Alternative hip-hop

{{Short description|Sub-genre of hip-hop}} {{Redirect|Experimental rap|the album by JPEGMafia|Experimental Rap (album)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2015}} {{Infobox music genre | name = Alternative hip-hop | other_names = * Alternative rap * backpack rap<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blair |first=Robert |date=2017-03-07 |title=What Happened To Backpack Rap? |url=https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/423889-what-happened-to-backpack-rap-news |access-date=2025-08-10 |website=HotNewHipHop |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Arnold |first=Eric K. |date=2008-08-03 |title=Backpack rappers embrace varied identities |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Backpack-rappers-embrace-varied-identities-3201530.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814130556/https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Backpack-rappers-embrace-varied-identities-3201530.php |archive-date=August 14, 2022 |access-date=2025-08-10 |work=SFGATE |language=en-US |url-status=live }}</ref> | stylistic_origins = {{hlist|Hip-hop|funk|jazz|soul|reggae|conscious rap|progressive rap}} | cultural_origins = Mid-to-late 1980s, United States | instruments = * Vocals * turntables * drum machine * drums * keyboard * sampler * bass guitar * guitar * synthesizer | derivatives = {{hlist|Cloud rap|phonk|emo rap|vaportrap|digicore|sigilkore|jerk|plugg|hexD|rage}} | subgenres = {{hlist|Jazz rap<ref>{{cite web|title=Jazz-Rap Music Genre Overview|url=https://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/jazz-rap-ma0000012180|website=AllMusic|access-date=4 June 2018|archive-date=November 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109190957/https://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/jazz-rap-ma0000012180|url-status=live}}</ref>|boom bap|psychedelic rap|nerdcore|rap rock|industrial hip-hop|turntablism|lo-fi hip-hop|hipster hop|trip-hop|glitch hop|punk rap|rapcore}} | other_topics = * Instrumental hip-hop * political hip-hop * native tongues * underground hip-hop * chopped and screwed * internet rap * jerk rap * Memphis rap * lowend * hyphy * trap metal * plunderphonics }}

'''Alternative hip-hop''' (also known as '''alternative rap''') is a subgenre of hip-hop defined by artists who reject the genre's traditional stereotypes, particularly those popularized by old-school hip-hop and gangsta rap. Originally emerging in the mid-to-late 1980s, the style was spearheaded by the Native Tongues collective in the East Coast which included acts like the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, X Clan, Brand Nubian, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Monie Love, Queen Latifah and later Busta Rhymes and Mos Def. These artists emphasized positive-minded, good-natured Afrocentric lyrics, while pioneering and popularizing the use of eclectic sampling and jazz-influenced beats in hip-hop, drawing influences from political, progressive and conscious hip-hop artists such as Grandmaster Flash and Public Enemy.

During the 1990s, the alternative hip-hop movement expanded with West Coast artists such as the Pharcyde, Digital Underground, Souls of Mischief, Del the Funky Homosapien, Jurassic 5, Styles of Beyond and Freestyle Fellowship as well as certain Southern acts which included Arrested Development, Goodie Mob, Coughee Brothaz and Outkast. The commercial and cultural momentum of the movement was impeded by the rise and popularity of West Coast gangsta rap, though experienced a degree of mainstream recognition through the success of the Fugees, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Outkast and Arrested Development. The Native Tongues movement inspired later alt-rap acts such as the Roots, Lupe Fiasco, Digable Planets, Common, Little Brother, Black Eyed Peas, Dead Prez, Camp Lo, Jean Grae, Nappy Roots, Black Star, J Dilla, Lauryn Hill, MF Doom, Pharrell Williams, Kanye West and Pusha T.

By the 2000s to 2010s, alternative hip-hop reattained its place within the mainstream through the "backpack rap" movement, which included the crossover success of artists such as Kanye West. Others included Hieroglyphics, Atmosphere, Aceyalone, Dilated Peoples and the Alchemist. Collectives such as Odd Future and Brockhampton emerged out of the movement, while alternative hip-hop evolved to encompass several trap-based Internet rap genres.

== Characteristics == [[File:Run_Run_Run_(2720461334).jpg|right|thumb|De La Soul performing at the Dillon Gymnasium in 1991]] During the commercial rise of hip hop in the 1980s and early 1990s, the popularity of hardcore hip-hop and gangsta rap led to themes of gangsterism, consumerism, and club culture becoming defining stereotypes of mainstream hip hop, with more negative stereotypes being related to homophobia, violence and sexism.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Beaumont-Thomas |first=Ben |date=2017-06-21 |title=Snoop Dogg's homophobia shows how old-school he truly is |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2017/jun/21/snoop-dogg-homophobia-young-thug-moment-i-feared |access-date=2025-08-27 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Alternative hip-hop emerged largely to subvert, satirize or challenge these conventions, utilizing unconventional musical techniques, production, and sampling not commonly found in mainstream hip-hop at the time, while aligning itself with underground youth subcultures such as skaters, nerds, punks, and goths.<ref name="Allmusic" />

