SO FAR SO WAVY: Best Indie Hip-hop of 2014

20 Best Indie hip-hop singles thus far  :

1. LIL B the revolutionary, and former member of THE PACK, released this lyrical coup d'etat "No Black Person Is Ugly." over the summer.  It's a deceptively simple title for a song with meaning beyond subjective beauty. It's a warning  to racism white supremacists that the era of  brutality & hatred toward other races & ethnicities  has come to an end. ("Don't say it one time."). It is a hatchet to the heart of racism white supremacy. #BasedGod has a loyal following, it's well-known that  many are young white females.This brilliant litte song is an admonishment to them: racism white supremacy exists because they let it exist. When #BasedGod says "don't say it one time", he means kill it, all instances of racism white supremacy. A voice like his can definitely change things, if not bring the revolution -- at least he could mobilize his followers (many many of whom are white) to march through Ferguson, MO. Or deny themselves 1 white privilege a month. Okay, i'm jumping ahead. "No Black Person Is Ugly" is a monumentally important song -- no-one can deny that. 2014 may very well be a year of change: "No Black Person Is Ugly" is already part of the soundtrack.
2. L.S - LIMITLESS SOUNDZ The first single by hip-hop artist L.S is "You're Wrong", a powerful mix of spoken word & classic hip-hop muscle. It would be a powerful homage to the best sounds of the 1990s if it wasn't so rooted in the Now.  "You're Wrong" is part-bravado, all pro-Black, and simply a strong show of unity for the hip-hop community. "You're Wrong" is one of the strongest debuts heard in hip-hop this century. "You're Wrong", as if it wasn't provocative enough already, ends with 30 seconds of L.S spitting acapella.
3. HURT EVERYBODY  Their brilliant  "Treat Me Caucasian" a "controversial" track about white privilege: including the privilege not to be shot with a bag of skittles in your hand.  But it expands well-beyond that kind of justice: it's economic and political justice at the heart of it all. MICK JENKINS & SUPA BWE dont so much spit, they roar. Reciting the slogans that symbolize racial-economic & political inequality ("Come off the benefits ... un-triple all of our sentences, treat me caucasian. i need the premium rates ... give me a loan with no sin attached. give me that privilege ... Come off them benefits, treat me caucasian.") It is a powerful track, to say the least. White privilege is a concept that, surprise!, most whites especially the wealthy do not believe is real. They live behind gates, in mansions. The cops do not harrass them: therefore the cops are fair. They've been treated caucasian far too long. Though they'd never listen they are the ones who need to hear MICK JENKINS' rage.
4. De'WAYNE JACKSON is a hitmaker, credits like "Metaphors" and this one, "Who is He" featuring DONNIE HUSTON. Unlike the gray-skies in "Bike & A Dream", this one has a sunny melody, bright bounce to it. It feels a little like "Mr. Bigstuff". The first half is De'WayneWavy positive, laughing with friends, even silly (a line about Jim Carrey in LIAR LIAR). His momentum slows a bit as he admits he tries to hide his pain. "You can't see the passion in my eyes."  You can almost hear the tears in his voice for a moment. "Who Is He" is De'Wayne_wavy's late introduction. It peeks in the dark corners and the lit ones, giving us a hint  that De'WAYNE JACKSON, whoever he is, has like the rest of us an uphill downhill life.
5. MJ PARKER has been a major player of the so-called indie hip-hop scene lately. "The God Of Alien Revolves" is one of his many mysterious hip-hop masterpieces thus far. If you can decipher, let alone keep up with MJ's rapid-fire spitting (regrettably, "spitting" is a convenient, if inaccutst descriptor for an Artist of MJ PARKER's status), i bow down to you. Mesmerizing rhymes that are at once seductive and terrifying make for delicious, esoteric Art. (Until informed otherwise, MJ Parker must mean the King of Pop and Charlie "Bird" Parker). Here is an Artist imagining a Truth that He will create. No-one does it better: i don't even think anyone's doing what he's doing. I want to praise and prove there's no way you could possibly overrate his art, but i don't speak His Language (of Art). Hell, i'm not even qualified to review or judge his work. I know virtually nothing about the Artist himself: i know that i love, and at the same time am afraid to love, his Art -- and oh no, baby, i dont dare call it music. To a novice, this is Art at its highest form. MJ PARKER is BASQUIAT for our ears. Basquiat aficionados may disagree. MJ PARKER at the very least would receive Michel Basquiat's approval. That's a theory i'd bet on.
