So what makes this underground rap community different? If you've lived here a while or just love countercultural movements you'll be familiar with the plethora of groups that call the Bay Area home. Spiritually, most movements are similar, they aim to combat the systems that capitalism champions.
So how is the underground rap community different? It’s as much about community as the groups of the past, but instead of looking to build a brighter future-this movement talks us through dingy daily life. It's refreshing to a lot of us to remember. Today the modern world seems to always be looking towards a brighter future but in that attempt we miss a lot. This new Underground movement dares you to live with the anger, stress and disappointment you feel everytime you turn on the news.
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Story Transcript:
REPORTER: Hmm? How do you get to the Fox Theater? Oh, are you going to the concert as well? Are you a ug fan? Underground rap?! Nothing…seriously? Oh, you can't go into the show like this…good thing you found me! I wouldn't say I'm an expert but I'm not not an expert. Get it? Okay, Follow me. I'm taking you to the underground. You know, when I showed this type of music to my mom she heard all this noise and couldn't take it- she turned it off. Quickly. I think it's our version of the LSAT-a way to weed out the weak. If you pass you get to hear the way the synths and the screams work together to paint a lush portrait one that mirrors the overwhelming mix of emotion inside the head of an unassuming teen.
REPORTER: So let's talk: what is UG? UG the acronym means underground-and refers to underground rap. Now what it describes is a loaded question: as the community has expanded a lot of ug netizens have been talking about what qualifies an artist as ug. So, most generally I say it’s a rap subgenre that is based in niche grassroots creation; it often features synthetic beats to convey dark themes or emotions.
REPORTER: The underground part comes from the genre's base in small rappers who are unsigned or self produced. UG is unique because it doesn't have specific musical cornerstones.
REPORTER: Being ug is more about the lifestyle an artist or fan creates around their niche cultural interests, like the video game Minecraft for example or historical movements like the 1970s London punks: take my air pod, you can hear better than I can explain:
Sound of underground rap song
REPORTER: Okay, first ten seconds a lot going on, that's common for this type of music; first thing you hear is noise-this genre can be pretty noisy: I think it's really fun-everytime you replay a song you can focus on a new layer.
Sound of underground rap song
REPORTER: This line is a reference to the popular jean brand: true religion. style is a pillar in the ug, so popular brands or luxury houses are often referenced in song.
Sound of an Underground Rap song
REPORTER: You might notice how the artist pauses to bring emphasis, but in this line he does something special, that “Ugh”- it like that part, it's a great example of how rappers use ad libs to connote their lines. Then an electric gurgling sound effect, it's a fortnite reference-the sound of a chug-jug is something any gen z listener could recognize.
REPORTER: I think there's something so personal about listening to a small artist-especially if they're local. I had you listen to this song because we were actually here to meet the rapper, songwriter, and producer. Come with me
REPORTER: Say hello to fasfos.
Sound of an Underground Rap song
FASFOS: Yeah, uh, what's up, y'all? Uh, my name's Fas[fos]. Uh, I go by FasFasFas! Exclamation point at the end. Uh, I'm a self-prod, uh, artist/rapper/whatever, uh, from the Bay Area. And, uh, I don't know, I just like to make music and listen to a lot of music.
REPORTER: the song we just analyzed was ‘get a clue’ off fas’s june ep. I thought it was important that you meet him–an artist can give you insight a fan cannot.
FASFOS: Um, I'm very glad you mentioned Get A Clue, 'cause that was my favorite one out of that, like, project that I just put out.[..] Yeah, I don't know. That, that whole EP, it was, like, semi-personal, but also kind of just, like, for fun. Um, I don't know, something about that song is just so, like... I feel like that song is, like, very, very me.
Sound of an Underground Rap song
REPORTER: Self-producing means you're making your own music-instrumentation, lyrics,ect.- it’s all them. Self-prods build a special vulnerability with their audience, you get to know their mind through their sound.
Fas: I feel like what kind of makes my stuff unique is also kind of what makes it so hard for me to be consistent, and that is not really making stuff in the style of other people. I feel like there's some people you can listen to and immediately, like f- one song in, you're like, "Okay, this sounds a lot like a Nettspend clone or a Che clone."[....]. Versus me, where I kind of just get on FL Studio and produce stuff until I think I make something that sounds good. [..]But one thing that I do wanna do whenever I do put like music out is kind of just make sure I'm not making something that just sounds so similar to somebody else's, or else what's the point of even making something?
Sound of an Underground Rap song
REPORTER: To address the term clone: it’s exactly what you think, a copy-here it's usually a crowd of artists that make music identical to a larger ug name-So how do you avoid becoming a clone? Listen to the greats but know who you are.
