The Anatomy of Underground Rap

An outsider's introduction to the underground

Written by Sadprt — Jack Tellier & Floodgate

You, reader, are so blessed. Right now is the best possible moment to fall in love with underground rap. We’re in uncharted territory. The sounds are bolder, and the boundaries blurrier, than ever.

Even calling it ‘rap’ is misleading. Today’s underground artists are incorporating sounds from a variety of genres, EDM to pop to ambient. Making the scene’s diversity even more confusing is the fact that the size of an artist’s fanbase doesn’t tell you anything about the quality of their music anymore. The result is a maze. Getting lost in this musical confusion is easy. Finding the gems is hard.

To help new and old listeners navigate this space, or just brush up on their understanding of its finer points, I’ve prepared an introductory map of the underground, from the forebears to the rising class, across the many subgenres that comprise today’s ecosystem.

The Founding Fathers

The rappers who laid the groundwork for our current underground generation are an innovative group. These pioneers hail from distinct eras spanning decades of rap, but all of them are key sources of inspiration for today’s artists.

There was a moment when people were calling Playboi Carti the biggest underground rapper of all time. Even though Music wandered from that label, his influence still touches every corner of the scene. But Carti isn’t the only Founding Father. There are other predecessors.

Among them is Black Kray, a Virginia-based artist who entered the scene over a decade ago. Kray was an early collaborator with producers like F1lthy and rappers like Lil Yachty, Bladee, and Yung Lean. He connected with artists across different corners of the internet, leaving a blueprint that people like Sematary and Xaviersobased would later build on in their own ways.

Sematary and Xaviersobased also draw inspiration from another Founding Father: the aforementioned Bladee. Bladee is a member of the Swedish collective known as Drain Gang, alongside Thaiboy Digital and Ecco2k. This trio has had a pronounced impact on today’s music. Many artists, including 2hollis, have cited them as an influence. First-time listeners often struggle with Bladee’s music, but my advice is to keep listening. It will click eventually.

Another Swede of massive influence is Yung Lean. His early virality forged the path that enabled Bladee and Drain Gang to succeed. Since then, avant-garde and homemade visuals that are heavily influenced by Yung Lean have become a staple in the scene.

For all of Yung Lean’s impact, the environment he came up in looked very different from today’s. In a recent GQ interview he said, “all these new kids—Nettspend, Fakemink—they have so much more competition and the stakes are much higher, and you need millions of views, too. It’s crazy. I wouldn’t want to be them at all.” I’ll touch on these artists later, and explain what he meant.

But first, let’s talk about Yeat’s come up. His unique sound and image left a major stamp on the scene. You can hear the influence of his flows in places like Osamason’s Osamaseason, an album whose cover nods back to the first founding father I mentioned: Playboi Carti.

Playboi Carti is without a doubt the most influential figure in modern rap. Countless artists cite him as an inspiration. His swag was original, his come up was gradual and organic, and his music was innovative. Albums like his self-titled and Die Lit were important in building a fanbase, but Whole Lotta Red is the current scene’s blueprint, a guidebook to rage music and many kids’ introduction to mosh pits.

None of this would be possible, however, without Lil B the Based God. He is one of the most influential rappers ever, and one of the first to leverage the internet to musical fame. ‘Extensive’ doesn’t do his discography justice. Lil B is an author, cultural icon, cloud rap pioneer, and too legendary to condense into a single paragraph. Easier to just say: he changed everything.

While today’s underground heads might not listen to these rappers much, we shouldn’t forget that without their contributions, we’d be nowhere.

The Rising Class

The all-stars of the contemporary underground scene range widely in sound and aesthetic. This is a Rising Class with many layers. What they have in common are cult-like fanbases.

At the top of the class are artists whose names almost everyone has heard by now. In the grand scheme of rap they are fairly small, but in the underground they dominate. Osamason, Che, Xaviersobased, and Nettspend are among these favorites. All unique, these guys perfectly embody a post-Whole Lotta Red rap world. Their sounds vary from vocally-lazy melodies to jerk music to rage rap.

Adjacent to these big names, you have a more obscure group of artists who cater to a more alternative type of fan. Musically and aesthetically, they stray further from the traditional components of rap music. There’s Sematary, a Black Kray and Chief Keef lovechild who combines trap and witch house, and has an affinity for rural, Halloween-ish imagery. There’s smokedope2016, a quickly-rising emo cloud rapper with a grip on the genre from behind his mask. Edward Skeletrix is another outlier who makes music unlike anything you have heard, although now he focuses more on designing clothes and running art shows.

