The Run The Jewels craze has gotten out of hand. The gun-and-fist logo is showing up everywhere, from Instagram to the cover of Howard The Duck comics. Hipsters everywhere are crying that they heard about RTJ first, while hip-hop-heads in Brooklyn and Atlanta respectively recollect that they've known about El-P and Killer Mike since before the turn of the century.
Seriously though: Supergroups among underground hip-hop groups aren't a new thing. Run The Jewels just happens to be the one that has gotten everyone's attention at every magazine. Deservedly so. But we advise you check out some other off-the-wall acts in existence (or hopefully still in existence) that are well worth your time.
Aesop Rock + Rob Sonic = Hail Mary Mallon
El-P and Aesop Rock were at one point both members of the epic Weathermen crew, perhaps the most monstrous underground hip-hop collective ever. Unfortunately, following the death of Camu Tao, it ceased without releasing an official album. Obviously its members are still causing havoc around the scene...Aesop has since teamed up with Rob Sonic and the pair has released a pair of excellent albums on Rhymesayers under the alias Hail Mary Mallon (technically the group had been around since 1999, but failed to drop an album until 2011). The most recent LP, Bestiary, showcases the duo's now noted use of vocabulary.
Del The Funky Homosapien + Dan The Automator + Kid Koala = Deltron 3030
Producers Dan The Automator, Kid Koala and emcee Del The Funky Homosapien (you might know him best as the emcee behind the Gorillaz) captured the imagination when they released Deltron 3030, a rap opera set in space. We thought that might be it for the group but 13 years later it reemerged with Event 2, a new collection of music with an even bigger guest list than its first voyage. If you want to get an idea just how wide of a listening pool that Deltron lends itself to, note that the newer album features contributions from less-than-serious guest stars such as The Lonely Island, as well as a guest verse from the more intense Zack De La Rocha (more than a year before Run The Jewels grabbed him).
The Alchemist + Evidence = Step Brothers
Alchemist had been producing gold for so long—for emcees such as Eminem and Snoop Dogg—but he enjoys rapping from time to time as well. His best work comes when he works with Evidence of Dilated Peoples fame as the duo Step Brothers. The 2015 album Lord Steppington gathered acclaim—and guest spots from Action Bronson, Domo Genesis and Roc Marciano. This one's also a bit mire relaxed than the aforementioned three collaborative efforts: Alchemist and Evidence, albeit absurdists, don't force too much absurd wordplay down your ears, or vocal intensity down your throat.
MF DOOM + Madlib = Madvillain
MF Doom is somewhat the ultimate starting place for an underground hip-hop supergroup, not only for his lyrical adeptness but mainly because he wears a metal mask all the dang time. Madlib, a stud producer and occasional emcee who just rocked 2014 thanks to his Piñata project with Freddie Gibbs, teamed with the mysterious DOOM during 2004 to create Madvillain and the accompanying masterpiece Madvillainy. We admit that it's a bit of a stretch to call this group "active," as it hasn't put out a new album since the original. Madlib has claimed that Madvillainy 2 is nearly ready for release however...it just needs some touch-ups from DOOM. Only he knows whether those final touches will ever be put into place. Until then, we wait with bated breath.
Murs + Sacha Jenkins + Daryl Jenifer = The White Mandingos
Here's another group that's debatably still in existence, and even somewhat debatably hip-hop. The White Mandingos came together when noted music journalist Sacha Jenkins (focused primarily on hip-hop) and bassist Daryl Jenifer of the iconic punk band Bad Brains attempted to assemble a music project marrying the two genres. After adding emcee Murs as the vocalist, the trio released The Ghetto Tryna Kill Me during 2013, a concept album about a rapper coming out of the New York projects with his first record deal. The album keeps things humorous with singles such as "My First White Girl." No word on whether the project has aspirations for a follow-up.
