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http://www.complex.com/music/2012/11/11-rappers-who-were-once-slept-on/
Sean Price
On Sean Price's newest album, Mic Tyson, he spits, "I was once fucked up, from the ash I risen." That isn't a boast either, it's the truth. At one point, P was selling pills and stolen two-ways to pay the bills and dubbed himself "the brokest rapper you know." He struggled mightily after Boot Camp Clik's heyday in the '90s and became an irrelevant, forgotten MC.
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How did he turn it around? Well, for one—inspired by Ghostface's Supreme Clientele—he put out the best material of his career in the mid-Aughts, including the underground classic Jesus Price Supastar. More importantly, his rise coincided with the rise of rap Internet blogs, particularly Nah Right. The site's founder, Eskay, is a huge fan of Price and championed him on the site frequently.
Price's hilarious, hardcore material coupled with Nah Right's influence helped Price turn his career around and become a rap blog darling.
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Royce da 5'9"
Royce da 5' 9" began his career in the Detroit underground scene alongside his buddy Eminem. He even teamed up with Em to form the duo Bad Meets Evil and make a few underground classics. But while Eminem was blowing up, Royce was going through a phrase of self-described "immaturity" in his 20s. He had a falling out with Dr. Dre and Eminem, feuded with D12 and just about every other rapper in Detroit, and flirted with becoming a full-blown alcoholic. Although Royce was close to destroying his own career, his pen game remained sharp and he gained a cult following for his Death Is Certain album and the Bar Exam mixtapes.
By maturing, sobering up, and getting wise to what the Internet can do for a career, Royce found a crew of misfits just like him and formed Slaughterhouse. Slaughterhouse not only helped Royce find a brand new career path that not only revitalized him but brought new interest to his older material as well.
Just when it seemed like things couldn't get any better for Royce, they did, and he patched things up with Eminem, reformed Bad Meets Evil, and dropped a gold album. Meanwhile, Slaughterhouse recently scored a No. 1 album and signed to Em's Shady label. Royce is finally viewed as one of the best lyricists around.
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Big Boi
Throughout the '90s, Big Boi was often overshadowed by Andre 3000. Yes, 3 Stacks is an incredible rhymer, but his outrageous clothing and persona had a lot to do with him standing out, too. If you listen closely, Sir Luscious always held his own.
When Big Boi got a chance to really prove himself on Speakerboxxx—a solo album—he knocked it out of the park with an exciting, inventive record. Years later, he returned with the highly-acclaimed Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty. Big Boi's second solo album made people realize that not only is he was still a dynamic force without his partner-in-rhyme, but his previous contributions to 'Kast's albums had surely been overlooked.
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Phife Dawg
Phife Dawg's situation was very similar to Big Boi's—he was often overshadowed by Q-Tip, one of the most charismatic, magnetic rappers ever. However, unlike Big Boi, Phife never had a viable solo career. Instead, what made people reconsider Phife's role in Tribe was Michael Rapaport's documentary Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest. The film was rather generous to Phife and gave him the props he'd never gotten before.
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Pharoahe Monch
Pharoahe Monch has never been one to dumb down to double his dollars, but that doesn't mean his lyrical ability has never led to mainstream acclaim. As part of the duo Organized Confusion, Monch won praise in the early '90s for his complex styles, but the group's albums sold poorly. When Monch left the group and hooked up with Rawkus Records to drop his solo debut, Internal Affairs, in 1999 he affirmed his ability to make a cohesive record, not just put intricate words together.
However, the album's big single "Simon Says" became both the bane of Monch's existence and the reason people stopped sleeping on him. The song was initially a surprise hit but then Monch got sued over using the Godzilla sample, which eventually led to the album being pulled off the shelves. Since then, Monch has slowly but surely released new material, including last year's W.A.R. (We Are Renegades), with his fourth album due out next year.
