The Best Rapper You've Never Heard Of, Pt I
This is the first installment of a weekly series I’m beginning, called “The Best Rapper You’ve Never Heard Of”.
As an avid hip-hop listener, as well as a poor college kid who can’t afford to buy albums, I’ve learned to find free music online (legally, don't worry). Generally, the music I have sought out consists of rappers who are either young in age, early on in their careers or just plain overlooked. No, I’m not a hipster. No, I'm not just saying I'm not a hipster to be ironic. No, I don’t think I’m cooler than you because I listen to music no one else listens to -- well actually, I may be a little cooler, but that's besides the point.
There are two reasons why I listen to lesser known rappers. First, as I said before, any extra money I have laying around (which isn’t a lot) goes towards midnight pizza orders and coffee runs. Second, I’ve found that artists who aren’t making money off their music create a really beautiful sound. The beats, the lyrics, the melodies – though perhaps more raw – are often times more well thought-out. They’re creating for creativity’s sake, not for the commercial appeal. There’s an intense emotional connection that isn’t always present in big-name, mainstream music.
These guys are trying to make a name for themselves by releasing free content on SoundCloud, NoiseTrade, Datpiff and HotNewHipHop – and guess what? It’s good stuff. So, I’ll be highlighting rappers who could soon be the next big thing, or who I think is exceedingly talented in one area (i.e. production, lyricism, creativity, etc).
There are some qualifications in order to be eligible for this article. They are as follows:
1. Their most-streamed song on Spotify may have no more than 1,000,000 streams (This seems like a lot, I know. But to put that number in context, the most-streamed song on Spotify, Lean On by Major Lazer, has 836,794,058). If they’re not on Spotify at all, even better.
2. They must have at least one full length album available for free download on a legal music-sharing website.
3. They must be good.
Here we go!
Social Club Misfits
Marty (left) and Fern (right) of Social Club Misfits.
These guys will probably be the most well-known artists to make this list, but I have to begin with them because they’re who got me hooked on underground rap in the first place. Social Club, who changed their name to Social Club Misfits this past year when they signed to Capitol Records (!!!), is a hip-hop duo comprised of Miami natives Fern and Marty. I first ran into their music in 2014, when a buddy and I went to the concert of our friend and rapper, Echo. He was opening up for these two guys I had never heard of, and definitely didn’t expect much from.
I was blown away.
In a venue with only ~300 people, Social Club put on a live show that has yet to be matched in my concert-going experience. Marty and Fern goofed off, interacted with the crowd, and absolutely killed it on stage. I was hooked. I went home that night and downloaded all of their free records and put them on loop for the next few weeks.
Their name rings true: they make music for the misfits. Interpret that however you want – they make music for those who don’t quite fit in, who live on the fringes of pop culture, who don’t care if they’re not like everybody else. From their website: “People often talk about the future of hip-hop music like it isn’t right now. As if the future were some far off paint splotch occupying our collective imagination. On the contrary, the future is now, and some aren’t afraid to take it where it’s going. Enter Social Club Misfits, the Miami duo who’s built a cult following on the strength of their provocative oeuvre and singular, quick-witted approach. The self-monikered ‘Misfits’ are disruptors in every sense, challenging norms and bringing other misfits along for the ride.”
Social Club Misfits are, how do I put this… Weird. That’s really the only fitting adjective to describe them. I’ve never heard a band/artist that has more varied lyricism, content or temperament. Marty is a goofball whose verses can flip from whimsy to heartbreak in eight bars. Fern is a stone-cold killa who murders beats with absolute disregard for listeners’ ears. Both have their own distinct flow, sound and rhythm. Their opposite personalities balance each other out to perfection, which lead to albums with songs about pineapples and suicidal tendencies side-by-side. It’s nothing like I've ever heard before.
