Most Underappreciated Hip-Hop Artists of the ’90s

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When all is said and done, the Beatnuts (Psycho Les and Juju) will be remembered for their 1999 hit “Watch Out Now” and the 1997 Big Pun and Cuban Link collab “Off the Books.” The two singles were two of the most well-known rap tracks from their respective years. While the mainstream might consider them one song away from making the cut for an episode of VH1’s One-Hit Wonders, the Beatnuts deserve way more props. 

They broke out on the scene with their 1993 EP, Intoxicated Demons, with then-member Fashion (Al Tariq), which consisted of a mix of raunchy humor over a colorful sound palette. Follow-up studio LPs Street Level in 1994 and Stone Crazy in 1997 were even more solid. Ironically, Musical Massacre (1999) might be their least impressive output of the decade, but it wound up being the group’s biggest commercial success with help from the aforementioned, Billboard-charting “Watch Out Now.”

Though never considered elite lyricists, the Beats—who also helped usher in the Latin rap movement in NYC—had a style of their own. Some consider MM their only shining moment, and that’s just nuts.

What a time to be alive for an Atlanta MC. While ATL stands atop the rap world and runs the radio these days, in 1990, there were only a handful of artists who were making a splash. Kilo Ali (formerly known as just Kilo) was one of them. 

Breaking ground with his 1991 single “America Has Problem (Cocaine)” and the LP of the same name, the Bankhead native was one of the first Atlanta rappers to get play on the airwaves. While heavy into the bass scene, Lo had local hits with tracks like, “Georgia,” “Nasty Dancer,” “Do You Hear What I Hear,” and “Show Me Luv,” dropping seven albums from ’91–’97, with three placing on Billboard’s Hot 200 chart. 

While it was drug issues that shortened his career and kept him from getting more shine outside of Atlanta, every rapper from the A-town should pay homage to the original shawty L-O. They know.

When you're on a label that seemingly has an endless assembly line of MCs dropping a new album once a month, it’s easy to get overlooked. As a member of Master P’s No Limit camp, Baton Rouge, La., rapper Young Bleed wasn’t one of the more well-known artists on the label, but he's definitely one of the brightest spots of the storied imprint.

Despite not getting a lot of album push, his Mafioso-tinged, classic debut album, My Balls and My Word (1998), was one of the label’s finest releases, featuring fire tracks like “Keep It Real,” “Better Than Last Time,” and the previously released “How Ya Do Dat.”

YB parted ways with P and ’nem after his first LP but has since dropped six more LPs including Preserved in 2011 on Strange Music.

Yes, Harold from Menace II Society had bars. Though he made his first appearance to the masses on the big screen, Oakland, Calif., MC Saafir made his biggest impact to the culture on the rap front. 

His debut, Boxcar Sessions (1994), was a welcome deviation from the Left Coast rap scene of the time, which tended to swing either gangster or alternative (think the Pharcyde). Sa was all about spitting—a wizard with the wordplay. Following the album’s release, he was involved in the notorious Hieroglyphics crew and Hobo Junction battle on Sway and King Tech’s Wake Up Show in 1994, a catalyst in the West Coast battle rap movement. 

Saafir finished the ’90s with the albums Trigonometry (as Mr. No No) in 1998 and the more commercial attempt The Hit List in 1999. He never reached the status of freestyle MCs turned full-fledged rappers, like say Canibus, but best believe Saafir was rapping circles around cats during a time when lyrics still mattered.

There are some MCs who are true entertainers to the core. Kwest tha Madd Lad was that dude. 

Building his name off the battle rap scene, Kwest signed with Rick Rubin’s American Recordings in the early ’90s. His only studio album release was the wildly amusing This Is My First Album. Filled with raunchy, anecdotal rhymes, and straight bars over boom-bap production, the sole output was an underground favorite. 

Kwest had a short-lived run of captivating randy teens and young adults with singles like “101 Things to Do While I’m With Your Girl” and “Lubrication.” Frustrations with the industry, however, seemed to derail KTML’s career. After a decade-long hiatus, he released his latest offering of old tracks, These Are My Unreleased Recordings, in 2007. 

In the early ’90s, Masta Ace had already established himself in the rap game as an MC with great lyrical skills in the famed Juice Crew. Following his 1990 solo LP, Take a Look Around, all he needed was a crew of his own. 

Master Ace Incorporated formed in ’92 with Ace joining forces with Eyceurokk, Lord Digga, Paula Perry, and R&B vocalist Leschea. They released their debut album, Slaughtahouse, to critical acclaim, as it was notable for its East Coast sound as well as its pointed jabs at the West Coast and its gangster posturing. Their second album, Sittin on Chrome, upped the ante, featuring the hits “Born to Roll,” “The I.N.C. Ride,” and “Sittin on Chrome” (a Yo! MTV Raps staple), all cracking the Billboard Hot 100. It still failed to make the group a household name.

Modest success also wasn’t enough to keep the band together. After only two LPs, inter-group strife forced the outfit to disband.

If you asked the average hip-hop fan who should be in the pantheon of rappers hailing from Queens, N.Y., you might be hard pressed to find someone willing to toss out Tragedy. And that’s just a trag shame. One of the most underrated MCs out of the borough, the Queensbridge OG and Juice Crew affiliate actually hit the scene in 1985—the same year the Bridge Wars started—in a duo named Super Kids.

His 1990 solo debut, Intelligent Hoodlum—put together following a two-year bid—was on another level. Truly slept on, the album was steeped in science and mathematics, Pan-Africanism ideologies, and street aesthetics. His second album, Tragedy: Saga of a Hoodlum, was an even less-restrained look into black plight. 

He is credited as being the first rapper to use the term “illmatic” on wax, and while many—including this writer—consider Capone-N-Noreaga’s 1997 album, The War Report, a classic, Trag actually contributes to the LP more than Capone, who was locked up for much of its completion. 

Despite his achievements, most overlook his contributions to the culture. He is still dropping records including his grimier Thug Matrix trilogy, with his latest offering coming in the form of 2014’s Pre Magnum Opus.

Check out the official trailer for VH1’s The Breaks on Complex.