Underground Rapper of the Week is a new feature designed to raise awareness of rappers from all over the world who, if that world were a perfect place, would be more famous than they are. It will be updated every Tuesday before the sun goes down. Feel free to email suggestions of slept-on rappers from your city or wherever to: ezra.stead@gmail.com

As I’ve said before, Orlando (also known as Ozone), Florida, is one of the most exciting Hip-Hop scenes in America today, and X:144 is one of its forefathers. A modern-day renaissance man whose skills encompass emceeing, beat production, mixing, mastering and now even film and music video directing, X:144 has a vital, energetic sound that practically commands the listener to move. Along with his deejay, SPS, he is one of the most futuristic and forward-thinking artists working today, while still capturing the old school feel of ’70s soul and golden age ’90s Hip-Hop.

As a producer and recording engineer, X:144 has worked with some of the best of the past and present, including Kool G Rap, MF Doom, Saigon, Joell Ortiz, and his Orlando homies Solillaquists of Sound, and he is currently at work on an undisclosed project with Lauryn Hill. He is also the champion of several beat producer battles, including the first ever Scribble Jam Producer Battle in 2007. As a lyricist and emcee, he leans toward the socially and politically conscious style favored by Solilla, but with his own unique sound and delivery. His carefully enunciated but pleasantly drawled flow gives the impression of a man who is both smarter and harder than you, but with the self-confidence not to feel the need to flex either.

The debut album from X:144 & SPS, M.E., begins with a brief and profoundly silly goofing-around-in-the-studio intro track before launching into “The Call Out,” a banging, fast-paced track that showcases the versatility and intelligence of both artists. As the title suggests, it is something of a manifesto song that explores X:144’s many social concerns, as when he raps “Nigga, nigga, nigga, Mister Cracker / Stop actin’ like we got those differences, it don’t matter.” Many of his songs find him in this mode, but he is at least equally concerned with self-exploration, preferring to point fingers within rather than outward. As he says on “3 Degrees of Ventilation,” he is “very comfortable in my suit / Not wearin’ this shit because it looks cute,” and he is equally comfortable with all sorts of subject matter, as he proves on the wonderfully funky and insightful love songs “If the Shoe Fits …” and “Almost.”

The M.E. album’s closing tracks, “From Self” and “P.O.M.,” find X:144 stating his purpose to continue moving forward and evolving, as he clearly hopes all of humanity will. For his part, he has certainly continued to grow as an artist, branching out into the field of filmmaking by directing excellent, highly cinematic videos for two songs from Solilla’s No More Heroes album, “Gotham City Chase Scene” and “Marvel.” Since then he has also made a very funny and thoughtful short film, “That’s Kinda Gay,” which nicely skewers the absurdity of homophobic rhetoric, and a more serious short documentary, “Export to Egypt,” about his experience of the recent Egyptian revolution. He is currently at work on his first solo album, but until that’s finished, enjoy some more fiya from X:144 and fellow Ozone rapper Synopse.

Underground Rapper of the Week is a new feature designed to raise awareness of rappers from all over the world who, if that world were a perfect place, would be more famous than they are. It will be updated every Tuesday before the sun goes down. Feel free to email suggestions of slept-on rappers from your city or wherever to: ezra.stead@gmail.com

In general, the purpose of this column is to bring attention to living artists you might not have heard before, but the influence of Michael “Eyedea” Larsen on the underground rap community is simply too large not to explore here. When he died on October 16, 2010, less than a month shy of his 29th birthday, a huge and vitally important part of the Minnesota music scene was lost. Ask any young underground rapper in the Twin Cities, and they’re sure to testify that Eyedea was a major part of their decision to get into the game. His victories battling at Scribble Jam in 1999 and the Blaze Battle New York in 2000 basically put Minnesota’s Hip-Hop scene on the map, and his legacy can still be felt in the scene today.

I first encountered Eyedea as a teenager, in a high school talent show where he was breakdancing, and subsequently freestyling in the courtyard of Highland Park Senior High School in St. Paul. When he began releasing music in my senior year (he was two years ahead of me), I instantly became a fan when I heard lines like “I didn’t watch the Super Bowl, don’t drink alcohol / Don’t carry I.D., don’t go to the mall” and “I like Jimi Hendrix more than any rap shit / My favorite movie’s Dr. Strangelove – that’s a classic” from the song “Weird Side” off his 2001 concept album The Many Faces of Oliver Hart (or: How Eye One the Write Too Think). Here was a rapper I could really identify with, a self-proclaimed weirdo who didn’t fit into any of the expected boxes and, because of his strange and unique approach, was suddenly the most exciting thing happening in local music at the time.

