For those of you that didn’t finish the video lemme specify that this does not go for the ENTIRE underground. There’s definitely new artists that are currently “underground” that are amazing, but this video is more about the community than the artists!
Under a community post from someone who covers underground bs mentioned that bones/xavier parted ways and everyone in the comments were saying “who cares” or “who are these people” and that’s when I realized I was an old head at 24yrs old
I feel like underground rap nowadays sucks because it kinda just became for the “cool kids”, if you get what I’m saying. Like SGP used to get bullied for being a black kid who was into skating and metal. Bones was some creepy white trash guy from the middle of nowhere. Like this new shit isn’t really doing anything different, and it kinda appeals to the masses tbh. There ain’t really any new rap coming out that represents the outcasts or weird kids, it’s just turning into instagram hypebeast shit. The hardcore scene is the only salvation for us losers at this point, and if you aren’t into metal, you’re kinda fucked ig. I’m kinda just yapping tbh uhh shout out to Raider Klan and Reptilian Club Boyz stay based everybody
Facts a lot underground rappers had a shitty childhood. I can relate to that but it’s weird seeing dudes who had everything growing up talking about doing drugs and shooting Niggas.
Because at some point, doing weird kid music is predictable. Y’all be wanting the weird clanky beats or want some wishy washy metal beats. Then yall want artist to only relate to y’all and not evolve or otherwise they are “cool kids”. Appreciate change and open your horizons. You miss out on classics when all you wanna listen to is edgy dark music.
@@xxXI_Am_67Xxx spot on. Whenever trap metal and emo rap were taking off, there would be a bunch of rappers on SoundCloud like “omg im so broken and depressed” kind of just there to capitalize on trends and shit, not really making music they were actually passionate about. And also the thing you said about fans not wanting rappers to change or evolve is 100% true, I still see kids on the internet saying shit like “[insert rapper] was better when they were on drugs”.
How old is he really? He was in middle school in 2012. He’s not that “old” he’s just older. I think the problem now is people are blowing up younger and younger. Literally children are dictating what stays and goes. Now your average 25 year old is so burnt out with life and how fast trends and social constructs are changing that they feel like “oldheads” it’s crazy.
BandLab and Tik Tok for sure are the biggest reasons. ANYBODY can rap now. And most of it’s not even “bad” it’s just the same shit over and over because it’s so rare to find artists that actually love music and aren’t just doing it for the money and clout.
Part of the reason why the underground is so bad has to do with why it was so good..like 2021 was looking insane with people like Izaya, Summrs, yeat, glokk even hella people on the rise dropping their best. Then they all disappointed us except yeat. Izaya did what he did Summrs fell the fuck off Kankan doesn't even make music and will only drop when he can't support his addictions off clothing and autumn is insanely watered down and palatable now. We're just in a low spot waiting for the next collective of niggas to come up, some already are like japan and some are still riffing on an old sound like thrax and sss. Still fw their music but bring something new to the table. Not too new like yhap where's he's just fucking howling but something that my ears won't immediately reject in disgust
@@jadesdedexactly how I feel these niggas come and go. Looking back at 2019 there were some names here and there, but it was all build up for what was to come
I’m glad u spoke about the underground pages nd dis also applies to the underground RU-vidrs the amount times I seen a underground RU-vidr going off cuz they got sum subs nd got mentioned by a underground rapper is crazy
Out of all these new “underground” RU-vid commentators you are the most lvl headed. I’m 25 & was introduced 2 the Underground thru SGP-Rvidxr Klvn bac in 2011 when I was in middle school. Being from Atlanta, the 2015-2018 scene probably was the PEAK of underground talent imo. Shit crzy how washed it turned out 2 be in 2024. I’m beyond disappointed.
As an elder hardcore kid/underground kid I identify heavily with everything bro said. The early 2010s was actually DIY and actually underground. Rap and punk shows shared venues as well as bills. UV out here takin these new gens souls
The instagram rap promo pages are honestly the real problem like you already mentioned. Even with those pages in the picture I'm still trying my hardest to enjoy the music.
