The deep underground of HOP music had it’s best years in the mid to late 1990’s. As the new millennium began, that underground scene was bittersweet because there was more exposure to acts that didn’t have huge media exposure, but it was also hard to keep up with the emerging scene. By the end of the 2000’s, the term “underground hip-hop” did not mean the same as it once did and due to the internet audiences just broke off into “tribes.” The deep underground scene remains to this day, and during the 2010’s some names entered that category who had a good buzz within the culture of underground HOP listeners.
Epidemic was a two rapper group I was put on to during the last decade. consisting of Hex One and Tek-nition. They represented Florida which only showed how far along the “underground Hip-Hop” scene expanded. Ironically I was put on to them when they dropped their last album ‘4 Dimensions On A Paper’ in 2016. This release was enough to have me interested in the crew which lead me to Hex One’s collaboration with beatmaker BBZ Darney.
‘String Theory’ is the name of the album and group with Hex One and BBZ Darney. This 12 track, forty minute album is HOP music that reminds me of the early 2000’s in terms of its execution. One M.C. with one producer, and a few features from their close crew that the public are then put on to. Hex One has a style of rapping that is syllable heavy while BBZ Darney’s beats compliment Hex’s style with a nice balance of mellow with slightly dark textures for the more serious content on the album.
Where this album could have been better is making sure that songs sound more distinguished. At times Hex One’s style can seem like it is one dimensional, so if listening for the first time one might think they heard a song twice from the vibe created. The listening of this album is not a failure as it is often “edutainment” with songs like ‘Used To Be,’ ‘Realities’ and others. String Theory might operate from a small cog in HOP music’s atmosphere but that has a relation to the ears that want to hear the fundamentals to what makes this music last. What did you think of the album?
Singles include:
‘Currents,’ ‘Reminisce’ & ‘Art Of Rap’
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