Gift Of Gab

The Hip-Hop Icons That Don’t Get Their Due

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Hip-Hop Icons
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With hip-hop celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2023, it’s been amazing to see a number of rap legends and leaders of the new school getting highlighted throughout the year. And while moments at the Grammys and BET Awards set the stage for a year-long celebration, there are still a number of icons in their own right who don’t get their due.

It’s been refreshing to see rappers like E-40 and Black Thought finally getting much-deserved credit for being certified all-timers in recent years, and while there are surely countless artists who could use more recognition, here are nine others who deserve their flowers; especially now in hip-hop’s 50th year.

Big L

Big L was an absolute killer on the mic, but his life was cut tragically short in 1999 at the age of 24. The Harlem rapper was on a major come up at the time of his death, primed to sign with Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella Records before things were cut short.

He was a member of famed NY crew DITC, a pioneer of the independent hip-hop movement with his artist-run label Flamboyant Entertainment, and even collaborated with 2Pac on the supreme cut, “Deadly Combination” (Rumor has it 2Pac recorded the song with Big L less than an hour before 2Pac was shot and killed himself.)

Big L’s mastery was never more evident than on “Ebonics,” where he managed to lay out the entire hip-hop vernacular in a manner that was both entertaining and totally comprehensive.

MC Lyte

Coming up in the late ’80s, MC Lyte was actually the first female solo rapper to drop an album with Lyte As A Rock in 1988. This widely publicized factoid somehow still isn’t publicized enough, a testament to exactly why the Brooklyn rapper belongs on this list. Hip-hop was and is still male-dominant and Lyte blazed a trail in dropping sick rhymes that were firmly from the female perspective — before a lot of the women who currently get most of the credit for doing so. With each of her eight albums, the rapper and activist shapeshifted with an edge, normalizing the female point-of-view in hip-hop while the genre took form and flourished.

Aceyalone

Coming up with LA-based crew Freestyle Fellowship, Aceyalone is a crucial figure in the rise of West Coast hip-hop’s independent scene. A central figure on Freestyle Fellowship’s classic albums like To Whom It May Concern and Innercity Griots, it was on his own that Ace-one became a storied MC.

A Book Of Human Language is a benchmark for the hip-hop concept album, with Acey flashing elite skills on tracks like “The Balance” and especially, “The Guidelines.” And it’s how there never seems to be a pause button when Aceyalone gets going into another dimension of lyricism that truly sets him apart.

Gift Of Gab

The Blackalicious MC is best known for the now pop culture ubiquity of “Alphabet Aerobics,” and there’s nary been a wordsmith as loquaciously creative as he. Paired with producer Chief Xcel, the vocal half of the Bay Area duo floated over soul-sampled beats with existential rhymes that were pound-for-pound more technical than just about anyone else in hip-hop. He helped lead the Quannum Collective from the early ’90s onward alongside artists like DJ Shadow and Lyrics Born. Sadly, he died in 2021 after a courageous battle with kidney failure, but he’s undoubtedly a hip-hop hero.

Phonte

With Little Brother, Phonte is a force behind perhaps the last true great group to come out of hip-hop’s Golden Age. Every bar he’s ever laid down on a Little Brother record shows that he’s one of the smartest MCs who can shift easily from rapping about heavy themes to not taking himself too seriously. With the Foreign Exchange, he put down refined R&B alongside producer Nicolay and his solo work is honest, grown-man rap that’s never afraid to be vulnerable in order to get real. Today, the North Carolina product is also the co-host of the Questlove Supreme podcast and has composed music for TV and film. Drake even called Phonte one of his primary influences, even though he never featured him on a track. For shame, sir!

Jean Grae

There’s a problem with female rappers getting their due praise to begin with, but Jean Grae’s work is undoubtedly iconic. The New York City MC shines on her sharp delivery, her ability to align with melodies, and her give no fucks sense of humor. Released in the 2000s, Attack of The Attacking Things and Jeanius are underground classics — the latter produced by 9th Wonder. Grae has also been a go-to featured voice across a number of tracks by Talib Kweli, The Herbaliser, and more. Her collaborative album, Everything’s Fine, with her partner Quelle Chris was Bandcamp’s No. 1 album of 2018.

Roots Manuva

One of the early products of the British rap scene, Roots Manuva seemingly straddled the line of grime, predating its rise with his own style. Born to Jamaican parents, Roots’ music often incorporates heavy dub and dancehall influences, but the production also skews towards electronic, making him well ahead of his time at the turn of the millennium. His sage-like voice is unmistakable and he’s appeared on albums by heavyweights such as Gorillaz and Massive Attack.

Ishmael Butler

You might know Ishmael Butler by one of his alter egos: Butterfly (with Digable Planets) or Palaceer Lazaro (with Shabazz Palaces). His place in hip-hop lore is marked by one of the most fascinating transformations ever. With Digable Planets, Butterfly was the boho-hipster MC/producer of the seminal hip-hop group. Then with Shabazz Palaces, Butler took a mystical turn towards afrofuturism with the prolific experimental hip-hop duo. A Seattle native, he’s also helped storied indie rock label Sub Pop Records develop the more left-of-center part of their roster.