Artists often incorporated socially conscious, intellectual, or introspective lyricism, avoided profanity, while dismantling rap stereotypes on topics such as sexuality through androgynous fashion and styles,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hope |first=Clover |date=2012-03-05 |title=Men In Tights: Are Today's Rappers Dressing Too Feminine? |url=https://www.vibe.com/music/music-news/men-tights-are-todays-rappers-dressing-too-feminine-75858/ |access-date=2025-08-27 |website=VIBE.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Majors |first=Evan |date=2024-06-27 |title=No Homo: Redefining Masculinity in Hip-Hop |url=https://bleumag.com/viral-news/homophobia-in-hip-hop-redefining/ |access-date=2025-08-27 |website=Bleu Mag |language=en-US}}</ref> though early artists associated with the movement such as A Tribe Called Quest would also perpetuate some of these traditional stereotypes, with their song "Georgie Porgie", being rejected for being "too homophobic".<ref>{{cite web |date=26 June 2013 |title=A Tribe Called Quest f/ Brand Nubian "Georgie Porgie" - A Tribe Called Quest f/ Brand Nubian "Georgie Porgie" - 20 Horrible Songs Made By Great Rappers - Complex |url=http://ca.complex.com/music/2013/06/horrible-songs-made-by-great-rappers/a-tribe-called-quest-georgie-porgie |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017050741/http://ca.complex.com/music/2013/06/horrible-songs-made-by-great-rappers/a-tribe-called-quest-georgie-porgie |archive-date=October 17, 2015 |access-date=26 October 2014 |work=Complex}}</ref> [[File:OutKast in New York 2014 by Shankbone.jpg|left|thumb|Outkast performing in New York, 2014]] While some groups achieved commercial success, most alternative rap acts tended to be embraced largely by alternative rock listeners and indie music fans rather than hip-hop or pop audiences.<ref name="Allmusic" /> In his 1995 book on the state of hip-hop culture, music critic Stephen Rodrick wrote that, at that time, alternative hip-hop had "drawn little more than barely concealed yawns from other rappers and urban audiences" and concluded that the subgenre was a failure in dismantling the mainstream consensus on hip-hop.<ref name="Rodrick">Rodrick; pp. 115–116</ref>

By the 2000s to 2010s, the stereotypes popularized by West Coast gangsta rap in the 1990s had become dominant in mainstream hip hop, prompting discussions about the genre's portrayal of violence, drugs and sexism as well as the commercial prioritization of these themes, which some critics argued perpetuated negative representations of African-American culture.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-23 |title=The commodification of hip-hop culture and rap music |url=https://www.thejfa.com/read/the-commodification-of-hip-hop-culture-and-rap-music |access-date=2025-08-27 |website=The jfa Human Rights Journal |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-28 |title=Rap industry leaders say hip-hop should not be the 'scapegoat' for the growing violence |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/rap-industry-leaders-say-hip-hop-not-scapegoat-growing-violence-rcna58108 |access-date=2025-08-27 |website=NBC News |language=en |archive-date=April 11, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250411111505/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/rap-industry-leaders-say-hip-hop-not-scapegoat-growing-violence-rcna58108 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, artists emerging through the internet rap movement continued to carry the legacy of alternative hip-hop,<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kramer |first=Kyle |date=2017-11-07 |title=Lil Wayne Changed the Internet Forever |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/lil-wayne-changed-the-internet-forever-v24n8/ |access-date=2025-08-27 |website=VICE |language=en-US}}</ref> through experimental production techniques and satirical lyrics.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Rap 1.0: A History of the Early Hip Hop Internet |url=https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2013/05/rap-10-a-hip-hop-internet-history |access-date=2025-08-27 |website=daily.redbullmusicacademy.com |language=en |archive-date=September 28, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250928074908/https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2013/05/rap-10-a-hip-hop-internet-history/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Mullin |first=Kyle |date=2021-08-09 |title=DaBaby steps: is hip-hop finally conquering homophobia? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/aug/09/dababy-steps-is-hip-hop-finally-conquering-homophobia |access-date=2025-08-27 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Zaru |first=Deena |title=Lil Nas X reflects on 'hyper-masculinity' in hip-hop: 'Change is happening' |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/lil-nas-reflects-hyper-masculinity-hip-hop-change/story?id=81208125 |access-date=2025-08-27 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hadley |first=Sophie |date=2014-08-01 |title=Delving Past Yung Lean and Deeper Into the World of Sad Rap |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/delving-past-yung-lean-and-deeper-into-the-world-of-sad-rap/ |access-date=2025-08-27 |website=VICE |language=en-US}}</ref>

