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Life & Arts

Some rappers get shunned in music biz

Fiasco, Consequence are two examples of artists who deserve more spotlight time

by ELI JABBE
The Daily Cougar

In any art form, a group of people is always overlooked or underrated ? actors and musicians who never get the credit or exposure they deserve. Here are four rappers in the hip-hop industry who haven't gotten their due:Lupe Fiasco

The 24-year-old Chicago rapper has an interesting story. Several years ago, Lupe was nearly signed by Jay-Z to Roc-A-Fella after he impressed the rap legend with a freestyle in a studio. This was years before Jay even considered signing Lupe's hometown friend Kanye West, who featured Lupe on the new single "Touch The Sky." Fiasco's skills are evident when he spits memorable lines like "Lupe's as cool as the unthawed / But I still feel as possessed as a gun charge / I come as correct as a porn star / In a fresh pair of steps and my best foreign car."

Those who want to hear other music from Lupe can go to www.myspace.com/lupefiasco and download his two mix tapes for free. One of the many standout tracks is "Switch," where Lupe raps over the "Still Tippin" instrumental and switches from one personality to another multiple times in the song. Lupe's album Food & Liquor will be executively produced by Jay-Z.Consequence

Consequence can be heard on Kanye West's The College Dropout ("Spaceship") and Late Registration ("Gone"). But ‘Quence's most impressive appearance is on "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly" which appeared on the College Dropout advance but wasn't included on the final version of the album because of the altered track listing that resulted from the pre-release boot.0legging of the album. 

On this classic track, Consequence tells his story while following the theme of the title: "I never liked the goodbyes, always caught a good vibe / Always had a good time, could always spot a good guy / It was too late, but good try / You know that old saying what they say about good guys, I bet that's why I went bad," and, "It's a beautiful life, but these bills will make it ugly / And the beauty of life, is when you're forced to make it ugly / Had a beautiful night, until a storm done made it ugly / And a beautiful wife, now we're divorcing and it's ugly / Now my mind state is ugly, my blind dates are ugly."

Fans can visit www.myspace.com/constothequence for more info on Don't Quit Your Day Job, Consequence's album being released on West's G.O.O.D. Music label this summer.Phonte

The rapper from North Carolina group Little Brother is extremely overlooked. Phonte proves he's one of the best current lyricists with quotes like when he tells other rappers to "please join a sorority, go step your game up".

Little Brother will be performing in Houston on March 23 at Warehouse Live. www.myspace.com/littlebrother has more info.Sean Paul

This is not about the singer. I'm talking about the other Sean Paul from Atlanta duo Youngbloodz. Of course, everybody remembers the Youngbloodz 2003 hit "Damn" (the first national "crunk" hit) where Sean Paul proved he was better than J-Bo, the other member of the group. On the latest single, "Presidential," (better known as "Damn Part 2") from the new album Ev'rybody Know Me, Paul contributes the best part of the song ?the chorus ? and a solid flow on the verse where he lets everybody know he's serious about his craft:"I ain't part-timing, I'm full-time grinding." 

Sean Paul is proof the South does have good rappers. And it looks like he could be signed by Cam' Ron to Dipset South, which will lead to some interesting results ? anything related to Dipset always is.

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