As with any subculture popular among the youth, it is impossible to prevent the emergence of memes. Artists like Joeyy or 2slimey became popular in the scene not only for their outrageous lyrics, but also for their image. 2slimey’s music specializes in comically excessive bass, and Joeyy has created an ironic aesthetic that revolves around superfluously layered clothing, shopping, being famous, and nodding off on drugs. Then you have Boolymon, who is something of a human meme. For his fans, Boolymon is the punchline. If that makes any sense. These rappers’ humor complements their artistry. If you’re a fan, you are in on the joke.

Ravrz

A key segment of today’s underground just wants to dance. The electronic world crossing over with rap is refreshing and underlines the malleability of genre in today’s underground. This group is perfect for rap fans who want to explore electronic music.

2hollis garnered many underground rap fans by opening on Ken Carson’s “CHAOS” tour in 2024. But make no mistake, 2hollis is of a different ilk. He is a rap-adjacent electronic artist who shares the space with artists like Jane Remover. Their songs can be appreciated not only by EDM fans, but also by anyone with an appreciation of the finer points in music production.

More traditional techno fans might check out Brutalismus 3000, an electronic duo from Berlin who defines their music as, “Nu-gabber-post-techno-punk.” Continuing with the tradition of male producers pairing with female singers, popularized by Crystal Castles, is Snow Strippers, an electropop group that has collaborated with Lil Uzi Vert, and Bassvictim, an interesting electronic duo that has been one of this year’s big risers.

Popular Kids

Sometimes you want to listen to mainstream-sounding music without feeling mainstream. The Popular Kids are making pop music for the alternative listener. A lot of these artists toe the line between electronic and pop music. One such example is Ear, the duo of Bard College kids who met as transfer students. They make a structureless, ASMR-like blend of electronic music and pop and are definitely one of the cooler acts in music right now, recently opening for Yung Lean in Canada.

Another pop-esque artist I like is Sophia Stel. I sometimes describe her as a blend of old Lorde and Charli xcx. There’s also Cece Natalie; at only 20 years old she’s full of potential. Her music is entirely self-produced, and she has clearly stated that she has no interest in other people’s beats or instrumentals.

Next we have The Hellp, the LA-based duo of Noah Dillon and Chandler Lucy. Their music is hard to label and ever-shifting. Recently it’s felt somewhere between electronic rock and pop. And they certainly are popular; Fakemink said he would be, “nothing if it wasn’t for Noah Dillon.”

Foreign Exchange

I’m writing this from the US, where it has been impossible to miss the fact that the underground rap scene is currently monopolized by international rappers. The United Kingdom in particular. Understanding these artists is the key to grasping the contemporary underground.

The first snowball in this British avalanche was 20-year-old Fakemink, a rapper who broke out last year and has since had a blow up that gives Yeat a run for his money. Mink is a feature on the hit song “LV Sandals” by friend and collaborator EsDeeKid, a rapper from Liverpool who, as of right now, has the most daily streamed rap album on Spotify. American listeners have also grown fond of artists such as Feng, Fimiguerrero, Jim Legxacy, SINN6R and more. Who exactly is responsible for this new British invasion is up for debate, but artists like Phreshboyswag, Lancey Foux, and YT certainly deserve some credit.

But it’s not just the UK. The most exciting and rapidly expanding music scene in the world right now, in my opinion, is in Argentina. Their visuals play a huge role in this. Nearly every Argentinian artist has a natural feel for them, as if aesthetic creativity is their national pastime.

Let’s start with Stiffy, my introduction to Argentina. Perfectly encapsulating meme irony into a swaggy package, Stiffy has built one of the most avid fanbases in all of South America. He makes up half of the Swaggerboyz, alongside AgusFortnite2008. This raucous duo is known for their moshpits and super-underground sound. Their recent work leans a bit more mainstream, but is still distinct and compelling. They teamed up with Turrobaby and Zell, two other young Argentinian stars, to form the boyband that’s being called PILF (MILF, but switch the M for Pendejos).

There’s also EQ, the Buenos Aires–based duo of Estratosfera and Qiri. While still relatively small, this duo has continued to elevate their sound and improve their videos. Their dancey electronic sound fits perfectly with their industrial, HD aesthetic.

The underground will keep shifting long after this is written. New pockets will form, new names will rise, and new scenes will bloom in places none of us are watching yet. If any of this made you curious, or made you feel even a flicker of what I feel, then this guide did its job. Go fall in love with something.

Other names to check out:

Hi-C, Maxon, Lil Shine, Oklou, Ghost Mountain, Dean Blunt, Tezzus, Okgutta, The Femcels, Jaeychino, G La Sosita, Turnabout, Dualspines, Clara Kimera, Llondon Actress, Glokk40Spaz, jackzebra, Erik Aharzoth, Duwap Kaine, Elusin, Thrilliam Angels, Salem, Deathtoricky, Jaydes, Arca, Sorisa, Izaya Tiji, Lucy Bedroque, Zukovstheworld, Sara Malacara, & Vaxfr