==History==

=== 1980s–1990s: Origins === {{See also|Native Tongues|Underground hip-hop}} Although hip-hop originally emerged from New York's underground music scene during the early 1970s, by the end of the decade, the genre began to gain wider mainstream attention through the prominence of disco-rap, which prompted artists to explore more experimental approaches to their work. In 1983, Rammellzee and K-Rob released the single "Beat Bop", which was produced and arranged by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Though it remained largely underground, the track was later described as a blueprint for the "apocalyptic, witty, and experimental" style of later alternative hip-hop artists.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=May 14, 2004 |title=The Rammellzee: Bi-Conicals of the Rammellzee, PopMatters |url=https://www.popmatters.com/rammellzee-biconicals-2496054198.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806061917/https://www.popmatters.com/rammellzee-biconicals-2496054198.html |archive-date=August 6, 2018 |access-date=2021-09-14 |website=PopMatters |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite magazine |date=2017-06-02 |title=100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/100-greatest-hip-hop-songs-of-all-time-105784/ |access-date=2021-09-14 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US |archive-date=September 5, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250905214431/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/100-greatest-hip-hop-songs-of-all-time-105784/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[File:3ftHighTobyPrint.jpeg|left|thumb|Cover print of De La Soul's 1989 album ''3 Feet High and Rising'']] By the late 1980s, in midst of the golden age of hip-hop, alternative hip-hop was headed primarily by the Native Tongues movement in the East Coast, artists such as Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Monie Love, X Clan, Queen Latifah while later including Busta Rhymes and Mos Def.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The conscious grooves of Native Tongues hip-hop artists |url=https://tscpl.org/articles/the-conscious-grooves-of-native-tongues-hip-hop-artists |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250327101554/https://tscpl.org/articles/the-conscious-grooves-of-native-tongues-hip-hop-artists |archive-date=March 27, 2025 |access-date=2025-08-28 |website=tscpl.org |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The 100 Best Native Tongues Songs |url=https://www.complex.com/music/a/complex/the-100-best-native-tongues-songs |access-date=2025-08-28 |website=Complex |date=May 25, 2013 |language=en |archive-date=July 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240715054957/https://www.complex.com/music/a/complex/the-100-best-native-tongues-songs |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=staff |first=Treble |date=2016-04-14 |title=10 Essential Native Tongues tracks |url=https://www.treblezine.com/29042-10-essential-native-tongues-tracks/ |access-date=2025-08-28 |website=Treble |language=en-US |archive-date=April 18, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250418231614/https://www.treblezine.com/29042-10-essential-native-tongues-tracks/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=HOW THE NATIVE TONGUES ALTERED THE LANDSCAPE OF HIP-HOP |url=https://www.hitsdailydouble.com/news/rumor-mill/how-the-native-tongues-altered-the-landscape-of-hip-hop |access-date=2025-08-28 |website=www.hitsdailydouble.com |language=en |archive-date=September 15, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250915011241/https://www.hitsdailydouble.com/news/rumor-mill/how-the-native-tongues-altered-the-landscape-of-hip-hop |url-status=live }}</ref> Drawing influences from conscious and progressive rap artists like Grandmaster Flash,<ref name="Pinn">{{cite book |last=Pinn |first=Anthony |author-link=Anthony B. Pinn |title=Religion and Popular Culture in America |publisher=University of California Press |year=2005 |isbn=9780520932579 |editor1-last=Forbes |editor1-first=Bruce |pages=262–263 |chapter=Rap Music and Its Message |access-date=March 1, 2021 |editor2-last=Mahan |editor2-first=Jeffrey H. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q8QFBAAAQBAJ |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="Parker">{{cite book |last=Parker |first=Evelyn L. |title=Trouble Don't Last Always: Emancipatory Hope Among African American Adolescents |publisher=Pilgrim Press |year=2003 |isbn=9780829821031}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lynskey |first=Dorian |date=2016-08-07 |title=Grandmaster Flash: 'Hip-hop's message was simple: we matter' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/aug/07/the-get-down-baz-luhrmann-grandmaster-flash-hip-hop |access-date=2025-08-28 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=March 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170311112755/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/aug/07/the-get-down-baz-luhrmann-grandmaster-flash-hip-hop |url-status=live }}</ref> Pete Rock & CL Smooth and Brand Nubian as well as from the radical and militant political hip-hop group Public Enemy.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Abrams |first=Jonathan |title=The Come Up: An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop |date=2022 |publisher=Crown |isbn=9781984825155 |pages=256–57}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ellinwood |first=Pierce |date=2021-05-15 |title=Native Tongues and the Black Atlantic: Hip-Hop in the Afrodiasporic Tradition |url=https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/clamantis/vol1/iss10/2 |journal=CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal |volume=1 |issue=10 |archive-date=June 15, 2025 |access-date=August 27, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250615023749/https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/clamantis/vol1/iss10/2/ |url-status=live }}</ref> While the West Coast helmed left-field hip-hop acts such as the Pharcyde, Digital Underground, Souls of Mischief, Del the Funky Homosapien, Jurassic 5, Styles of Beyond and Freestyle Fellowship as well as certain Southern acts such as Arrested Development, Goodie Mob, and Outkast.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20201030150612/https://www.thenextwavechicago.com/2018/01/outkasts-impact-on-the-hip-hop-landscape/ Outkast's Impact]}} Retrieved 22 April 2021</ref> Similar to the alternative rock movement, alternative hip-hop segued into the mainstream at the dawn of the 1990s.

