Hip-Hop

A Collector’s guide by Dudley Jaynes. Part 3: The Indy Rap phenomenon

Just like in other music genres, the key to creativity and change in hip-hop has always been independently released records. From pioneering releases on labels like Paul Winley and Mike & Dave Records to cutting edge product from imprints such as Cold Chillin’ and Wild Pitch in the mid 80s, independence has empowered artists to push the barriers ever further.

As a result of this, as hip-hop collecting has gathered pace and intensity in the last few years, collectors have started to uncover a host of releases (mainly from the late 80s) that were hardly known about, but were incredibly good. Some of these records were ‘slept on’ upon their release, but have now joined the ranks of more traditional collectables, from labels such as those mentioned above.

One of the reasons for this sudden intense period of unearthing, was the awesome Big Daddy magazine, which started life in summer 1999. Now regarded as one of the greatest rap publications (though it covered other genres, including funk and reggae, too), the magazine examined all aspects of the culture in incredible depth and, through its DJ charts, began to reference a host of little-known cuts.

In the wake of Big Daddy, other publications such as Undercover and Waxpoetics began to embark on similarly passionate projects and, soon after, a …

by Dudley Jaynes
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