SoulStice

As a self-proclaimed music nerd, nothing irks me more than people who claim to like “everything but [insert genre here].” Perhaps one of the most commonly cited victims in this ignorant musical attitude is hip-hop, which is almost always mislabeled as “rap”. To be frank, the state of mainstream hip-hop today leaves a lot to be desired. And if the only hip-hop you’ve ever been exposed to consists entirely of MCs bragging about how great of a rapper they are in between irritatingly auto-tuned choruses then I can understand why you would be turned off. However, if you venture over to the other side of hip-hop, known to some as “alternative hip-hop“, you’ll hear something much different. Artists such as The Roots, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Lyrics Born, People Under the Stairs, Busdriver and SoulStice provide  rhymes with a spirit more akin to the genre’s earlier days of sample-based beats and poetic storytelling. It’s a shame that many of these artists are often overlooked. In order to change this, I’m offering you a sampler playlist highlighting some of the hottest acts on our Alternative Hip-Hop channel. Hope you dig it as much as I do.