Arrested Development, along with the Fugees, stand as some of the first few alternative rap to be recognized by mainstream audiences.<ref name="Allmusic">{{cite web |title=Alternative Rap Music Genre Overview |url=http://www.allmusic.com/style/alternative-rap-ma0000012203 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200313171608/https://www.allmusic.com/style/alternative-rap-ma0000012203 |archive-date=March 13, 2020 |access-date=20 May 2017 |work=AllMusic |publisher=All Media Guide |quote=Alternative Rap refers to hip-hop groups that refuse to conform to any of the traditional stereotypes of rap, such as gangsta, funk, bass, hardcore, and party rap. Instead, they blur genres, drawing equally from pop, rock, jazz, soul, funk, reggae, folk, and other genres. Though Arrested Development and the Fugees managed to cross over into the mainstream, most alternative rap groups are embraced primarily by alternative rock fans, not hip-hop or pop audiences.}}</ref> The classic debut albums ''3 Feet High and Rising'' (1989),<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nbcpalmsprings.com/2023/03/03/de-la-souls-music-catalog-makes-streaming-debut/ |title=De La Soul's music catalog makes streaming debut - NBC Palm Springs |access-date=May 25, 2023 |archive-date=March 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326131322/https://nbcpalmsprings.com/2023/03/03/de-la-souls-music-catalog-makes-streaming-debut/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm'' (1990), and ''Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde'' (1992) achieved minor commercial success as they garnered immense acclaim from music critics, who described the records as ambitiously innovative but playful masterpieces, hailing the artists as the future of hip-hop music as a whole.<ref name="Erlewine">{{cite web|author=Erlewine, Stephen|title=De La Soul|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p69369/biography|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=March 25, 2007|archive-date=January 17, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110117105814/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p69369/biography|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the alternative rap movement was soon overshadowed by the sudden rise of gangsta rap in the early 1990s, as artists like De La Soul were beginning to garner attention, music critic Chris Nickson recounts "De La Soul went from the front of the hip-hop pack to the back of an appealing and colorful dead-end street".{{sfn|Nickson|2004|pp=51–52}} The Native Tongues movement inspired later alt rap artists such as the Roots, Lupe Fiasco, Digable Planets, Common, Black Star, J Dilla, Lauryn Hill, MF Doom and Pharrell Williams.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shealey |first=Aneesah |title=14 Beats: Alternative Rap – Fourteen East |url=https://fourteeneastmag.com/index.php/2021/02/19/14-beats-alternative-rap/ |access-date=2025-08-27 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-08-09 |title=20 Rappers That Were Influenced by the Native Tongue Movement |url=https://theboombox.com/20-rappers-influenced-by-native-tongue-movement/ |access-date=2025-08-27 |website=The Boombox |language=en |archive-date=February 12, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250212094003/https://theboombox.com/20-rappers-influenced-by-native-tongue-movement/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Late 1990s–2000s === Contrary to alternative rock, which went on to become a mainstay in mainstream music and replaced the glam metal of the previous generation as the most popular form of rock music, alternative hip-hop's commercial momentum was impeded by the then also newly emerging, significantly harder-edged West Coast gangsta rap. With its aggressive tone, nihilistic tendencies, and violent imagery, gangsta rap was considered to be the more entertaining, more lucrative subgenre as signified by the high chart placings, radio success and multiplatinum-selling records of gangsta rappers such as Snoop Dogg, Warren G and N.W.A, who were widely embraced by major record labels and produced a legion of imitators.<ref name=Erlewine/> Albums such as ''Straight Outta Compton'' (1989), ''The Chronic'' (1992) and ''Doggystyle'' (1993) redefined the direction of hip-hop, which resulted in lyricism concerning the gangsta lifestyle becoming the driving force of sales figures.<ref name="Caramanica">Caramanica, Jon. [https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/128098/review/6211658/straightouttacompton Review: ''Straight Outta Compton''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071106071456/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/128098/review/6211658/straightouttacompton |date=November 6, 2007 }}. ''Rolling Stone''. Retrieved July 22, 2009.</ref> The situation changed around the mid-'90s with the emergence and mainstream popularity of East Coast hardcore rap artists such as Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, the Notorious B.I.G., and Mobb Deep. Following this development, many alternative rap acts eventually either disbanded or faded into obscurity.<ref>[https://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/alternative-rap-ma0000012203 Alternative rap] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201034048/https://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/alternative-rap-ma0000012203 |date=December 1, 2017 }} Retrieved 5 May 2022</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Sfetcu |first=Nicolae |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IhyKAwAAQBAJ&dq=%22alternative+hip+hop%22+the+roots&pg=PA85 |title=American Music |date=2014-05-09 |publisher=Nicolae Sfetcu |language=en}}</ref>

A commercial breakthrough came about in the late 1990s with the rejuvenated interest in indie music by the general public due to the mainstream success of acts like the Fugees and Arrested Development,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-02 |title=Lots of non-hip-hop fans groove to their complex beat, but they'll tell you their roots are firmly in the 'hood. |website=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-31-ca-53176-story.html |access-date=2022-05-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602212640/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-31-ca-53176-story.html |archive-date=June 2, 2021}}</ref> while acts such as Slum Village, Common,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kenney |first=Karen Latchana |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OaB7AgAAQBAJ&dq=%22alternative+hip+hop%22+common&pg=PA7 |title=Cool Hip-Hop Music: Create & Appreciate What Makes Music Great!: Create & Appreciate What Makes Music Great! |date=2008-01-01 |publisher=ABDO Publishing Company |isbn=978-1-61784-647-2 |language=en}}</ref> and the Roots were rising to prominence.<ref name=":0" />

