The history of hip-hop has largely focused around New York and to a just slightly lesser extent, Southern California. Most casual hip-hop fans and even some scholars largely ignore the contribution to the genre from the Midwest. Specifically, Detroit has had a small, but very influential underground hip-hop scene over the years.
In the popular version of underground hip-hop history,
New York gets most of the credit, with the West Coast coming in a very close second for wholly creating its own sound. But what often gets lost in the shuffle is the influence of groups and labels from the Midwest, including Detroit.
Despite the city's somewhat unsavory reputation to outsiders, Detroit has long boasted a small, but vital underground hip-hop scene that's influenced the underground hip-hop world at large, through key artists and labels like Psychopathic Records.
One of the earliest and most influential artists in Detroit Underground hip-hop was Esham. He stood out early for incorporating downright scary, metal-style elements of horror into his musical style and stage show.
These performances in the '80s and '90s would leave a lasting impression on later artists like Insane Clown Posse. Esham also founded his own independent underground hip-hop label, Reel Life Productions, which released his own music and that of other artists like Natas, Mastamind, and Dice.
Coming in Esham's wake was Insane Clown Posse, one of the Detroit underground hip-hop groups most directly influenced by his flirtations with horror themes and sounds. Insane Clown Posse were outcasts almost from the beginning.
They got their start as pro wrestlers, for one, and when they made the switch to music, underground hip-hop heads didn't immediately warm to their gimmick, that of murderous, face-painted clowns.
Still, Insane Clown Posse soldiered on and gained some mainstream success, which in turn influenced more, younger artists, and would continue to do so after they founded their label, Psychopathic Records.
Among these artists influenced early on was Eminem, with whom they would later beef publicly. Still, Eminem did much to publicize Detroit, even if he soon began spending more time in Los Angeles thanks to his musical relationship with Dr. Dre.
Kid Rock was his other Detroit mainstream star counterpart, though he would eventually stray from underground hip-hop to other more rock-based genres. Other Detroit stars included underground hip-hop favorites like Slum Village and the late, legendary producer J. Dilla.
These days, the main stalwarts of the scene are Insane Clown Posse. Though the other artists mentioned continue to represent for their city, Insane Clown Posse and Psychopathic Records still keep their main operations in the greater Detroit area. Their outcast status has in a way made them rich and relatively famous, but has also kept their ears to the streets.
When mainstream labels didn't get them, they started their own label, Psychopathic Records. Through Psychopathic Records, they've been able to fully control all their creative output and products.
Psychopathic Records has also been important for showcasing other artists from the area, like Twiztid and Anybody Killa. While others talk of abandoning the city entirely, Psychopathic Records keeps the faith.