Hell, if you're a unc, I guess I'm on grandpa time. Chelsea Grin & BMTH was 10th grade for me. I'd been feeling like im waaaay to old for the "underground" scene but its conflicting because "underground" never meant "teenager" When I came up it just meant non-mainstream music that had a community behind it but with no innovation in the sound and everyone essentially being kids I think being "too old" is a far take. Great video, as always.
I ain’t gonna say my age but I’m a younger guy and I completely agree with you dude, the underground isn’t really underground and doesn’t feel experimental at this point. Also RIP Mitch Lucker and shout out to that OG MySpace deathcore scene
Internet underground def skews younger especially with the rise of shortform, but it's always kinda been the case with socials, in hs for me it was soundcloud and tumblr. Invest/cultivate your local scene much more interesting and fulfilling than paying attention to some 15yr old co-opt sounds for clicks.
im 26 and feel like a super unc in this scene now. back in 2015 it was thouxanban fauni uno the activist, carti, uzi yachty, and some smaller names. i guess thats going on a decade ago now though. crazy
@@ISLAMICSTORIES13 I'm 25 and It really is insane some of my favorite songs I check when it dropped and it was 5-10 yrs ago. I think it's not that we're old or that the underground is only for younger people, but its rather younger people have the most time to spend scraping the internet for new music or talking about underground artists in class yknow. This is valuable because the internet moves faster than it used to so kids are generally the only ones who can catch a moment as it's happening y'know (like those 5 yr old songs feel so old because that was like 4-5 micro-trend movements ago), which makes it feel that kids dictate the underground when rather it's being created by people our age usually it just trickles down from local/digitally-local scenes to the kiddos who make it pop off for a split second.
@@jadesded yeah i think it really just depends on the scene. and like you said most artists arent teens but 20 somethings. its the fans that are teens. its just weird though. I feel like if i became a rapper, youtuber, streamer rn at 26 I would feel to old. But there are artists like Veeze who is 30 and just now blowing up
I’m pretty much the same age as you, with the same musical background. Only difference being, OFWG got me into rap. The shows and shit all felt like metal shows. I pretty much exclusively listened to OF in highschool. Really owe my love of weird rap to them.
the self awareness in this video is really what our generation (2010s) is going through when it comes to this new age underground (2020s) lmaoo. it’s sad to see we’ve become the old heads we used to despise. let the kids rock out
@@Proddawggg fair ...but he is doing new stuff so their isn't really an example set forth. The way he slides his flows together is pretty innovative stuff.
Lol I fuck wit lazer but imma keep it real if he don’t switch it up he’s cooked and plus he not even lyrical he just be talking but it be hard and funny
dont get it twisted the newer "underground" rappers poppin out like ian for example they be tough. but its just nothing refreshing coming out of the scene anymore. not to mention its just a god awful environment as a whole.
Ain’t nun wrong with a grown man watching a streamer. I work in the oilfield and take care of my bills. I rap and I’ll hoop or play football. Long story short ppl like to do stuff to pass time ain’t no shame in it. If I work 12/16 hour shifts for 21 days str8 in 110 degree weather u damn right imma do whatever in my free time and ain’t no shame in it. It don’t matter what u do
fr the underground became more of a trend. especially on tiktok where you see a bunch of new fans posting that "I listen to ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, and ___" or them saying "what you know about ___" or "shhh I'm been tryna gatekeep ts for 5 (def been a week maximum) years".
You made a lot of good points How the “underground” isn’t really the underground anymore in a way But I found it interesting. It’s only in the “mainstream underground” that everyone knows of Instead of Other shi like trap metal etc
Oh hey wassup I’m not really tapped in but I appreciate you posting about the Sesh/Wulf drama. I’m a newgen and more kids my age gotta listen to that kinda stuff.
*When hip hop nerds say that the genre isn’t dying off because we’re just only focusing on the mainstream too much, that the underground rn is actually “thriving” I’m like… bruh no it’s not* 💀
Depends, there's always stuff going on, it's hard to say of the copious amounts of music dropped on the internet everyday that not even a fraction of that is innovative. I mean part of the underground is it's underground so you gotta keep digging, especially when you start seeing your "underground" getting boosted by streamers, probs just topsoil.
