2023 is the 50th anniversary of DJ Kool Herc’s house party, the house party that started hip-hop as we know it today. Because of this momentous occasion, let’s look back at some underrated hip-hop artists from the past 50 years – one for each decade. 

GRANDMASTER FLASH AND THE FURIOUS FIVE

Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five are possibly the first true stars in hip-hop. While not releasing an album until 1982, the group was founded in the late ‘70s. The epitome of early hip-hop, the group took turns rapping basic rhythms over a continuous simple beat. The reason that the group was able to take off was because of their 1982 track “The Message.” 

After signing to the first hip-hop label, Sugar Hill Records, the group released “The Message,” a seven-minute song looking at the grueling living conditions in the Bronx in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. The first verse by Melle Mel is so blunt about life in New York City that it still hits to my emotional core today. Mel’s descriptions are so dark and disgusting that “it makes me wonder sometimes” how the city didn’t go under. 

DE LA SOUL

De La Soul is jazz-rap perfected. The trio’s first three albums, “3 Feet High and Rising,” “De La Soul is Dead” and “Buhloone Mindstate,” are some of my favorite records of all time. For a long time, it was hard to listen to the group due to a decades-long legal battle, limiting their ability to impact the current generation of hip-hop fans. However, earlier this year, the group’s records were finally put on streaming services.

“3 Feet High and Rising” in particular is an all-time classic. If you’ve ever wondered why there are skits on hip-hop records it’s because of this album. So full of character and humor, the group feels like Odd Future for an earlier generation. Genre-spanning backing tracks, the album somehow equally sounds like the ‘80s, the ‘90s and the future. 

BIG L

For many hip-hop oldheads, Jay-Z is THE rapper who perfected rapping about crime. I have proof he isn’t. In 1995, Jay-Z joined Big L on The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show, a four-hour late-night hip-hop radio show aired by Columbia University student radio station in New York City. As the radio show went on, Big L and Jay-Z started to freestyle. In a 10-minute session filled with some of the best punchlines ever and flows so smooth that you have to shake your head in disbelief, Big L, beyond a reasonable doubt, upstaged Jay-Z in a battle for the ages.

Outside of this night, Big L is not well known. He was murdered four years later at the age of 24, and only dropped one album in his lifetime, “Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous.” It certainly isn’t “The Blueprint” by Jay-Z, but it’s a solid record. Honestly, every couple of months I go back to that freestyle and contemplate how good this kid could’ve been.

MF DOOM

Speaking of rappers with amazing visits to The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show, MF DOOM has got to be the best lyrical rapper of all time. DOOM, known for his intricate wordsmithing, has released records under a bunch of names. Before taking on the MF DOOM moniker, he rapped as Zev Love X in the group KMD. After that, in tandem with his new name, he also went by Viktor Vaughn, King Geedorah and many others. 

For me, DOOM’s first solo album is a perfect introduction. “Operation: Doomsday” is a perfect album, full of deep samples and DOOM’s relaxed yet wordy rhymes. DOOM, removing himself from the ‘90s rap before him, made being a nerd cool. Dressed up in a mask for all of his performances, DOOM was always in character as the supervillain he was trying to portray. 

BLACK THOUGHT

Okay, I know Black Thought’s been rapping for decades, but if you’ve been paying attention to him recently, he’s hitting a whole new level. Finally doing solo work, his most recent albums are all amazing. His 2017 freestyle on Hot 97 elevated him to GOAT conversation. His record with El Michels Affair is such a groundbreaking, interesting look into the future of hip-hop to come, and his “Streams of Thought” series is a wildly entertaining listen.

However, “Cheat Codes,” a 2022 collab with producer Danger Mouse, goes back to hip-hop’s roots while also keeping a hold on the present. So full of swagger, Black Thought shows off his lyrical mobility while Danger Mouse dials up some absolutely nasty beats, a must-listen for any hip-hop fan.