In May 1990, The Source magazine launched its "Unsigned Hype" column to spotlight hip hop artists that were not signed to major labels, giving underground rappers a platform to showcase their skills before securing record deals. This famed article wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for Matty C who was the music editor at The Source and in charge of going through all of the demo tapes submitted, hitting up underground shows, and keeping his ear to the streets to find out who was up next in the rap game. Here’s a video below with MC Serch interviewing The Source staff back in the early 90’s including its founders, Harvard grads, David Mays and Jon Shecter, and a brief cameo of Matty C.

Created during a time when independent rappers struggled for clout, the Unsigned Hype column became a proving ground for aspiring artists. Many future rap legends, including got their first national exposure through Unsigned Hype… Here I wanted to look back at the most notable underground rappers featured from the 90’s along with their demo tapes that showed off their talents before they dropped their debut albums and got noticed by the rap world. Props to the team at The Source who recognized this early talent from some rap greats before they had mass appeal.

DMX The Great aka DMX

In January 1991, Unsigned Hype featured a young rapper from Yonkers, New York, known as DMX the Great. The column praised his four-track demo while mentioning his style could be compared to LL Cool J, Parish Smith (EPMD), and K-Solo. DMX didn’t end up blowing up until 1997 with his feature on “Money, Power & Respect” off of The Lox album, Money, Power & Respect. Then in ‘98, he dropped 2 albums in the same year which was unheard of at the time. It’s Dark and Hell is Hot and Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood and both debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts making X a household name. Here is an early demo from DMX the Great. RIP to a rap legend.

Shadow aka DJ Shadow

In June 1991, a young producer Shadow out of Davis, CA was featured as Unsigned Hype. Later becoming DJ Shadow was the only non-rapper that got featured in the article. At the time, Shadow was an underground beatmaker crafting sample-heavy beats that would later define the instrumental hip-hop movement. Just a few years later, he would revolutionize instrumental hip-hop with his 1996 debut album, Endtroducing…, widely regarded as one of the greatest instrumental hip hop albums of all time. Here’s Shadow back in ‘91.

Poetical Prophets aka Mobb Deep

In July of 1991, the Poetical Prophets from Queensbridge were featured. In ‘92, they changed their name to Mobb Deep and released their debut album, Juvenile Hell, in 1993. The album featured production from Havoc and Prodigy but also included DJ Premier and Large Professor. Though the album didn’t achieve mainstream success, it served as a stepping stone for them to drop their classic in 1995, The Infamous.

While I grew up on the west coast in the 80’s and 90’s, albums like The Infamous gave me a perfect view of NYC back in those days. I could always press play on this album, close my eyes, and be taken to Queens back in the mid90s. When that beat from “Survival of the Fittest” you just feel a certain way.

Common Sense aka Common

Before Common dropped his debut album Can I Borrow a Dollar? in 1992, he was honing his skills as a battle rapper in Chicago under the name Common Sense. Back in the early 90’s, Chicago wasn’t known for having a hip hop scene that produced notable artists on a national stage. Rappers like Common Sense, Tung Twista, Do or Die, and beatmaker No ID helped get the city noticed outside of the Midwest. While each helped put The Chi on, it was Common Sense who first built notoriety while attending Florida A&M University where he eventually landed a spot in Unsigned Hype column in 1991.

I feel Common gets hated on a bit due to his flip over to Hollywood where he’s been a notable actor for years. His album last year with Pete Rock, The Auditorium Vol. 1 was really good and I bet you haven’t given it a spin. Don’t sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

The Notorious B-I-G aka Biggie Smalls

By the late ‘80s, a young emcee from Bed-Stuy was rapping under the name Biggie Smalls. Biggie was classmates with future rap legends like Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, and DMX. Biggie didn’t take rap seriously as a career at first as he was torn between the drug game and the rap game.

In 1991, he linked up with DJ 50 Grand, a local DJ who saw Biggie’s potential and helped him record his first demo tape in a basement. DJ 50 Grand passed the tape around Brooklyn, and it eventually made its way to Mister Cee, a well-known DJ who had worked with Big Daddy Kane. Mister Cee was impressed and started pushing Biggie’s music to anybody he could in the rap industry.

Mister Cee helped Biggie’s demo land in the hands of The Source magazine, which featured him in their Unsigned Hype article in March 1992. The feature caught the attention of Sean "Puffy" Combs, who was an A&R at Uptown Records at the time. Puffy was blown away by Biggie’s talent and signed him to Uptown Records in mid-1992. This was his first real step into the industry which eventually led him to Bad Boy Records where he would drop his debut, Ready to Die.

Saafir The Saucee Nomad aka Saafir

In the early ‘90s, an emcee out of Oakland, CA by the name of Saafir The Saucee Nomad was making waves out in The Bay. Saafir became affiliated with Hobo Junction, while remaining connected to Hieroglyphics and Digital Underground.

By ‘92, Saafir caught the attention when they later featured him in their Unsigned Hype column, giving him exposure outside of the bay. This set him up for his 1994 debut album Boxcar Sessions, which remains slept on for dope hip hop albums dropped in the 90’s. It’s criminal to me that none of his tracks have 200K streams on Spotify. His unorthodox flow was so ill on tracks like “Can-U-Feel-Me?” and “Light Sleeper” and let’s not forget his role as Cousin Harold in Menace II Society from 1993.

