Genres: Rap: Underground & Alternative Rap

Just as scrappy and raunchy as their forbears, these freshman also possess a fondness for the art house. Expect DJ Screw-era pastiche, hard drugs and violent fantasies. Decidedly NSFW.

Everyone knows the big blockbuster rap songs of the year. These are the great-but-overlooked tracks that might have passed you by. Get up to speed with this primer on 2012's down-low essentials.

Today's young modern jazz artists grew up as part of the hip-hop generation, and their music reflects that in their style and choice of collaborators. Call it swag-jazz.

Ethereal and mellifluous sounds from the cloud rap kids, interspersed with pioneering productions from the regional forefathers to the spacey sound. Your new soundtrack to zone out with.

Like tank tops, daisy dukes, and drinks with umbrellas, these laid-back rap and reggae favorites were made for summer weekends.

Thanks to an emerging crop of young talent, the Seattle hip hop scene has started to earn national recognition. Here are the best tracks from the artists leading the movement.

Grab your shades and roll down the windows; these smooth jazz and funk-sampling hip hop instrumentals are perfect for a Saturday morning cruise.

Get hip to the new wave of young Chicago rappers who drop rugged, wild and uncompromising raps over production that runs from drill-hop to straight-up street anthems.

Doing a whole lotta nothing. Kicking back. Chilling on the couch. This mix of smooth hip hop and head-nodding electronic beats was made for that.

True to the multifaceted symbolism of Aztlán, the mythical homeland of the Aztecs, this rap playlist draws from a broad swath of Mexican descendants living on both sides of the Río Bravo.

Perfect for a backyard barbecue or an afternoon alone with your headphones, vibe-out to this steady stream of brassy, soul-sampling hip hop tracks.

Hip, fashionable and cocky to the point of arrogant, swag rap defines the hottest new generation of rappers. Feel good and swag out.

Listen to the best chopped & screwed versions of songs from the legendary Houston, TX based record label, Rap-a-Lot Records. Notable artists include Geto Boys, Scarface, and Bun B.

Mellow and chilled-out rap cuts for chilling under the covers.

Listen to great songs from every MC/hip hop group who performed at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California.

Hip·ster Hop (noun): 1. What you get when you pair an MC with progressive, often synth-heavy production. 2. The solution for bridging the musical gap between the indie kids and the hip hop heads at your next party.

Emerging as an antidote to the glitzy-jiggy rap scene of the late '90s, underground artists started putting out uncompromising hip-hop on small independent labels. Look back on a sometimes underappreciated scene.

Explore this producer-focused style of hip hop, a combination of rap and electronica.

The sequel to Songza's original French Hip Hop playlist (http://bit.ly/JB2GvZ), this playlist features more essential cuts from the world's second most important hip hop scene.

Go deeper into the dark and funky world of trip hop with this playlist that leans heavy on deep cuts and instrumentals from the some of the genre's masters.

Cited by countless rappers, journalists, and fellow producers as one of the greatest hip-hop producers of all time, DJ Premier has left an an indelible mark on the genre. Here are Primo's greatest beats.

Atmospheric and ambient, this is the sound of hip hop producers left to their own devices. Without any vocal assists from rappers, the results are innovative, expressive, and sometimes more than a little trippy.

Turn the bass way up for this collection of funky tracks by legendary hip-hop producer J Dilla.

An intimate experience with some of rap's most compelling introspective and philosophical songs.

As a freshman, Derek Smith left college to focus on music production full-time. Today, as Pretty Lights, Smith runs his own record label and is headlining festivals around the country. Listen to the best tracks from Pretty Lights, his contemporaries and label mates.

E-40, Andre Nickatina, Zion I and all your favorite Bay Area rappers.

Immerse yourself in New Orleans' burgeoning gay and transgender hip-hop scene. The locals call it "sissybounce." We call it proud, defiant and party-ready.

London-based Ninja Tune Records is an independent electronic and hip hop label. Listen to a playlist highlighting the eclectic range of its catalog.

The rap, R&B, and soul-centric soundtrack for the Cadillac that has been passed down through the generations. If those spokes could speak...

When indie rock fans feel the urge to switch up their sound and listen to a blast of hip-hop music, these are the rappers and the anthems they inevitably turn to.

Along with fellow heavy hitters DJ Premiere and RZA, Pete Rock helped to define the soulful, sample-based sound of '90s East Coast rap. Here is Pete Rock's oeuvre; from his work with CL Smooth to the hits he produced for Biggie, Common, and others.

Ever since the early days of hip hop, DJs have been innovative manipulators of turntables. This playlist features highlights of "turntablism," including expert scratching, beat juggling, phasing, and spinbacking.

Commonly referred to as jazz hop or jazz rap, this subgenre combines jazz samples with hip hop beats.

Since its birth in the Bronx, hip hop has been interpreted in various ways by different cultures around the globe. See what happens when hip hop crosses the pond with this mix of the best French hip hop.

Bhangra is a lively, percussive form of folk music and harvest dance from the Indian state of Punjab. Bhangra has enjoyed a surge in popularity worldwide, both in traditional form and as a fusion with genres such as hip-hop and reggae.

Hip-hop producers DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Q-Tip and Large Professor helped make Nas's Illmatic a '90s hip hop classic. Explore the best of the quartet's other work from the same era.

This hybrid genre formed in the '80s when artists from the hip hop and electronic dance music worlds (both burgeoning scenes at the time) began adopting each others' styles and use of primitive synthesizers.

Rappers love to eat! Whether bragging about dining out on lobster and shrimp, extolling the virtues of a healthy diet, or bigging up their favorite hole-in-the-wall chicken spot, these mighty healthy rap songs invoke food as inspiration.

Hip hop started with the DJ. From the original turntable stylists of the late '70s and early '80s until now, we big up the art of DJing while tracing the evolution of turntablism.

Set up the chess set and sip on a 40 oz. while listening to some classic east-coast boom bap from the genre's mid-'90s golden era.

Relevant and real rap music with a positive and spiritual spin can be hard to come by. Feel the power of the word mixed with the power of the beat.

This smoothed-out, laid back hip-hop goes deep on the jazz-sampling tip and showcases MCs dropping deep and introspective lyrics. One to bliss out to.