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Masta Ace
For years and years, Masta Ace was the definition of a slept-on MC. He was the forgotten member of the Juice Crew, a classic New York rapper lost in the shuffle of a million other New York rappers. His legacy would have been largely forgotten if it wasn't for Eminem, who championed the rapper, thanking him in a Grammy speech and claiming that Ace's SlaughtaHouse was one of his favorite albums. Of course, Slim Shady has a gazillion fans who then sought out Ace's catalog, which put Ace on the radar of even the most casual rap fans.
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Kurupt
When you think of Kurupt, you think of the West Coast rap scene in the '90s. Kurupt was a vital member of Death Row Records who contributed heavily to The Chronic and Doggystyle. Kurupt was a soldier, putting in a verses here and there on labelmates' albums without becoming a household name like 2Pac.
Kurupt impressed on Dogg Pound's double platinum debut, Dogg Food, but he was still fairly slept-on at the time. Young Gotti's breakthrough came on Tha Streetz Iz a Mutha, his 1999 album that solidified his lyrical talents.
At this point, he's been a steady force in the game for 20 years and his expansive discography (filled with solo albums, Dogg Pound albums, compilation albums, and collaborative albums) makes a case for his wide-ranging influence. The Eminem shout out on "Till I Collapse" further immortalized him.
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Fat Joe
Fat Joe has been in the game for a minute and his legacy as an artist speaks for itself, yet Joey Crack once stood in the shadow of a bigger man: the late, great Big Pun. Joey was know as Pun's associate in the '90s and as a part of gutter New York crew D.I.T.C. Recognizing the lyrical competition in the city Joe da Gangsta had to step his game up.
Jealous One's Envy and Don Cartagena showed improvement lyrically but it wasn't until 2001 when Joey's fourth album Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.) dropped that he became the radio killer. By linking up with some of the dopest producers in the game and working with more diverse artists like R. Kelly and Ashanti, Joey spawned huge hits "We Thuggin'" and "What's Luv?" and earned Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.) a platinum plaque.
In 2004, Joey did it again and created the smash of the summer with "Lean Back." Since then Joey has dropped hits like "Make It Rain" and is now easily one of the most recognizable rappers in the game.
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DJ Quik
DJ Quik began his career homeless, selling mixtapes of his own cuts in Compton. He came up, though, and Quik's determination and undeniable talent created a bidding war over his signing. After signing with Profile Records and dropping Quik Is The Name, he was one of the biggest artistic forces on the West Coast. His hit single "Tonite" started his lengthy career with a bang.
But throughout the '90s, Dre and Death Row dominated the air waves and Quik's prominence faded. His album sales trickled off yet the quality remained. As his career continued and he kept putting out material, Quik developed his own lane instead of emulating Dre's G-funk like so many of his contemporaries.
Blaqkout, Quik's collaboration album with Kurupt, forced everyone to appreciate his legacy. Quik's contributions to hip-hop have become clearer in recent years, from his acclaimed solo work to helping Dre with the drums on "In Da Club."
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Elzhi
Detroit rapper and former Slum Village member Elzhi was a slept-on rapper for years. Then he turned things around with 2011 tribute to Illmatic, Elmatic. Thanks to the proliferation of rap blogs, the mixtape got its deserved recognition. Since then, it's been clear that you don't have to be a hardcore hip-hop head to appreciate Elzhi's rhymes.
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Devin the Dude
Devin the Dude is your favorite rapper's favorite rapper to work with, has countless crazy stories, and paved the way for the careers of artists like Curren$y and Wiz Khalifa. He began his career with Rap-A-Lot Records and placed his foot in the Southern underground scene. He seemed destined to have an oddball cult following for his entire career.
Then Devin jumped on Dr. Dre's "Fuck You" from 2001 and people began to take notice of his laidback abilities. Right at the peak of his popularity, he dropped the excellent Just Tryin' ta Live, which featured an appearance from Nas and beats from both Dre and DJ Premier. He found a second life on 2007's Waitin' to Inhale as stoner rap went through a revival. It was a perfect storm and the culmination of a career filled with hard work and loyalty to his beliefs.
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"I am a human being becoming, help me become."
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