6. KOS. This is one confident dude. "Introsumption" contains the intricate wordplay KOS. knows will force us to listen again. Rarely wrong about His talents, KOS. makes hip-hop HIS way. If you dont like it, KOS. is confident that you'll listen one more time -- fear of looking stupid? Or are Artists like KOS. opening minds up, proving that what you hear the first time might not have been a sound at all. Maybe we hallucinate half our way through life? KOS. doesn't give answers, and that's perfect. The structural logic in His music is all His creation. KOS. gives us glimpses of a map. Are our memories equipped to put it all together? Who cares, really, though: Love KOS.' Art even when it doesn't like you.
7. MACCASSI KILO of TruReligion released "Body" a sharp infectious song as part of his Underwater project with Owl Face Mafia. "Body" is Maccassi warning a sex-partner "don't come on too strong." It's a rhymthmic exercise in misogyny that's impossible to hear just once. MACCASSI KILO is one of the most distinctive voices out now; best to keep your ear out for more.
8. AK-47 released the explosive  BLVCK WVLLSTREET to much anticipation and well-deserved hype. The album is a war on racism white supremacy as much as it is a historical reminder that yes, there was a thriving Black Wallstreet. "Bed Time Story" tells of the nightmarish conditions so many African-americans live in. Fiery, righteous anger fuels this track, although it would be easy to pick any track from it. There's not a flaw to be found in AK-47 music..
9. IZZY JONE$ released "Flake City" featuring hip-hop poet ROGER REBEL opens with IZZY reciting a famous prayer with a couple twists: "our father who art in heave, let it be thy name, thy Kingdom Come, and Roger drop armageddon on all these lames." The single is almost empty of instrumentation except for percussion. ROGER REBEL joins IZZY, and near the song's end proclaims "[he's] the new Tupac." It's not a predictable or usual choice for a single. But it establishes a fact i missed when i first heard the album: IZZY JONE$ has such a chill flow it's easy to slip into complacency, when out of nowhere IZZY is booming.
10. BLACK ZEUS  His track "Keep It Quiet" is an exercise in tempo change. JUPE is a former spitter in the Proletarians but He will probably shoot me for mentioning that because -- hell, He's always been JUPE, nobody cares who some lame backup players are. That was still PLANET JUPE era. He is one of the best, most versatile hip-hop poets today -- that first tempo change is almost immediate (about 30 seconds in) and JUPE holds on. This is the rawest PLANET JUPE track i've heard: elements of punk rock and industrial give it a maniacal machine feel. It was made for JUPE. He sounds better as a solo artist -- or maybe it feels better to see His name on the music. I never could figure out what the other Proletarian did but he clearly didn't add a noticeable thing to the music. "Keep It Quiet" is frenetic, like a series of spasms so i'd be wary of getting suffocated if i saw JUPE live. Certainly He's one of the most energetic MCs out there. And we, His fans and supporters, love every minute of it..
11. MICHAEL X just released this bold, daring piece of life-affirming Poetry in September: it's called "New Rulers". Michael X whose INSPIRATION series are classic pieces of assertive self-determination, "New Rulers" features the quite impressive rhyming of young students proudly accepting their future roles as rulers. . The children make the song poignant, as one child declares to the "old rulers" that they gotta have patience. There's Michael X doing an acapella duet with a child asserting that he's "doing everything he can, to be the very best," adding that he can't worry about the rest. Self-determination of the 2 young rhymers is there, not as strong obviously as Michael X's. But this song presents a new paradigm of sorts. These children rhyme with strength and a clear knowledge of self, it appears. Nothing corny or cute when the kids rhyme, there's a solid foundation on which they stand tall and proud. Michael X should be extremely proud of these new rulers.
