Grant JonesSitting somewhere between a historical timeline and a reference book, “Independent as F***” from the Grown Up Rap blog’s Ben Pedroche sees him combining his passion for archiving history with a continued love of underground Hip Hop. It lists the record labels, albums, and songs that fans remember fondly, along with some commentary on what was happening at the time. This is catnip for any rap nerds out there, who undoubtedly were around during this period (1995-2005), or listen to a lot of the music that was created and released at the turn of the millennium. The sheer volume of records and artists this book includes is admirable, and potentially overwhelming to read (which I’ll get into later), but it does paint an accurate picture of the offline, in-store experience that so-called backpackers of the late 90s witnessed as it shifted online.
The split between the underground scene is something the book does address: you had the alternative rap that was more abstract, quirky and challenging to listen to (Kool Keith, MF Doom and El-P get the amount of coverage you’d expect), the street rap output from the likes of Screwball and The UN was largely on the east coast and singles-driven; whereas the other area that blended the more accessible production with advanced lyricism is well represented by acclaimed artists such as Atmosphere, Hieroglyphics and Blackalicious. Split into chapters that reference notable records of the period, the 300+ page paperback is an enjoyable, necessary read, particularly if you grew up on Hip-Hop.
Chapter 1 looks at the early 1990s, reeling off at least a hundred different albums that are now widely regarded as classics. It’s nothing new to the well-versed rap fan, but a healthy reminder of how spoilt listeners were, while conveniently overlooking the underground scene of the early 1990s that was still finding its feet. 1995 is a logical starting point, and Godfather Don’s venture with Kool Keith as The Cenobites, along with MF Doom’s renaissance in 1996 and the arrival of Rawkus Records in 1997, captures much of the iconic records that were being released in parallel to glossy chart-toppers emerging from Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records.
Considering the book doesn’t include any photographs, Chapter 2 does its best to describe the aesthetic and visual identity of the indie rap scene, and what made it different from the more popular, familiar music that was beginning to dominate the radio airwaves. The third chapter spotlights many of the major players from New York that were responsible for the decade’s noteworthy records, including, but not limited to Juggaknots, Arsonists, Jean Grae and J-Live. Here you get a bit more background on the artists and how they emerged to become household names (if your house was bumping shit like this):
Another enjoyable element of this book is how Chapter 4 celebrates the burgeoning indie scene that was operating out of California. Crews like Dilated Peoples, Heiroglyphics and Living Legends all get their flowers, along with many more. It’s a conglomerate of artists whose discographies have aged remarkably well, both lyrically and musically. The fifth chapter promises to run through the regional scenes emerging everywhere else in North America besides New York and California, but disappointingly excludes 32 states. Fondly remembered regional indies like Alaska’s Out Da Cutt, Oregon’s Lightheaded crew, Illinois’ Typical Cats, Georgia’s Vintage Imperial, and Vancouver’s Park Like Setting all miss out, although let’s be honest, it’s almost impossible to cover every name that emerged in underground Hip Hop during this period. It just feels a bit mean to boil down ten years of underground Hip Hop in Texas to six lines.
Chapter 6 runs through the prominent (and lesser-known) record labels that many of the albums we know today were released and distributed by. This is the best and most informative chapter, as it highlights the massive number of labels that were operating independently; listing out all the artists and albums is cool, but we get a bit of insight into the people supporting the infrastructure and enabling these records to see the light of day. Chapter 7 is another strong chapter, and perhaps the most useful, as it provides mini-reviews of the albums the author recommends, including, but not limited to, deep cuts such as Scaramanga’s “Seven Eyes, Seven Horns” and Binary Star’s “Masters of the Universe“. The taste is impeccable on that front. The final section of the book, looks at what happened in the intervening years and where modern-day equivalents exist with Griselda Records and Backwoodz Studios, although I’d argue that the backpacker aesthetic with the boom bap stylings and DJ cuts has largely migrated to the European scenes, with some of the rappers mentioned in previous chapters upping sticks and moving across the Atlantic themselves.
While this book is certainly comprehensive, it’s by no means definitive. The author’s notes indicate that “there are a selection of key artists from the era not being covered in detail in this book because of their actions, regardless of how much good music they made during the period”. Therefore, the book is potentially rewriting history, although it’s not stated who has been omitted. I imagine Necro is one, as his name appears briefly, belying his prominence, and Immortal Technique is another.
Something that could be improved, or perhaps revised in the future, is the volume of grammatical errors that are evident throughout. Aceyalone’s brilliant “Accepted Eclectic” is cited as “Accepted Electric”, and Bahamadia is Bahmdia. Page 174 mentions Eyedea passing away in the year 2020. Page 57 is a notable example. These are typos, but they are noticeable when most of the book consists of listing names and titles. Speaking of which, the flow of the writing starts to suffer when the author is reeling off names that probably suit the format of a list (or straight up encyclopedia), as it can be overwhelming, particularly if you’re not familiar with said artists and have to start Googling halfway through a sentence.
“Independent as F***: Underground Hip-Hop from 1995-2005” has plenty to recommend, and acts as a helpful reminder of just how many great albums were released over twenty years ago that don’t get celebrated in the same way their 90s equivalents do. Insight is fairly minimal, but the author lays out at the start that he is a fan, and opinions are kept brief, the strongest one being the understandable vitriol aimed at Sean Combs, which much of the music during this ten-year period was an antidote to. Despite the rough edges, there’s no denying that this is an essential addition to any Hip-Hop fan’s bookshelf, as it contains a wealth of information. With an editor’s touch in a subsequent second edition (and regional gaps filled in), it would be the definitive book to document independent Hip-Hop during one of its most enjoyable periods.