#MEANING OF RAPT CODE#

In the вЂ™90s, the underground rap scene was a network of artists, indie labels, DIY venues, zines, and college radio stations that operated below what Ross deemed the вЂњceilingвЂќ of mass distribution. вЂњI think itвЂ™s kind of hard to call it вЂundergroundвЂ™ when everyone is basically sharing space.вЂќ

вЂњWith the internet, you would go to blogs like Rap Radar or whatever, and you would see the biggest rapper in the world next to an artist that was unsigned or relatively unknown,вЂќ Chery says. It also allowed them to establish lucrative direct-to-consumer relationships on websites and social media. The internet allowed independent artists to gain worldwide notoriety through message boards, then blogs, and now playlists. The major barrier between mainstream artists and underground artists was once the mass distribution of physical units, but that dynamic is gone with DSPs, and smaller artists can find spots on playlists right alongside superstars. We can credit the internet with fueling the shift.

The industry experts we spoke to mostly perceive the вЂњundergroundвЂќ label as an ambiguous concept that refers to music outside of the mainstream-or what Google defines as the вЂњgeneral commercial canonвЂќ-but what does mainstream mean when unsigned kids can upload songs from their bedrooms, go viral, and reach millions on TikTok?

вЂњBecause when I think about the original definition and all the raps that made up underground rap in the вЂ90s and the 2000s, the structure doesnвЂ™t exist now,вЂќ he explains. Griselda signee Rome Streetz calls the underground вЂњthe purest form of hip-hop, because it doesnвЂ™t really have any of those industry politics with it.вЂќ But SpotifyвЂ™s Carl Chery is unsure if thereвЂ™s even such a thing as underground rap in 2021. Rising Charlotte rapper Mavi feels that the idea of underground rap is a more вЂњdescriptive than prescriptiveвЂќ notion, and a вЂњjudgment made on the mix or the reach or styleвЂќ of music.

#MEANING OF RAPT CODE#

Renowned A&R and executive Dante Ross thinks вЂњunderground rap means everything thatвЂ™s not mainstream and has a somewhat determined ceiling.вЂќ Legendary indie rapper Slug says вЂњthe concept of underground rap is an identity thing the advocate, the fan, all of us, to give us a sense of belonging.вЂќ Drew вЂњDru HaвЂќ Friedman, co-founder of underground mainstay Duck Down Records, once saw the вЂ90s underground scene as music where вЂњyou could just tell it wasnвЂ™t going to be mainstream.вЂќ Industry veteran Jonathan Tanners says underground rap was once вЂњa cultural signifier of a code of conduct,вЂќ and believes now that the method of вЂњhow reaches people has changed more so than some of the ideologies.вЂќ Are they all вЂњundergroundвЂќ in the same way? ItвЂ™s difficult to explain exactly what the phrase means today. And theyвЂ™re all a TikTok trend away from a platinum single. And now artists who make music thatвЂ™s unabashedly crafted for mass appeal are utilizing the same stratagem as avant-garde artists who donвЂ™t even put hooks on their songs. The digital evolution allowed artists to operate with a direct-to-consumer model, eliminating many of the corporate barriers that kept certain acts obscure. But the internet revolutionized music distribution at the click of a button. Ferreira, Earl Sweatshirt, and Billy Woods create abstract, left-of-center work that would have found a natural home at a label like Rawkus Records in the вЂ™90s, but the internetвЂ™s direct-to-consumer model now allows them to access millions of potential listeners in a way underground artists at indie labels have long had a hard time doing.ДЄt one point, the underground rap community was an easily recognizable scene of acts and labels that couldnвЂ™t get the same distribution for their CDs that major label acts could. Jay ElectonicaвЂ™s music is considered to be in the lineage of underground cult heroes like Killah Priest and Dead Prez-but he just did a whole album with Jay-Z. HeвЂ™s a former Shady Records signee whoвЂ™s sat front row at Paris Fashion Week and boasts close relationships with superstars like Jay-Z, Drake, Kanye West, and Tyler, the Creator. Some people may call Westside Gunn вЂњundergroundвЂќ because of GriseldaвЂ™s gritty, lyrical style, but heвЂ™s not exactly under the radar. Have you ever had a moment where youвЂ™re trying to describe an artist, and you call them an вЂњunderground rapper,вЂќ only for the conversation to turn into a debate about what вЂњundergroundвЂќ actually means in 2021?

Meaning of rapt