Eyedea and his partner DJ Abilities created something new with their first two albums, 2001’s First Born and 2004’s E&A, making Hip-Hop songs that showed a respect and love for the tradition from which they came, while exploring new territory and concepts on fascinating tracks like “Birth of a Fish” and the crowd favorite “Big Shots.” Eyedea’s distinctive flow and extraordinary storytelling ability proved he was more than just a battle rapper, and he was one of the few rappers able to make songs that could bring you to tears (like the devastating “Bottle Dreams”) or reaffirm your faith in life (like the beautiful, heartfelt “Here for You”).

Don’t get it twisted – Eyedea was probably the best battle rapper in the world in his time, and his freestyle ability was practically unparalleled. It’s just that he was never content to stand still and do the same thing, which is why he continued to experiment and grow with new projects like his rock group Carbon Carousel and his freestyle/jazz group Face Candy. His final album with Abilities, By the Throat, showed the influence of this experimentation, and the result is a heavy, abrasive, and simultaneously beautiful album that more than lives up to its name. Eyedea’s ferocious unwillingness to be just another part of the status quo can be felt throughout the album, especially on tracks like the sonic assault “Junk,” where he warns the listener “Don’t push me, ’cause I’m ready to jump.” At the same time, though, he never seemed to stop loving life, despite all its frustrations and disappointments; as he says in his guest spot on Kristoff Krane‘s song, “Best Friends,” one of his last recorded releases: “Whether five, twenty-five or eighty / As long I’m alive, I’m in love and forever changing.”

Underground Rapper of the Week is a new feature designed to raise awareness of rappers from all over the world who, if that world were a perfect place, would be more famous than they are. It will be updated every Tuesday before the sun goes down. Feel free to email suggestions of slept-on rappers from your city or wherever to: ezra.stead@gmail.com

There are few emcees alive grimier and more underground than Los Angeles’ Rheteric Ramirez. One of the most respected battle rappers in GrindTimeNow, Rheteric spits creative punchlines in battles and fluent, rugged flows on gutter tracks like “Dear Diary,” a single from his upcoming, as yet untitled LP from Hellfyre Club Records, on which he breaks down his deadly battle abilities: “I hit the head on the nail, they laughin’ loud as hell / Things I say about you, wouldn’t say about yourself / This is your brain on Rheteric and I’m scramblin’ the yolk / You’ll always be on the outside of my inside joke / Dear diary, got me feelin’ I’m in the wrong genre / ‘Cause my lyrics aren’t somethin’ they’d introduce to their mama.”

Too true. Rheteric’s lyrics and subject matter are far from family-friendly, and he has no patience for soft, suburbanite hipsters and poseurs, as is evident in these lines: “You’re a productive member of society and a name-dropping social retard / With a members-only jacket and a designer flannel green scarf.” A lot of Rhet’s lyrical content involves his frustration with this gentrification of his beloved L.A., which he makes a point to warn y’all is not for everyone, but he also digs deep into his past and present feelings on tracks like “The Loneliest One” and “Tender Loving (Nothing),” and unleashes a blistering, all-encompassing rage on tracks like “Reverse Engineering.”

On the other hand, in his battles Rheteric often has a playful, humorous approach that incorporates strange, unexpected concepts like his Stephen Hawking-channeling verse in the second round of his hilarious battle against Tiger Ty, which also includes ridiculous punchlines like “You’re what happens when you do too much nitrous oxide / You’re what happens when you punch yourself when you’re cross-eyed,” and “You’re what morning breath looks like.” He is an uncompromising artist capable of jokes, vicious battle raps and pure poetry, like this gem from the second verse of “Skyscraper Cemetery”: “God named this city after angels, but did not reveal their names / To protect the identity of the demons who run this city into the grave.” In other words, Rheteric Ramirez is hard to pigeonhole, and y’all should probably give him some money while he’s young enough to enjoy it.

Underground Rapper of the Week is a new feature designed to raise awareness of rappers from all over the world who, if that world were a perfect place, would be more famous than they are. It will be updated every Tuesday before the sun goes down. Feel free to email suggestions of slept-on rappers from your city or wherever to: ezra.stead@gmail.com

Undoubtedly one of the most consistently entertaining underground rappers out right now, Southside Minneapolis’ Prof is a powerhouse of energy and skill wrapped up in an intentionally goofy exterior. Recently named one of City Pages’ Top 20 Best Minnesota Rappers, Prof has been on his grind in the Twin Cities for over a decade, and is now beginning to see some serious national exposure through his collaborations with the Alabama emcee Yelawolf and the Atlanta production duo Beat Chefs, who produced the stellar “Cold Outside” from Raekwon‘s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx … Pt. II, as well as fellow hometown heroes like Atmosphere and Brother Ali. Though his lyrics, stage presence and videos are mostly hilarious, Prof’s skill as an emcee is no joke, and his ability to engage an audience is extraordinary.