It's kinda funny. When you disregard diy punks who gave you houses to play and music to vibe with. A community that focuses heavily on the "its me against the world." Everyone in trap is a lone wolf in a sea of lone wolf's. You got crossed once and suddenly you don't trust anyone. Oh and literally whatever Summrs did for a solid 3 yrs. He alone nuked UG rap to the stone age lmao. Believe the hype.
Tbh only modern underground rapper I listen to is LazerDim. Bro popped up in my youtube recommendations, bars are funny, beats are hard, and videos are too. Also hes got a few older songs with some real flow and good bars. Though he said himself he stopped trying cuz when he put in real effort it didnt blow like the trash no effort songs.
We're definitely too old, but the underground lives on as the underground. What I mean is although it's easy to hop online see some streamer boosting some played out artist and directly affecting sales but that's still blown out of proportion for the general population of young people for comparison someone could make the same critique about YT promo channels like, hauntxr or astari back in the day and the trickshot vids like you were talking about. It does move at a faster pace because of shortform but at the end of the day it's all the same shit, like I just started student teaching in the art room this semester and hs is same as when we were in school there might be like a few kids tapped in but most kids got mid taste and couldn't go on longwinded rants about the nuances of microgenres and underground beef. I will say the key to staying young in the game is to cultivate your local art/music scene, and go to like basement shows and stuff, organize community events/opportunities for new voices to be heard, but like I'm also clearly biased cause I'm an art educator.
11:03, he was special 😭. There's a reason why he's the biggest dude from the post 2020 underground scene to blow up and have a successful mainstream career. No one else doing it like him.
underground is becoming the new mainstream the roles switched from being bullied for listening to underground to now people that listen to underground criticizing people that don’t listen to it
Huh? I usually listen to underground hip hop and ive never heard of anyone mentioned in this video. Shows how vast underground hip hop is and why it can never be burnt.
They all seem the same. Using the same beats, talking about the same shit. It’s boring. They ain’t got no passion or inspiration. Ive been waiting for another underground revolution, but it don’t seem like it’s coming Side note: “on four and them” was hilarious as fuck
I enjoy the current underground but i can recognize the process of artists coming up sucks and their music is repetitive and the fanbase sucks. I wouldnt say im one of those though 1:28 Rap won't be gone for a while and the sound constantly transforms + history repeats itself so oh well
It’s sad Everyone just bites each other nowadays and it’s ok Back in the 80s and 90s you could literally get killed for taking someone’s flow. And that was way before my time. Back in 2011 the underground was at its peak You had groups like Odd future Asap mob Raider klan GBE Pro era TDE The list goes on. I could list all the solo acts that went on to stardom from those groups it would take all day. But all those groups and artist where DIFFERENT. Times have changed
People gate keeping artists is the problem because they want these artists with unique sounds to stay unknown and all that does is give these copy and paste artists more room. If you don’t put them on the artist will never blow up and will end up giving up because they ain’t getting out there like they should be.
The problem with rap is that it is entirely too accessible and formulaic as a genre now. Anybody can hop on a generic _"insert favorite rapper here"_ type beat and rap about drugs, guns, pssy, clothes, chains and drills with the same washed out autotune flows. You never needed to be much of a vocalist or instrumentalist to get on in rap, used to be you needed a modicum of lyricism but that's gone away too. Nowadays you can even get away with bad beat selection and production. All of this has contributed to the shit getting stale and wack now and I'm not even a 90s oldhead, I loved tf outta the Soundcloud era this new TikTok/Pandemic rap wave just really sucks.
i think underground dont really “exist” anymore i may be wrong almost everyone and they moms is online so if something like the underground has a community thats gonna keep getting bigger then will it still be considered that or..
The underground use to be about pushing the boundaries of music making the music the mainstream wouldn’t push Idk what it is now wash rinse repeat yeat was the last of the great underground
underground rap is so cringe now bruh it’s embarrassing as hell and sad to see because i remember being 11 loving this stuff now i’m 18 and it’s gone so backwards 😂😂😂
I mean if we being real. People won’t give different a chance. That’s why we got the kinda music we got. We, the consumers are responsible for what artists put out.
