than Sage Frances. The “Sage” is ready to have fists raised in the air as he takes his cues from Public Enemy’s Chuck D is a bonafide rap rebel rouser. Along with political diatribes Francis can also mix in punk/alternative rock references. Francis brings it all together for a perfect balance on his last release “A Healthy Distrust” when he exclaims, “never mind the bullocks my pistol is a sex machine!”

10. MF Doom

While MF Doom is one of the most unique mcs in the genre today, he has recently lost a lot of respect among fans for reportedly using doubles in concert. These body doubles simply wear his famous mask and lip sink to his songs. That is one of the worst things any rapper could ever do. First of all for lip sinking but more importantly for deceiving his fans. His live performances aren’t all that great anyway. It sounds great on his CD’s but in concert it doesn’t come off nearly as good. That being said MF Doom is great on his albums, and his lyrics alone earned him a spot on our list despite his deceptive behavior as of late. Doom is known as the man behind the mask mainly because he conducts interviews and live shows wearing a mask reminiscent of the Bobbafet character in the Star Wars saga. On his latest disc (produced by Gnarls Barkley wiz kid Danger Mouse) Doom serves up serious beats and rhymes about old school cartoons, the king of the sofa, Space Ghost and he takes the idea of “keeping it real” to a whole other level by rapping about vats of urine. Doom has a great way with words, excellent flow and an amazing sense of humor. After live shows and appearances he leaves fans asking the same question, “who was that masked man?”

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