Quick confession: I love fast rappers. I almost in awe of spitfire rhymers who make your head spin; I'm convinced anyone who can do it is some sort of superhero and deserves their own comic book series.I love underground rappers. They typically write the best shit; unshackled by million-dollar contracts and pressure to maintain a certain image, they write whatever the hell they want and they're not afraid to say it.
I love rebellious rappers, hence why I love, love, love Le1f (pronounced "leaf").
I first noticed Le1f (born Khalif Diouf) when vlogger Kid Fury was listing all the people who needed to stay in 2013, and Macklemore was #8. Kid Fury then brought up how Macklemore got put on blast by Le1f (see tweets below), and the rest was history.
Le1f produces his own tracks and runs his own label, hence the respect. He's a strong, openly gay black rapper who possesses a distinct style; in addition to being able to effortlessly spit at a thousand miles an hour, Le1f often adds a ghostly electronic layer to his low vocals which harmonize perfectly with his trippy, hypnotic beats.
You can't watch just one Le1f video; he knows how to use slow/still imagery to transport the viewer into another world. His songs always match up perfectly to the scenes, and his extras often tend to have "natural" bodies. For the first time in forever, I wished I was a video vixen (in a Le1f video, of course).
Also, Le1f rocks braids. He rocks awesome braids. *nods* I can relate.
And check him out live!!!!
*head bobs*
ReplyDeleteThank you, this is fantastic! I'm definitely with you; I love and greatly respect underground hip hop, as well, and there are actually quite a few international artists who barely get noticed in the U.S. Have you heard of Akala from the U.K? There is also a Sri Lankan-Aussie hip hop artist, Pataphysics (I think he's collaborated with stic.man from dead prez, too!). I love listening to him, because he raps in his natural Aussie accent and about substantive issues (and never fails to acknowledge the Black American roots of hip hop and r&b). There's also the Narcycist whose Iraqi-Canadian.
ReplyDeleteHave you heard of Akala from the U.K?
DeleteYes...I'm familiar with Akala, but thanks for the others - love me some new names!