As rap seems to be the most popular genre of music among the teenage and older population, there are a lot of opinions that float around about certain artists. Then there are the artists who go a little unnoticed or underappreciated. This article will take you into the realm of hidden gems who are within the rap world, and hopefully you’ll discover some new songs to add to your playlist.

Denzel Curry (24): Most Recent Project: TA13OO
Denzel Curry has appeared on the big stage a couple of times, but the first time he really go into the spotlight is when he released his 2016 single “Ultimate” which ultimately, no pun intended, became the meme song for water bottle flipping. Ya when that used to be a thing. Curry has gone onto make other hits such as “Clout Cobain” off of his latest album “TA13OO” which took the rap game by storm. “TA13OO,” which was released in the same week as “ASTROWORLD” in 2018, caught the eye of many as Denzel takes a different a little darker approach to his music. Songs such as “SWITCH IT UP” and “Knotty Head (Feat. Rick Ross)” are more pump up playlist type songs, something to get you hyped up for something such as a sporting event or going to work out. Denzel has been featured on multiple songs, “Aloha by Charlie Heat” and “No Threat by Anonymuz” already in 2019, and is set to release another album later in the year. If I were you I would look out for that album as Curry is on the rise in the music industry.

J.I.D. (28): Most Recent Project: DiCaprio 2
J.I.D. is one rapper with quite a unique voice in my opinion. It is a little high pitched, and some sort of tone that goes along with it makes it well known that he is on the track. The song “Off Deez” really helped J.I.D. start to rise to relevancy as he got a little help from the featured artist on that song, J. Cole. With an extremely catchy hook and a classic J. Cole verse that is surely to impress all, this song is one of my personal favorites. A single released by J.I.D., “151 Rum” as also gotten a lot of positive ratings as the funky beat and J.I.D.’s rap style go hand in hand perfectly.

IDK (26): Most Recent Project: IDK & FRIENDS 🙂
IDK is a very underground rapper according to the Spotify numbers. His most streamed song on Spotify has just over 6,000,000 listens, but he is much more deserving of better numbers. The two songs that you most likely recognize IDK from are “No Wave (Feat. Denzel Curry)” and “Please Forgive (Feat. Denzel Curry, IDK, Zombie Juice, & ZillaKami).” Each of these two songs both go very hard and “slap” as one might describe a hard hitting song. You could say IDK is “slept on,” but whatever you describe him as he is a very talented artist.

Saba (24): Most Recent Project: CARE FOR ME
Saba found himself getting the recognition he deserves in 2018 after his release of the song “LIFE” which is the third track on his latest album “CARE FOR ME.” The Chicago rapper raps about how he grew up with nothing in the bad neighborhoods of the Windy City in his single “LIFE,” and all of the hardships he has gone through. This song popped up on everybody’s radar in 2018 and this really got Saba’s name out there. Other songs such as “Grey” and “Prom/King” also do a very good job of telling stories and Saba’s lyricism is second to none. Saba is definitely a rapper to check out.

MF DOOM (48): Most Recent Project: Czarface Meets Metal Face
MF DOOM is by far the oldest rapper on this list, and he has been working in the music industry for a very long time. MF DOOM’s number one song on spotify right now, “Doomsday” takes a 90s instrumental approach with soft lyrics which talk about real life situations Doom had to go through in life. You can find this style throughout his music which is a small change of pace from the “textbook” rappers of today’s day and age.