What do ScHoolboy Q, Vince Staples and CyHi the Prynce all have in common? According to Slink Johnson and Soren Baker, they are all members of the infamous underrated club. With a flood of new rappers drowning our ears in catchy melodic mumbles every year, it can be hard for hip-hop heads to stay afloat the lyrical boat. Today, a rapper can only get as high as their popularity, creating that grey area of guys who rhyme words that don’t go together or make sense.
In the latest episode of The Grey Area, Slink Johnson and Soren Baker explain why CyHi the Prynce, Schoolboy Q, and Vince Staples make their list of underrated emcees.
“CyHi the Prynce’s lyrics are so layered,” Slink says. “He rhymes six words in a sentence and the damn sentence will have two or three meanings. The guy is hands down one of the most lyrically dexterous emcees out there right now that’s not getting the type of exposure that he deserves. The guy has a great voice. It’s that gravelly type with fineness added to it. When you speak on CyHi the Prynce, edutainment has to be a word that’s used regularly because he will educate you and keep you entertained at the same time.”
Known as the grooviest guy on the west coast, ScHoolboy Q resides in this category through no fault of his own, according to Slink. Though Q receives worldwide acclaim and is a part of hip-hop’s most versatilely eclectic collective, TDE, he seems to be overshadowed by Kendrick Lamar’s unwavering shine.
“ScHoolboy comes from a camp where he’s in a camp with Kendrick Lamar, and Kendrick’s light is so bright that it obscures ScHoolboy’s light that is equally as bright, but it may be a different hue,” Slink says. “Some lights shine brighter than others. Kendrick Lamar is definitely hands down one of the most skillful emcees in the world, however I feel like the rest of the TDE camp is underrated, beginning with ScHoolboy.”
Long Beach native Vince Staples finds himself on the underrated list for his lyrical nimbleness, layers and street edge. Highlighting traditional street topics like hoods and gangs, Vince finds ways to weave golden era and new age rap elements by way of social commentary laced punch lines.
“If you know Vince Staples but haven’t listened to him, you need to go back and listen to ‘Versace Rap,” Soren says. “That was the first song of his that blew me away. The way he brings in politics, religion, the hood, the legal system, society, it’s amazing. Back in the day, critics would say they’re cussing and using the n-word so we’re not going to respect it. But when you look at Vince Staples as a song, ’65 Hunnid’ on the Hell Can Wait EP, he’s breaking down how bad gang banging is and how the dudes who are in it are looking at it the wrong way. He basically tells them the only way for this to survive is for us to die because that’s how the gangs keep perpetuating.”
There are very few things one can depend on in the world: the sun rising and setting and the evolution of rap music are among other. With melodic rap mumbles taking the culture by storm, intellectually stimulating gems from CyHi the Prynce, Schoolboy Q, and Vince Staples are not a dime a dozen.
“It’s a lot of intelligent rap that’s not getting the type of shine it deserves because, again, you’re not talking buffoonery,” Slink says. “These are dudes that are speaking clearly, putting cleaver words together, cleaver punch lines, and concepts with a story. That’s intelligent rap. Sometimes people get caught up in the way it looks, as far as the way the package is delivered visually.”