Kool Keith

A hip-hop OG, Kool Keith came up with Ultramagnetic MCs in the mid-’80s. Whether true or not, an early rumor claimed that he had previously been in an insane asylum, and Keith seemed to relish that tale throughout his career. Across solo projects as Kool Keith or his alter egos Dr. Octagon and Dr. Dooom, Keith delivers downright batshit crazy flows. He jumps from rapping in space to wreaking havoc in a deranged psychiatric ward to romancing a lady in his “Monkey-green ragtop Seville.” In the vein of the great Shock G, Keith led the charge on weird rap and embraced the lunatic personas he created for himself to become a true original.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Fans Are Frustrated That Drakeo The Ruler Was Omitted From The Grammys’ In Memoriam Segment

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Drakeo The Ruler Grammys In Memoriam
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Although the 64th annual Grammy Awards were better than usual, some hip-hop fans still have a bone to pick with the Recording Academy over one segment in particular. During the Grammys’ in memoriam segment Sunday, fans were distraught to learn that LA rapper Drakeo The Ruler, who died in December of 2021 after being attacked at the Once Upon A Time In LA festival, had been left off the reels of those musical figures who were remembered for their contributions.

The exclusion rubbed salt into a still stinging wound for many rap fans, especially those who knew Drakeo in life. Journalist Jeff Weiss, who had championed Drakeo extensively and covered the rapper’s stint in a Los Angeles County jail awaiting retrial for various gang-related crimes for over a year, had this to say about the Grammy Awards on Twitter: “Drakeo didn’t make the Grammys memoriam tribute, another reminder why they’re worthless.”

Another writer addressed the omission by posting Drakeo’s video for “Pippy Long Stockin” and writing, “The Grammys slept on him but we know the truth.”

The insult was added to the injury of the Grammys moving the Best Rap Album award off of the program, harkening back to the show’s earlier attitude toward rap and the 1989 boycott against the show for its decision not to televise its first-ever hip-hop awards. Drakeo wasn’t even the only California rapper left off the in memoriam segment; Bay Area rapper Gift Of Gab, who formed one-half of seminal rap duo Blackalicious, was also omitted from the rolls.

The Grammys have come a long way since 1989, but it seems they have further still to go.

The Late Gift Of Gab Puts His Foes In A ‘Vice Grip’ Of Intricate Lyrics On His New Single

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The late Blackalicious MC Gift Of Gab left behind a sizable collection of recordings the group will be sharing in the future. Today, the first of his posthumous releases, “Vice Grip,” dropped, providing fans of the Oakland native’s intricate lyrics a heaping dose of them as he again puts on a breathless display of vocal virtuosity over a rollicking beat.

Gift Of Gab passed away this June at the age of 50. In a statement, Blackalicious producer DJ Xcel wrote, “Our brother was an MCs’ MC who dedicated his life to his craft. One of the greatest to ever do it. He’s the most prolific person I’ve ever known. He was all about pushing the boundaries of his art form in the most authentic way possible. He truly believed in the healing power of music. He viewed himself as a vessel used by a higher power whose purpose was to give positive contributions to humanity through Rhyme.”

Blackalicious’ label Quannum has enough material from Gab to release unheard music for “years to come.” Gab was one of several prominent figures the underground rap world has lost over the past few months, including Zumbi of Zion I, MF DOOM, and Squeak of Pivot Gang.

Listen to “Vice Grip” above.

Blackalicious Rapper Gift Of Gab Has Died At 50 After A Long Battle With Kidney Failure

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Rap veteran Timothy J. Parker, better known as Gift Of Gab of the Bay Area rap duo Blackalicious, has died at the age of 50, according to his label and crew, Quannum Projects in a press release.

Gab, perhaps still best known for the tongue-twisting Blackalicious single “Alphabet Aerobics” and the duo’s Blazing Arrow standout “Feel That Way,” was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2014. He underwent successful surgery in January of last year on the last night of the most recent Blackalicious tour. Despite working hard to recover, he passed away last week on Friday, June 18. He is survived by two brothers, one sister, and many nieces and nephews.

Gab’s manager Brian Ross said in a statement, “He was one of the most positive human beings I have ever known and always looking toward the future. He was endlessly brimming with new ideas, philosophical perspectives, and thoughts about the future. He was always ready to learn, grow and engage in a deep conversation about things he was less familiar with. A simple conversation with him about nearly anything could take you places you would never have expected.”

DJ Xcel, the other half of Blackalicious, wrote, “Our brother was an MCs’ MC who dedicated his life to his craft. One of the greatest to ever do it. He’s the most prolific person I’ve ever known. He was all about pushing the boundaries of his art form in the most authentic way possible. He truly believed in the healing power of music. He viewed himself as a vessel used by a higher power whose purpose was to give positive contributions to humanity through Rhyme.”

Quannum is planning future releases for “years to come” as Gab left behind nearly 100 tracks for upcoming and planned Blackalicious releases. Meanwhile, the hip-hop world will mourn the physical loss of one of its brightest, most dextrous, and most inspiring presences. Thanks for everything, Gab.