Fas: I feel like honestly, the f- first place that I like really learned about a lot of people that were in like, especially like the SoundCloud era was like Instagram meme pages back in like 2017. Like, I feel like that was peak for when everyone was getting into people like X or Uzi or Lil Peep or like fa- like Famous Dex, like just like that whole circle, like the Juice WRLDs and whatnot.
Sound of an Underground Rap song
REPORTER: Internet culture is the basis of the ug. It's a unique connection our generation has with the genre: Meme references, streamers and movie samples are all in the music.
FAS: Um, shout out to the underground community. I feel like there's so much talent in there that goes, uh, unnoticed.
REPORTER: Good first stop?// bye Fas! We have a few more stops to make.
REPORTER: “So you've heard the music, if you were confused or maybe a little overwhelmed that's normal. “Ear-training” has become a term, it basically means you're new to this so you don't really know what to listen for. Once your ears are trained it's easier to decipher the artist's messaging.
Sound of a BART station
REPORTER: How did I get into this genre? Um when I entered high school I was a long time lover of rap, think future, uzi, young thug; and I actually listened to a few like mainstream ug artists as well mainly carti and 2hollis.
REPORTER: But we were in class one day chatting with my friend Adele and she recommended I listen to netspend; I was hesitant. I didn't take her suggestion till months of nagging. But when I did, I fell down a storm drain and landed in the underground. And I haven't left since. So let's go visit her; my introduction to the underground:
REPORTER: We've arrived, this is a good friend of mine:
ADELE BENAFIELD: Hi, I'm Adele. I'm from Oakland, and I've been listening to Underground Rap for two years now,
Sound of an Underground Rap song
REPORTER:, Adele and I love to talk ug drama and go thrifting. We love being fans, we just wished our fandom loved us back.
ADELE: Um, as a fan, it's nice to see like artists like continuously like creating music, and like going to concerts is really fun. That's like, I think that's a big part of being in the community. Um, but like being a girl in the underground scene, I feel like it's hard to be taken seriously. Um, a lot of people would say like-- Well, I feel like m-men in the scene in general just, um, treat women as if they're not like fully tapped in. Um, and yeah, I just think as a girl, you kinda just have to put more effort into your style, and yeah.
Sound of Inquisitive music
REPORTER: At this point only 3 women have ever won a grammy for a rap album. This pattern is prolific in ug culture and music; women are not taken as seriously. That was a huge hurdle for me, for a long time I kept my interest in ug kind of secret. Every time I was online, it was like I heard the hate comments in the back of my head.
ADELE: Um, I would say like just online, like especially like TikTok and Instagram, like because the underground scene is like a very online community, I feel like people, well especially men, put like women down for listening to that sort of music. I think it just has to do with like ongoing sexism in like the rap scene in general.
REPORTER: what makes this situation so unfair is the fact that the ug is a digital community. We communicate through comment sections and tagged posts-so it's not like we can just not post, because then we don't get to participate: it's a harmful paradox for sure: So what's the point? Why Do we stay?
ADELE: Like when I listen to their music, I get the chance to just like dance freely. And I feel like a lot of other artists with that same sound, like that same like ED- in the same EDM genre, like I feel like their music is chaotic, and it just allows you to like sort of be free kind of.”
REPORTER: This music is freeing for most of us.
ADELE: Um, specifically like SmokeDope, he talks about like his struggles with, um, ADHD and stuff like that. And I feel like that's important in music 'cause when you talk about your own struggles, it can connect... Like that messaging can connect to fans, and fans can feel connected to artists more.
REPORTER: I hate to stop there but we have more to explore, bye adele! We'll see her later at the concert.
Sounds of the BART station
REPORTER:Alright, to prepare for this next stop we have to travel back in time.
REPORTER: You might have already sensed the connection ug has to the punk movements of the 80’s and 90’s and maybe even of the countercultures of the 60's.
REPORTER: Well I'm confirming your suspicions. There’s a unique relationship the ug has to the past: fashion. I could explain but I know someone who has all the right words.
REPORTER: I actually met Philip as a kid: at the time he went to school with my sister in vallejo. As we got older we lost contact: until we ended up at the same high school: we bonded over music but as we got older fashion has been our favorite topic. He puts me on to all the new archive stores.
REPORTER: Say hello to the most fashionable person I know:
PHILIP BASRA:My name's Philip. I've been listening to underground rap from two to almost three years. I'm from Oakland, California, and my favorite thing about underground rap is the fashion community
REPORTER: I'm sure you've noticed the grim reapers and ghouls walking around: there's actually people under the black clothes, but you must understand~ that's the uniform down here.