The Fugees saw huge critical and commercial success with the release of their second album, ''The Score'', in 1996.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-02-18 |title=Fugees' The Score Remains a Hip-Hop Oracle 25 Years Later: Classic Review |url=https://consequence.net/2021/02/album-review-fugees-the-score/ |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=Consequence |language=en-US |archive-date=December 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241228210316/https://consequence.net/2021/02/album-review-fugees-the-score/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The album peaked at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart,<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Fugees |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/fugees/ |access-date=2022-05-29 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US |archive-date=December 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241226193140/https://www.billboard.com/artist/fugees/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and briefly became the best-selling hip-hop album of all time.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-09-23 |title=Vibe – Google Books |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YCgEAAAAMBAJ&q=fugees+best+selling+hip+hop+album&pg=PA164 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923081631/https://books.google.com/books?id=YCgEAAAAMBAJ&q=fugees+best+selling+hip+hop+album&pg=PA164#v=snippet&q=fugees%20best%20selling%20hip%20hop%20album&f=false |archive-date=2021-09-23 |access-date=2022-05-29 }}</ref> That same year, A Tribe Called Quest reached their commercial peak with the release of their album ''Beats, Rhymes and Life'', which reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and became their best-selling release,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-11-19 |title=Beats, Rhymes And Life was A Tribe Called Quest's commercial peak—and first misstep |url=https://www.avclub.com/beats-rhymes-and-life-was-a-tribe-called-quest-s-comme-1798242007 |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=The A.V. Club |language=en-us |archive-date=February 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212142217/https://music.avclub.com/beats-rhymes-and-life-was-a-tribe-called-quest-s-comme-1798242007 |url-status=live }}</ref> while acts such as Outkast and De La Soul released some of their most definitive albums with ''Atliens'' and ''Stakes Is High''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=eddieokp |date=2016-07-02 |title=De La Soul Reveal The Secret History Of 'Stakes Is High' On Its 20th Anniversary |url=https://www.okayplayer.com/news/secret-history-of-de-la-soul-stakes-is-high-20th-anniversary.html |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=Okayplayer |language=en-US |archive-date=May 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220529222221/https://www.okayplayer.com/news/secret-history-of-de-la-soul-stakes-is-high-20th-anniversary.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Since the mid-1990s, independent record labels such as Rawkus Records, Rhymesayers Entertainment, Anticon, Stones Throw, Definitive Jux and QN5 have experienced lesser mainstream success with alternative rap acts such as CunninLynguists, Jurassic 5, Little Brother, Talib Kweli, MF Doom, Atmosphere, Antipop Consortium, Mos Def, Doomtree, Pharoahe Monch, El-P, Quasimoto, Living Legends, Cyne, Blue Scholars, and Aesop Rock. In the 2000s, alternative hip-hop reattained its place within the mainstream, due in part to the declining commercial viability of gangsta rap as well as the crossover success of artists such as Outkast, Kanye West, and Gnarls Barkley.<ref>{{cite web| author=Michel, Sia| title=Critics' Choice: New CD's |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/18/arts/critics-choice-new-cds-860069.html |work=The New York Times| date=September 18, 2006| access-date=May 10, 2008 |archive-date=July 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180701032041/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/18/arts/critics-choice-new-cds-860069.html| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-10 |title=Alternative Hip-Hop Music: 5 Notable Alt Hip-Hop Artists – 2022 – MasterClass |url=https://www.masterclass.com/articles/alternative-hip-hop-music-guide |access-date=2022-05-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510222835/https://www.masterclass.com/articles/alternative-hip-hop-music-guide |archive-date=May 10, 2022}}</ref>

Outkast's fifth studio album, ''Speakerboxxx/The Love Below'' (2003) received universal acclaim from music critics and had two number-one hit singles. The album won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year—making it only the second hip-hop album to win the award (''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' being the first) and has been certified diamond by selling 11 times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/gp/bestsellers/diamond.asp |title=Diamond Awards |publisher=Recording Industry Association of America |access-date=2009-11-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060818085906/http://www.riaa.com/gp/bestsellers/diamond.asp |archive-date=August 18, 2006}}</ref>