The Artifacts

Before Artifacts got their shine in Unsigned Hype column in 1993, the New Jersey duo, El Da Sensei and Tame One were graffiti artists first, emcees second. By the early ‘90s, Tame One and El Da Sensei started linking up more regularly, realizing they had a great chemistry together. By 1993, their demos were circulating and their skills caught the attention of The Source, who featured them in the Unsigned Hype column. After this national buzz, they linked with T-Ray, a producer who had worked with Cypress Hill and KRS-One, and started working on their debut album, Between a Rock and a Hard Place. Go listen to “Wrong Side of the Tracks” and “C’Mon wit da Git Down” and hear how well those tracks have held up over the years. They perfectly encapsulate 90’s hip hop to me.

Mad Skillz aka Skillz

By the early ‘90s, Mad Skillz aka Skillz had built a reputation for himself as one of the best freestyler rappers in Virginia. Virginia wasn’t a region people knew of which quickly changed when Pharrell, Missy, Timbaland, and The Clipse started bubbling. But Mad Skillz helped pave the way for Virginia and the aforementioned artists. Mad Skillz’s first big moment came in 1993 when he entered a nationwide freestyle competition in New York. He won that battle which helped his overall exposure in hip hop circles. His performance in the freestyle battle led to his demo which got the attention of The Source in 1994, who featured him in their Unsigned Hype column.

Skillz will go down as one of the best ghostwriters in hip hop history writing but he’s always remained quiet on who he’s written for. I always loved Skillz’s annual “Rap Up” tracks he dropped annually from 2002 to 2021 which summarized the biggest moments in hip hop and pop culture for 20 years.

Capone & Noriega aka Capone-N-Noreaga

Before Unsigned Hype put them on the map, Capone-N-Noreaga were already legends in the Queens underground. Capone and N.O.R.E. met in prison in the mid-90’s, bonding over their shared love of rap. After getting released, they formed a duo and started recording demos together. Their style landed landing them in Unsigned Hype in ‘95. By 1996, they were working on their debut album, The War Report, before Capone went back to prison which led Nore to embark on his solo rap career.

Noreaga can now be found interviewing rap’s greats on his podcast, Drink Champs with DJ EFN. There are so many gems in this podcast that take you way back in the artists’ careers and shed light on some great moments in hip hop history. If you don’t listen, I recommend you give it a spin.

J-Live

Before J-Live was recognized in Unsigned Hype in November 1995, he was already making waves in the New York underground rap scene. Unlike many of his peers, J-Live balanced school and hip hop, attending college at SUNY Albany, where he studied English while sharpening his pen game. He recorded his early demos while juggling student life, and his track "Braggin’ Writes" created buzz, eventually catching the attention of The Source when he got his Unsigned Hype blurb in ‘95.

I feel J-Live doesn’t get the shine he deserves. He was a major part of the underground hip hop movement in the early 2000’s. His first 2 albums, The Best Part (2001) and All of the Above (2002) were solid projects that stayed in rotation heavy during those years. I felt J-Live was the East Coast’s version of Gift of Gab from Blackalicious who is another emcee I feel stays slept on.

Eminem

In the early ‘90s, Eminem started making noise in Detroit’s battle circuit, regularly competing at spots like The Hip-Hop Shop and The Shelter, where he went head-to-head with local legends like Proof and Royce da 5’9”. Em’s first major demo in ‘96, Infinite, had more of an East Coast feel and didn’t catch on eventually leading to the birth of his Slim Shady persona. This new style was in full effect on ‘97’s The Slim Shady EP where you could see his Em really come into his own.

Later in ‘97, Eminem entered the Rap Olympics, a nationwide freestyle competition held in Los Angeles. Despite the loss in the battle to Juice, an Interscope Records intern named Dean Geistlinger was in the audience and was blown away by Eminem’s skill. Geistlinger took Eminem’s The Slim Shady EP demo and passed it to Jimmy Iovine, the head of Interscope Records. Jimmy Iovine then played it for Dr. Dre, who signed the Detroit emcee to Aftermath Entertainment label in early ‘98.

In March of ‘98, Eminem got featured in Unsigned Hype and the whole world was starting to hear about this white rapper out in Detroit.… In December of ‘98, the first single “My Name Is” dropped which was followed up by the February ‘99 release of his debut album on Aftermath, The Slim Shady LP. The rest is history…

During the 90’s, The Source’s Unsigned Hype column served as the jumpoff for some of the greatest rappers of all time, giving underground rappers their first real shot at blowing up. From Biggie to Eminem to DMX to Common and Mobb Deep, the column consistently showcased underground emcees before the mainstream caught on.

Even though the industry has evolved and digital platforms like SoundCloud, YouTube, and Spotify have taken over the role of finding out about emerging rap artists, the influence of Unsigned Hype remains undeniable. It helped define an era when hip-hop was built on lyrics, storytelling, and proving yourself in your region first before expanding outside of your hood. The rappers that came out of Unsigned Hype might have never gotten their chance