PHILIP: I would describe underground style right now has become, like, a lot more alternative with, you know, more spikes and kind of punk aesthetic to it. Um, I think there's also a big influence from, like, big designers and, you know, a lot of artists are going on runway, so I think that has also made a big impact and yeah.
Sound of inquisitive music
REPORTER: luxury archival punk is complex topic to summarize; the fact that luxury brands have punk collections at all is an oxymoron: So how punk is it? To wear gucci branded socks while screaming for the end of oppression. Another layered relationship I don't have time to explain but generally for rappers fashion is a communicator.
PHILIP: I think fashion has... I think especially for like rappers currently, I think fashion is almost a way of them to like network themselves and like really show off like who they are as a person. And I can definitely say that like in the underground scene today, people who may not explore their fashion sense and creativity aren't really being talked about as much.
REPORTER: A lot of this aesthetic is crafted though instagram accounts-As social media is a part of modern youth culture, it has become an art. Having a thematic instagram featuring well thought out and fashionable posts is a way that a lot of artists gain exposure aside from their music.
REPORTER: Philip is a serious collector. I asked him to bring us his very favorites, so you could get to know the style. Let's start with my favorite part of his collection his shoes:
PHILIP: So I love spikes, and that's why I love to wear Christian Louboutins 'cause they have the spikes all over them, and I think the red bottoms are, are very cute. So that's what I've been kinda wearing. Um, I like those fashionably because I think they look classy but also have a little edge with the spikes.”
REPORTER: Classy and edgy is a perfect way to describe his closet. It is an ocean of luxury in black.
REPORTER:Oh! I love this piece, it's a logo branded Gucci windbreaker, to me it looks futuristic because of its sleek design and reflective print.
PHILIP:And I like this 'cause I like the new Demna Gucci collection, so I feel like I'm a part of that when I wear this.”
REPORTER: Fashion evens the playing field here, fans can build their collection alongside the artist they admire.. For fans like Philip it's not only important to participate in archival collection but also know the messaging of the clothing he wears.
PHILIP: I think listeners of "UG Fashion" should just do their research. I think a lot of people wear brands and don't know anything about them. And it's also good to know, like, if you don't align politically with what a brand thinks, I don't think you should be wearing that brand.
REPORTER: I think brand representation is important to a lot of us because fashion is personal. It showcases parts of our innermost identity that you wouldn't be able to see most of the time. It could also be a place of comfort:
PHILIP: I learned about fashion from... Well, my grandma would always help me and my sister with art projects when we were little. Even like in high school today, I like definitely take a lot of inspiration from my grandma in projects I do with like sewing things just for like physical aspects of projects.
REPORTER: Look, we can be sentimental too. Thanks, philip! We gotta head to our last stop.
REPORTER: “So what do you think? My view is that this is a community of creative people who have the courage to build something meaningful.
REPORTER: I would especially shout out to the ug fans that you've met today, that take the time to get to know and enrich the culture. Nobody writes books about this stuff yk so it takes informed, enthusiastic artists and fans to sustain cultures like this.
REPORTER: The Fox! This was where I had my first ug concert. To me, Oakland is so UG-I mean every type of person lives here right? And depending on who you ask Oakland means different things: it's loud, it's scenic, it's dangerous, it’s fun, for me it's home: ug fans use all these words to describe their community.
Our situation as a generation is weird; we're connected, through the internet and such //but it's hard to explain how it amplifies our loneliness. and that combined with the pressure to yk “save the world”-it makes it seem like we're more a monolith than a group of kids. The "ug" gives us the space to exhale and have fun.
Sounds from the concert
REPORTER: This is one of my favorite parts: standing in line with my friends, seeing some people you know, meeting someone you don't. Our community is digital, yes, but that doesn't mean it's not real, being in line at concerts reminds fans why we put the effort in. Understanding. There's nothing like being in a room with people who understand you.
PHILIP: I think my favorite moment was when everybody started moshing, and somebody started running towards me and almost punched me 'cause it just showed me, you know, how, you know, into it his fans really get. And I think, honestly, after I saw how crazy people go for concerts then, it made me more excited to go to some more in the future
ADELE: Um, that was a really fun night 'cause I got to see two of my favorite artists perform, and I just feel like the energy was, like, really good. Like, it was chaotic, but it was also just really fun 'cause, like, you get to dance to the music, and yeah.
JAIA MADISON: The whole experience of the Playboi Carti concert was immaculate. Um, it was the Antagonist Tour, so a lot of my favorite artists were performing. Everybody was well-dressed. The atmosphere was so inviting. It was fun. Everybody was just there to have a good time.
AJANI :But I was like, it was the closest I've ever been to, to like the artist and the concert before. And that was like hella like magical.
REPORTER: In Oakland, I’m Marlo Pierre, for tbh