MF Doom had been on the come up in the underground scene after releasing his debut studio album, ''Operation: Doomsday'' (1999). He came back to the hip-hop scene after the dissolving of group KMD.<ref name="soundfield">{{Cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/video/what-do-they-mean-when-they-call-hip-hop-alternative-zuhjvw/ |title=Sound Field{{!}}What Do They Mean When They Call Hip Hop "Alternative"?{{!}}PBS |website=PBS |access-date=May 25, 2023 |archive-date=May 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525115522/https://www.pbs.org/video/what-do-they-mean-when-they-call-hip-hop-alternative-zuhjvw/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Later, he and Madlib's 2004 project ''Madvillainy'' was released in this time period as the duo Madvillain.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Spiess |first=Andrew |date=2024-03-20 |title=20 Years of Madvillain's Endlessly Creative 'Madvillainy' » PopMatters |url=https://www.popmatters.com/madvillain-madvillainy-atr-20 |access-date=2025-08-24 |website=www.popmatters.com |language=en-US |archive-date=September 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909145259/https://www.popmatters.com/madvillain-madvillainy-atr-20 |url-status=live }}</ref> This album was praised by music critics and inspired other artists, such as Aminé and Joey Badass.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-01-05 |title=MF Doom: Remembering Rap's Supervillain |url=https://allthingsgomusic.com/mf-doom-death/ |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=All Things Go |language=en-US |archive-date=May 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527184731/https://allthingsgomusic.com/mf-doom-death/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Gnarls Barkley experienced a surprise hit with their debut single, "Crazy". Due to high download sales, it reached number one in the single charts in several countries, including the United Kingdom, where it became the best-selling single of 2006.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/top40_2006.shtml Top 40 Singles of 2006] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070116131915/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/top40_2006.shtml |date=January 16, 2007 }}, from BBC Radio 1 website</ref> The song was named the best song of 2006 by both ''Rolling Stone'' and the ''Village Voice''{{'s}} annual Pazz & Jop critics poll.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/12769472/the_100_best_songs_of_2006/1| title=Rolling Stone : The 100 Best Songs of 2006 |magazine=Rolling Stone| date=December 8, 2006| url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724193535/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/12769472/the_100_best_songs_of_2006/1|archive-date=July 24, 2008}}</ref><ref name="pazz">{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070219084959/http://www.villagevoice.com/pazzandjop06/winners.php?type=single|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/pazzandjop06/winners.php?type=single|title=Pazz & Jop 2006: Singles Winners|work=The Village Voice|archive-date=February 19, 2007|access-date=November 29, 2008}}</ref> ''Rolling Stone'' later ranked "Crazy" as the number-one song of the decade. The song has been certified double platinum by RIAA.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=500 Greatest Songs of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-151127/gnarls-barkley-crazy-40673/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=10 October 2018 |date=7 April 2011 |archive-date=July 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728221527/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-151127/gnarls-barkley-crazy-40673/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The duo were the recipient of multiple accolades; at the 49th Grammy Awards, they won the awards for Best Urban/Alternative Performance and Best Alternative Music Album.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search?artist=Gnarls+Barkley&title=&year=All&genre=All|title=49th Annual Grammy Awards Winners List|publisher=Grammy Awards|access-date=April 29, 2010|archive-date=May 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512153434/http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search?artist=Gnarls+Barkley&title=&year=All&genre=All|url-status=live}}</ref> [[File:Kanye_West_in_the_Studio.jpg|thumb|West (center) working on 808s & Heartbreak with producer and former mentor No I.D. (left) in October 2008]] Industry observers view the 2007 sales competition between Kanye West's ''Graduation'' and 50 Cent's ''Curtis'' as a turning point for hip-hop. West emerged the victor, selling nearly a million copies in the first week alone. Ben Detrick of ''XXL'' credited the outcome of the sales competition with altering the direction of hip-hop and paving the way for new rappers who did not follow the hardcore-gangster mold, writing, "If there was ever a watershed moment to indicate hip-hop's changing direction, it may have come when 50 Cent competed with Kanye in 2007 to see whose album would claim superior sales. 50 lost handily, and it was made clear that excellent song crafting trumped a street-life experience. Kanye led a wave of new artists described as "backpack rap"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blair |first=Robert |date=2017-03-07 |title=What Happened To Backpack Rap? |url=https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/423889-what-happened-to-backpack-rap-news |access-date=2025-08-10 |website=HotNewHipHop |language=en |archive-date=February 11, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250211103849/https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/423889-what-happened-to-backpack-rap-news |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Arnold |first=Eric K. |title=Backpack rappers embrace varied identities |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Backpack-rappers-embrace-varied-identities-3201530.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251228175957/https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Backpack-rappers-embrace-varied-identities-3201530.php |archive-date=December 28, 2025 |access-date=2026-01-18 |work=SFGATE |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref> these included acts such as Kid Cudi, Wale, Lupe Fiasco, Kidz in the Hall, Drake, Nicki Minaj, who lacked the interest or ability to create narratives about any past gunplay or drug-dealing."<ref name="XXL">{{cite journal | author=Detrick, Ben |title=Reality Check |journal= XXL|date=December 2010 |pages=114}}</ref> Similarly, in a retrospective article, Rosie Swash of ''The Guardian'' viewed the album's sales competition with 50 Cent's ''Curtis'' as a historical moment in hip-hop, writing that it "highlighted the diverging facets of hip-hop in the last decade; the former was gangsta rap for the noughties, while West was the thinking man's alternative."<ref>Swash, Rosie (June 13, 2011). [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/13/kanye-vs-50-cent Kanye v 50 Cent] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826015916/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/13/kanye-vs-50-cent |date=August 26, 2016}}. ''The Guardian''. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved August 9, 2011.</ref>

=== 2010s–2020s === Several artists and groups acknowledge being directly influenced by their 1990s predecessors in addition to alternative rock groups while their music has been noted by critics as expressing eclectic sounds, life experiences and emotions rarely seen in mainstream hip-hop.<ref name=Soul>{{cite magazine |last=Hoard |first=Christian |date=September 17, 2009|url=http://datnewcudi.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/cudi_rollingstone.jpeg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423002154/http://datnewcudi.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/cudi_rollingstone.jpeg |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 23, 2012 |title=Kid Cudi: Hip-Hop's Sensitive Soul|magazine=Rolling Stone |issue=1087|pages=40}}</ref> As traditional rock music continually becomes less synonymous with pop music, more left-of-center artists who are not fully embraced by hip-hop radio have increasingly found inclusion on alternative radio. According to Nielsen SoundScan, contemporary hip-hop acts who increasingly receive domestic airplay on alt-radio include Run the Jewels, Childish Gambino, Logic, Brockhampton, L.I.F.T. and nothing,nowhere. Regarding audiences, according to Jeff Regan, senior director of music programming for the Alt Nation channel on Sirius XM Radio, "This generation has maybe never even gone to a record store or CD store where there was a hip-hop section and a rock section—it has all been in front of them on a screen." Thus recording artists and groups traditionally perceived as rappers are included on his predominantly rock-oriented playlists. He said, "Whether it's Lil Peep or Brockhampton or Post Malone, we have tried records from all those artists. ... We need some depth perception in the music we're presenting. Whether it's done on a laptop or on an amp and a guitar, I just want to find something new—that's what alternative is supposed to be."<ref name="Unterberger">{{cite magazine |last=Unterberger |first=Andrew |date=2019-01-10 |title=Why Alt-Radio Is Suddenly Embracing Hip-Hop |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/magazine-feature/8492867/alt-radio-embracing-hip-hop-post-malone-lil-peep-brockhampton |magazine=Billboard |access-date=2019-11-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203024626/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/magazine-feature/8492867/alt-radio-embracing-hip-hop-post-malone-lil-peep-brockhampton |archive-date=2019-02-03}}</ref>