Prof released his first full-length with his rapping partner Rahzwell, the self-titled Prof & Rahzwell, in 2006, before breaking out with his Beat Chefs-produced solo debut, Project Gampo, in 2007. Like so many great emcees before him, Prof has invented a new slang term, “Gampo,” and it fits his hard-partying aesthetic perfectly. The hit single from that album, “Rocketman,” showcases his rapid-fire lyricism and playful swagger, as when he raps, “I keep ill, I eat skills / I climb mountains, I need thrills / Keep a couple dollar bills under my collar / So when I pop, know that I don’t mean pills.” Another standout track from that album is the hangover anthem “I Dry Heave,” which features great storytelling like these bars in which he describes barely getting to work and throwing up once more on the way in: “Rode on my niece’s handlebars all the way to work / My drunk ass might have been her training wheels, sure / And pull the trigger in the bushes before I walk in / My sweet niece left me gum in my pocket.”

Prof has stayed busy ever since, releasing two mixtapes under the title Kaiser von Powderhorn in 2008 and 2010, with a third on the way this summer. He also released the free album Recession Music, with fellow Minnesota rapper St. Paul Slim, in 2009; part of the ad campaign for that album, which includes the excellent “Horses in the Ghetto,” included old-fashioned “Wanted” posters of Prof and Slim illegally hung around the Twin Cities. This is a prime example of what sets Prof apart from a lot of other rappers: he has a unique way of making himself known, including some of the funniest promotional videos you’ll likely ever see. He also has a strong singing voice, which lends itself well to monster hooks such as the hilarious “Need Your Love” and “Animal,” as well as the straight-up blues jam “Whiskey.” Prof’s latest full-length, King Gampo, is available for free download now from Stophouse Music Group, so click that link and get Gampo!

Underground Rapper of the Week is a new feature designed to raise awareness of rappers from all over the world who, if that world were a perfect place, would be more famous than they are. It will be updated every Tuesday before the sun goes down. Feel free to email suggestions of slept-on rappers from your city or wherever to: ezra.stead@gmail.com

After writing this column for two months now, it’s about time I finally got around to profiling an artist from the city where I now live, the city where Hip-Hop originated, the city that never sleeps and should never be slept on: New York City. No underground NYC rapper is more deserving than Rugged N Raw, whose name says it all. RNR is an amazingly versatile and accessible emcee and producer whose music exemplifies the gritty edge of his native city, while also retaining a surprising wittiness and sense of humor. His sound punches you in the face, then cracks a joke or two and makes you feel welcome while you’re still reeling.

RNR’s first full-length album, Another Level, set the tone for the hard-hitting but simultaneously laid-back music he’s been making ever since. As he says on that album’s “Let the Ugly Out,” “[I’m] more chill than the average dude you know / But when my music’s dope, I get stupid, though.” He also gets crazy smart; witness the creativity of his “Advice Column,” in which he humorously breaks life down on an urban Dear Abby tip. Another Level also features “Kick You Down,” a banging track with frequent collaborator Hasan Salaam, a New Jersey emcee with whom RNR formed the wonderfully named group Mohammad Dangerfield (Mo Danger for short). Together, the duo released the free download EP $FREE.99 and subsequent self-titled full-length album, which features the excellent party jam “The BBQ Joint” alongside hard-hitting tracks like “Unredeemed” and the Immortal Technique collaboration “Break of a Star,” produced by the excellent New Hampshire producer Remot.

RNR’s second full-length, Truth Serum, continues to showcase his inimitable skill and relatability. Check out the recession rap anthem “Broke and Proud,” featuring Hasan Salaam, in which he outlines his cheap date and vacation plans: “There’s not a lot I can make possible / Only cheap ideas in the arsenal / I take a chick to the museum / Looks nice and admission fee’s optional / When stress starts to weigh down heavy / Vacation is necessary / What do I do? I pack my bags / Weekend cruise on the Staten Island Ferry.” For those of you who don’t live in New York – yes, the S.I. Ferry is free. Be on the lookout for Rugged N Raw’s new album, Anomaly Book 1, dropping September 4th. Homeboy is the ultimate.