Get unlimited access to everything VICE has to offer.

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door

5 Hip-Hop Artists Who Were Way Ahead of Their Time

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

Across hip-hop’s rich history, it’s fascinating to watch an artist’s influence bleed into the modern landscape. Utilizing flows, lifting and extending aesthetics, or merely following in their career footsteps, the lineage can build for decades. Moreover, sometimes, the general public might not fully get it until the smoke is already cleared. Then, someone will take the baton and carry it further than their predecessors.

But we here at Noisey are inclined to give rappers their flowers. We’ve selected five artists within hip-hop that were ahead of their time and have strong descendants carrying their style forward.

4 Rappers Who Were Way Ahead of Their Time When They First Came Out

Lil B essentially mastered the internet before it defined how we almost exclusively play our music. He released preposterous amounts of music, albums and tapes filled with dozens of hilarious, off-the-cuff records. One mixtape even totaled 855 songs! Additionally, the way he played into the Based God persona and rapped about his debauchery made him an early........

© Vice