==Reception and legacy== Alternative hip-hop is the recipient of consistent critical acclaim but is generally shunned by American mainstream media and widely regarded as commercially unappealing.<ref name=Erlewine/> New York radio personality and spoken word artist Imhotep Gary Byrd's single "The Crown" was rejected by American radio stations for being "too Black and too positive." However, the song was very well received and become a hit in Europe.<ref name="Afro.com">{{cite web|author=|title=Coalition Wants End to Broadcasting Music That Encourages Violence Against Blacks|url=https://www.afro.com/coalition-wants-end-to-broadcasting-music-that-encourages-violence-against-blacks/|publisher=Afro.com|date=December 5, 2018|access-date=December 29, 2018|archive-date=December 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206132819/https://www.afro.com/coalition-wants-end-to-broadcasting-music-that-encourages-violence-against-blacks/|url-status=live}}</ref> It reached number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the longest record ever to reach the top 10 in the history of the British Charts.<ref>{{cite web|title=Emmis Cancels Gary Byrds GBE On WLIB-AM|url=http://www.blackstarnews.com/us-politics/news/emmis-cancels-gary-byrds-gbe-on-wlib-am.html|publisher=Black Star News|date=2015-04-16|access-date=January 21, 2019|archive-date=September 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922142710/http://www.blackstarnews.com/us-politics/news/emmis-cancels-gary-byrds-gbe-on-wlib-am.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Over the years, multiple organizations representing African Americans such as the National Black Leadership Alliance and the National Congress of Black Women have released statements criticizing how urban radio stations refuse to play rap music that does not demean and degrade black women, shunning alternative hip-hop artists such as Arrested Development and Dead Prez.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://images.inksoft.com/images/publishers/6706/stores/Knot_Forgotten_LLC/7a9d67ab-95ab-41da-93ce-a0a8b6dd0c6d.pdf|title=National Black Leadership Alliance & National Congress of Black Women Joint Statement|date=October 15, 2018|access-date=December 29, 2018|archive-date=January 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121232510/https://images.inksoft.com/images/publishers/6706/stores/Knot_Forgotten_LLC/7a9d67ab-95ab-41da-93ce-a0a8b6dd0c6d.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Q-Tip, frontman of the highly influential alternative rap group A Tribe Called Quest, had his sophomore solo effort, ''Kamaal the Abstract'', shelved for nearly a decade after his record label deemed the genre-bending album as sounding uncommercial.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.avclub.com/content/node/57667 |title=Inventory: 11 Intriguing Lost Albums article on The A.V. Club |website=The A.V. Club |access-date=September 18, 2009 |archive-date=December 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228115431/http://www.avclub.com/content/node/57667 |url-status=live }}</ref> Q-Tip said:

{{cquote|I am really disappointed that ''Kamaal'' wasn't released. LA Reid didn't know what to do with it; then, three years later, they release Outkast. What Outkast is doing now, those are the kinds of sounds that are on ''Kamaal the Abstract''. Maybe even a little more out. ''Kamaal'' was just me, guerrilla.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://remixmag.com/mag/remix_open_abstractions/ |title=OPEN Abstractions |access-date=June 24, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927022851/http://remixmag.com/mag/remix_open_abstractions/ |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>|Q-Tip }}

Similarly, BET refused to play "Lovin' It", the lead single of duo Little Brother's socio-politically charged concept album ''The Minstrel Show'' (2005), which provided a tongue-in-cheek critique of African-American pop culture, on the grounds that the group's music was "too intelligent" for their target audience.<ref>{{cite news |first = Verbal |last = Walker |url = http://hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.3516/ |title = Little Brother's "Too Intelligent" for BET |publisher = HipHopDX.com |date = September 7, 2005 |access-date = July 14, 2005 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051127134155/http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.3516 |archive-date = November 27, 2005 |url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name="SOHH-Intelligent">{{cite news |first = Carl |last = Chery |url = http://www.sohh.com/articles/article.php/7519 |title = Little Brother's "Too Intelligent" Says BET, Network Responds To Allegation |publisher = SOHH.com |date = September 8, 2005 |access-date = July 14, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060909032448/http://www.sohh.com/articles/article.php/7519 |archive-date = September 9, 2006 |url-status = dead |df = mdy-all }}</ref> The network was subsequently satirized by the animated series ''The Boondocks'' – which regularly features underground/alternative rap as background music – in the banned episode "The Hunger Strike". The episode, which portrayed BET as an evil organization dedicated to the self-genocidal mission of eradicating black people through violent, overtly sexual programming, was banned by Cartoon Network and was not aired in the United States<ref>{{cite web |author=Braxton, Greg|title='Boondocks' creator Aaron McGruder to BET: %@*$% ^&!|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jun-04-et-boondocks4-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times |date=June 4, 2008 |access-date=June 4, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080704025407/http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jun/04/entertainment/et-boondocks4| archive-date= July 4, 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> until 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|title=TV Schedule for Cartoon Network - Adult Swim |url=https://www.tvpassport.com/tv-listings/stations/cartoon-network-adult-swim/10611/2020-05-29|website=TV Passport|language=en|access-date=2020-05-23}}</ref>