12. THE HXLY TRiBE Jay IDK TRiBE Tis the season of "The Hxly Tribe" and JAY IDK (Ignorantly Delivering Knowledge). His wildly, insanely popular "2 Hoes" is JAY IDK educating you about the treatment of hoes. Men need 2 hoes, they need to body search the hoes before they're sent home on a bus, and under no circumstances should a man trust a hoe. In a nutshell that's the song. But 2 other factors make it the hit it is: the party-worthy hypnotic funk. And the other, most important factor that makes "2 Hoes" a runaway success is JAY IDK's addictive, seductive, whatever term you choose to describe His outrageous flow. "2 Hoes" wouldn't be even slightly interesting without the Master: JAY IDK. THE HXLY TRiBE LLC also deserves credit for the song's great qualities. All Hail JAY IDK & THE HXLY TRiBE LLC.
13. 20 VISION From their Ratchet & Classy album, 20 Vision's "Do Yo Job" is the usual misogyny we expect from 20 Vision, along with their classic funky sound. No-one's surprised that D. Starz wants his girl to "do her job", which includes rubbin his back (& other places), doing his hair, in general serving her man. "Let me see you do yo job like a 9 to 5" is a line that explains it all. Despite its misogyny, 20 VISION is bonafied funkin sex music. D. Starz and team do it better than most.
14. JUSTIN WALLACE always seems like the Coolest Kid in the Sandbox Most Likely To. JUSTIN still seems like He'd be the coolest, but in "The Flight (from Slave to King)" an urgency has side-tracked the cool. Obviously he's beyond "most likely to" because He's made it near enough to his mountain top so that He has nothing anymore to prove. "The Flight" is an angst-filled journey looking for the smallest amount of reality JUSTIN can manage without return trips. Good luck.
15. TWIN TWIN are brothers who were discovered by Bandit Gang Marco. "Drop That Yeet" is a funky number that people expected to be boy-band fodder for the '14. But those people jumped the gun: Twin Twin spit like pros and the Atlanta drawl, which is now en vogue, works especially well for these 2 young men. If TWIN TWIN don't break out like, say, MB, it will be our loss.
16. ALLAN KINGDOM of the new breed of D.I.Y. hip-hop artists, does the jokey-misogyny so well in "Work Me Over" it's almost easy to forgive it. Almost. While KINGDOM does have craftier, less sexist material, "Work Me Over" has such an experimental edge that it was impossible to overlook it. ALLAN KINGDOM's comic edge even balances on what sounds like a wink and a nod to an S&M joke. Still, KINGDOM's a clever hip-hop poet. I just hope He doesn't ruin the clever with cynical self-indulgement.
17. De'WAYNE JACKSON -- The single "Bike & A Dream" contains a heavy dose of angst and not much else. What saves it is De'WayneWavy ability to convey sensitivity as both a freedom and a crutch. "God heal the pain," JACKSON pleads. Convincingly.
18. GALAXY GOD  has one of the strongest voices of the young hip-hop artists. The song  "Bring Dem Choppaz" is a catchy tale of horror in the city. Galaxy God is a fearless lion in the wartorn city he spits about. His versatility is one of his main attractions: Changing flow from song to song, it's like He's giving a new shade to a different lyrical environment. Galaxy God, young like Lil Wayne in Hot Boys, seems like He'll take a different route to stardom. For one, He's transforming trap-music into a whole new breed of hip-hop.
19. YOUNG GWUALLA  This young artist has a near-classic with "GrizzleyWayyzVol1" He's a young hip-hop artist to keep an eye on. His youthful voice will put some people off as he rhymes about protecting his "girls" and granting them small freedoms. "Grizzley" has a poignancy that most tracks with these themes lack. Young Gwualla is definitely a young artist who if managed correctly could be a millionaire before 25.
20. AYBEE OMARI offers an outstretched arm, or heart, in "Zion's Daughter".  Omari is the compassionate hip-hop artist, if you'd like. Most label him a "Christian" hip-hop artist. If labels concern you, pick one. AYBEE OMARI stands out in a genre that is either politically riled up or sexually riled: grace and tolerance don't always fit into hip-hop's niches. "Zion's Daughter" is a simple story of remembering a person flirting with tragedy, self-degradation -- and the not-knowing of how their story ended. From AYBEE OMARI's phenomenal #RAPISDEEPPOETRYISDEEPER.