"Underground 101-A"

Welcome to another installment of Underground 101, HipHoppers! Now on to some of the lesser-known, but not necessarily less-respected Emcees of the North American Continent!



This imposing-looking cat's name is Saukrates... guess where he's from. No, really... I'll give you a minute to think about it...

You done? Did you guess Toronto, Canada? Than you'd be right! Sauk's from "T-Dot"... now that answers your questions of whether or not any Black people live in Canada, doesn't it? Yes, there are many talented Emcees from T-Dot (Kardinal Offishall, Choclair, etc...) but I'm guessing that you didn't know that, did you? Yes, our friendly, frosty, Carhart-loving neighbors to the North house a great many Emcees, and Sauk is their big dog at the moment, and has been since Arcee (a Canadian group) first popped up on our radar in the mid-to-late-90's on the World Famous Wake-Up Show with Tech and Sway. If you want a quick, intelligent and dexterous Emcee with an original flow, this is the guy for you... and many an Emcee has guested on a Saukrates joint (Xzibit, for instance), and shined all the brighter because of it. If you're interested in more info on Sauk, check out www.rapdict.org/Saukrates and you should find it there. If not, Google works just fine.

Favorite Quote: "As mighty a man you've ever seen spitting amphetamine//To all those congested my job raw never clean//A toast to the uncontested, murderer I mark your mistake as soon as you're rested// I heard of ya Unattended for your double breasted bulletproof vest kid// - Fine Line Lyrics (How High Soundtrack)

And what list of Underground Emcees would be complete without the Blastmasta, Teacha and all-around Legend, KRS-ONE (Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone)? Boring as hell and incredibly lacking in credibility, that's what. He's put out over 10 albums over a nearly 20-year career as an Emcee reppin' for the Boogie Down Bronx... and he's still feared for his lyrical ass-whoopings (ask Nelly, he got served like a Steak dinner) and respected for being a positive force in HipHop Culture (getting it recognized as an official culture by the UN a couple of years back) ever since he put out "South Bronx" in the mid-80's. If you don't know who he is, you need to study up on the history of HipHop, and you'll find that he is literally HipHop in the flesh; his encyclopedic knowledge of the history and those involved in that history, is legendary. And he still remains as down to earth as a person of his stature in HipHop culture can. Check out www.templeofhiphop.org and find out what you've been missing... I've been a member of the Temple (A HipHop Preservation Society) since '97.

Favorite Quote: "I don't live that life Diamonds, Gold, Platinum, I give to my Wife// You see Diamonds are a girls best friend, not mine// But what about that rhyme?// Can you spit quick like Watermelon pits at a picnic?//" - Freestyle (Keep Right)

And finally, here is a group you probably don't know about... Glue. Producer: Maker, Emcee: Adeem (pronounced A-Dee-M) and DJ: DJ DQ (left to right). Maker and DQ are from Chicago, and Adeem is from New Hampshire... not a likely place to find an Emcee, I know, but some of the greatest talents often flourish in the most unlikely of places (for instance, Frank Zappa is from Lancaster, CA... betcha didn't know that, did you?). I first heard of Adeem in 2000, at a Emcee Battle in San Jose, CA... and he served Prime (of Typical Cats from Chicago)in a way that can only be descibed as comical ("You homo-phobic, fuck-fuckin'-fuckin'-fuck// come back next time, maybe then you'll have better luck")... ever since then I knew that this guy was gonna be big. Sure, Glue is still Underground, but with the originality of the subject-matter that Adeem comes up with, Maker's production skills and DJ DQ's turntablism... they're on the rise. If you see Glue's "Seconds Away" CD anywhere, grab it. I was lucky enough to meet Adeem when I went with Life For The Better (a local HipHop group) - one of his opening acts - to a show in a warehouse in LA a year or two ago... a cool guy, so was DQ. They signed my copy of Seconds Away, and thanked anyone who asked for their signatures... before they even signed anything. I'm not going to put a Favorite Quotes after this one, since my favorite was already mentioned from that battle with Prime... man, I still laugh to myself whenever I think of that.

And that's it for this installment, hope you learned something new...