The alternative hip-hop movement is not limited solely to the United States, as genre-defying rappers such as Somali-Canadian poet K'naan and British artist M.I.A. have achieved worldwide recognition. K'naan's 2009 single "Wavin' Flag" reached number two on the Canadian Hot 100 while its various remixes topped the charts in several countries. Shing02 was chosen for rapping "Battlecry", the theme song of the hit hip-hop-influenced chanbara anime ''Samurai Champloo'', which had music produced by Japanese jazz rap DJ Nujabes.<ref>{{cite book |title= ROMAN ALBUM: Samurai Champloo|last=Watanabe|first=Shinichiro |year=2007 |publisher=Mangaglobe/Shimoigusa Champloos, Dark Horse Comics Inc |isbn= 978-1-59307-642-9|pages=104 }}</ref> ''Time'' magazine placed M.I.A in the ''Time'' 100 list of "World's Most Influential people" for having "global influence across many genres."<ref name=influential>{{Cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1894410_1893836_1894427,00.html |title=The 2009 – Time 100 |magazine=Time |access-date=September 19, 2009 |archive-date=March 5, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100305205144/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1894410_1893836_1894427,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/0,28757,1894410,00.html |title=The 2009 Time 100 |magazine=Time |access-date=September 19, 2009 |archive-date=May 8, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508170110/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/0,28757,1894410,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Groups like the British virtual band Gorillaz also experienced mainstream popularity during this time, selling over 20 million albums total between the albums ''Gorillaz'' (2001) and ''Demon Days'' (2005).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vblurpage.com/info/chartography/sales_albums.htm|title=Blur Album Sales|website=www.vblurpage.com|access-date=2020-02-08|archive-date=September 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915023814/http://www.vblurpage.com/info/chartography/sales_albums.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Today, due in part to the increasing use of social networking as well as online distribution, many alternative rap artists are finding acceptance by far-reaching audiences.<ref name=Soul/>

== Related genres == === Experimental hip-hop === '''Experimental hip-hop''' is a subgenre of hip-hop music characterized by its use of unconventional sounds, structures, and production techniques. Originally emerging in the 1980s to early 1990s, it blends elements from avant-garde, electronic, noise, industrial music and other non-traditional styles with rap, often emphasizing innovation and abstraction through unconventional rhythms, production, samples, audio manipulation and lyricism. The term is generally applied to works that challenge the stylistic boundaries of hip-hop, and usually deemed widely uncommercial, challenging, difficult, inaccessible or underground.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cranford |first=Maddox |title=The Rise of Experimental Hip-Hop |url=https://www.smwest.com/feature/2024/04/24/the-rise-of-experimental-hip-hop/ |access-date=2025-08-27 |website=smwest.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=100 Essential Experimental Hip Hop Albums |url=https://hiphopgoldenage.com/list/100-essential-experimental-hip-hop-albums/ |access-date=2025-08-27 |website=Hip Hop Golden Age |archive-date=February 19, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250219184931/https://hiphopgoldenage.com/list/100-essential-experimental-hip-hop-albums/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Backpack rap === '''Backpack rap''' is a style of hip-hop that initially emerged as a "derogatory phrase", though was later embraced by artists and fans with the popularity and success of Lupe Fiasco and Kanye West. West was known for sporting an "oversize rucksack onstage and in interviews". The style was criticized for being "corny, nerdy" and having "no hood credibility." The label has been used synonymously with "underground, indie, conscious or alternative hip-hop," and was embraced by fans who disliked "the violence and materialism of gangsta rap", as well as "filling the void" left by the decline of hyphy.<ref name=":1" />

According to ''SFGate'', the Alchemist labelled backpack rap as representing "a return to the core values of Golden Age hip-hop: lyrical skills and original music". While further stating, "Aceyalone noted that West Coast hip-hop artists have always been lyrical, despite the perception of the region as a hotbed of gangsta rap". Artists described as backpack rap include Hieroglyphics, Atmosphere, Aceyalone, Dilated Peoples and the Alchemist.<ref name=":1" />

==See also== *List of alternative hip-hop artists *Old-school hip-hop *New-school hip-hop

==References== {{Duplicated citations|reason=DuplicateReferences script detected: * https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/423889-what-happened-to-backpack-rap-news (refs: 1, 55) * https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Backpack-rappers-embrace-varied-identities-3201530.php (refs: 2, 56) |date=May 2026}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading== * {{cite web|author=Christgau, Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=March 2, 1993|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pj92.php|title=Between a Rock and a Hard Place|work=The Village Voice}}

==Bibliography== *{{cite book|author=Asante Jr., M. K.|author-link=M. K. Asante|title=It's Bigger Than Hip Hop: The Rise of the Post-Hip-Hop Generation|publisher=St. Martin's Press|date=September 16, 2008|isbn=978-0312373269 }} * {{cite book|last=Nickson|first=Chris|author-link=Chris Nickson|year=2004|title=Hey Ya!: The Unauthorized Biography of Outkast|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=0312337353}} *{{cite book|author=Rodrick, Stephen|author-link=Stephen Rodrick|date=March 1, 1995|chapter=Hip-Hop Flop: The Failure of Liberal Rap|title=Rap on Rap: Straight-up Talk on Hip-Hop Culture|url=https://archive.org/details/raponrapstraight00sext|url-access=registration|editor=Adam Sexton|publisher=Delta|isbn=0385312474}}

{{Hip-hop}}

Category:Alternative hip-hop Category:1980s in music Category:1990s in music Category:2000s in music Category:2010s in music Category:2020s in music Category:Hip-hop genres