3 Under the Radar Albums

That's the beauty of underground hip-hop, there's some stuff you don't really see publicized and might not discover unless you really dig deep. You can find some of the best stuff just poking around iTunes. I was checking out their music store the other night and noticed a few albums I hadn't heard of or known much about. It might have been due to little publicity or maybe I was just sleeping on these but they definitely sound top notch based on the few preview tracks I heard. Army of the Pharaohs: Ritual of Battle This is an album presented by Jedi Mind Tricks, a sort of "meet our other rappers coming up" album. I discovered the Jedi group just last year on the "Servants in Heaven" album which I reviewed. The lyrics and beats they come up with are pure genius, using chilling symphonies and even children's music type vocals. This new album appears to feature their group member Vinnie Paz on most of the tracks and spotlights newer underground heads rapping. From the preview sounds, the beats are no let down, and most reviews indicated this album is worth the listen or buy. I also noticed an iTunes review titled, "Kanye's Graduation $9.99, this album - priceless". Jedi Mind Tricks Presents Army Of The Pharaohs MP3 album at Amazon.com. For Whom the Beat Tolls by Canibus A guy who should never slip under the radar, he's always been underrated, believe it or not. I've enjoyed his stuff since the early albums and the Mike Tyson cameo video he had during his beef with LL. He seemed to suffer from the lack of top production on his albums to accompany his wordplay. This album sounds more like it might be a mixtape of sorts, but again, great beats heard in the previews and Canibus is one of the most underrated lyricists in the game. It's 15 tracks deep with songs under 3 minutes and then some over 11 minutes long, including guest spots from Vinnie Paz (Jedi), Killa Priest and K-Solo. Overall, this may be the best of the 3 from what I heard. Getback by Little Brother This one probably just says I've been sleeping, because I should have known it was out. In fact I recall a friend telling me this would be their first outing without the skills of highly talented producer, 9th Wonder. This album's fairly new, and Little Brother is a group who raps in the tradition of some of my favorites including Jungle Brothers, De La Soul and Tribe. From the reviews I saw on Itunes, customers are liking this one, and alot. Some calling it another classic. I noticed a few head nodding tracks and this might be the type of album to grow on me. Getback [Explicit] MP3 album at Amazon.com. There you have 3 hip hop albums to check out while you're waiting for Jay-Z's much anticipated "American Gangster" to drop.