Knowing their respective stories adds a lot of perspective to their rhymes as well, I think. Though they’ve never come out and told their stories straight up (as far as I can find on the interwebs), there are some interviews and songs they’ve made about their past lives from which I’ve gathered the following:
Fern grew up a pastor’s kid, but his life began to go south when he joined the gangs and drug life that were rampant in Miami. He ended up being sentenced to 1,000 days in jail. Fern quickly became famous among the inmates for his rapping prowess. You could say that he spit bars behind bars (that’s his line. I wish I could take credit for it). Somewhere along the way, God searched him out. He came out of prison looking to be a respectable father and husband for his wife and kids. He also began peppering a fellow rapper by the name of Marty with demo CDs and requests to collaborate...
Marty, growing up, was a self-described outcast. He never fit in at school and lived in a cloud of depression. Marty speaks of his struggles against suicidal thoughts and constant bullying in many of his verses. Christ found him in high school and he later became a youth pastor to help kids escape the same pain he went through. A few years in though, there was a difficult break-up between he and the church he was at. Marty never goes into detail about his departure from his old church, but he makes it clear that it was heartbreaking and, in his eyes, unfair. During that ordeal, he was producing and performing rap music on the side. Marty finally answered a particularly annoying rapper named Fern who was flooding his DMs...
The two came together and released their first mixtape in 2012. All the pain and uncertainty they went through forms an acute angle with the high-flying, free-spirited personalities that both men possess. Because of this, their lyrics are wide-ranging and unpredictable.
Now, let’s get to the music.
Cops // Misfits 2
Cops is Social Club’s breakthrough song. The ultimate banger.
Favorite Four Bars: Never should have let us in / I jumped off stage I need medicine / Cause I got so high, I think I hit a fan / No, I hit a fan, like a real person!
Awkward, Pt. II (feat. Abiv) // Misfits 2
Awkward Pt II is classic Marty. He drops an obscure movie reference, talks about a girl who’s way out of his league, fills up the first whole verse with awkwardness… then flips the script. He goes from being a weirdo to a man of my dreams.
Favorite Four Bars: Hi! You looking at me? / Oh, no, you’re looking at them? / No, I wasn’t talking to you guys, / Um, I was talking to them, uh
Carpe Diem // US
Carpe Diem is another Marty-only song, but it’s one of my favorites. The beat is so light-hearted, which puts it seemingly at odds with the lyrics. Marty takes us through his life in just two verses, from being a little kid to chasing his rapping dream.
Favorite Four Bars: I’m standing on my desk like a dead poet / And if you love someone, tell them or they’ll never know it / I don’t go with trends, I just try to make ‘em / I’m a misfit til I die, and I’m never changin’
Waiting (feat. Chris Batson) // Waiting – Single
Waiting may be my favorite Social Club song of all time. It’s a slower tempo, but both Marty and Fern are at their best and Chris Batson murders the chorus. Do this for me, the next time you’re out driving at night, roll down the windows, turn this song up, and tell me you don’t get chills. It’s incredible. When I find a significant other, I will be playing this song for her.
Favorite Four Bars (I could literally choose any four from the entire song, but I went with the last four): They got their guns still aiming at me / But I won’t run I got angels with me / Try’n to live life but the fame in the way / But the pain goes away when you stay here with me
Grace Song (feat. SPZRKT) // Rejects
Grace Song. Wow. Um, this song is just… Wow. It’s what sets them apart from so many other rap groups, even within Christian hip-hop. They’re so real. They’re not afraid to talk about their pasts because they know it’ll help people going through the same thing. It’s beautiful.
Favorite Four Bars (Literally any of them. I know I said that for "Waiting", but I really mean it this time. LITERALLY ANY OF THEM. So I’m going to cheat and choose eight): And people call themselves Christians / With “God Hates Fags” written all over their pickets / We play Holy Spirit and judge them because of the way / They sin different, Social Club will always be the difference / I have gay friends and I’m not afraid to say it / And I love ‘em like Christ did and people are gonna hate it / They know what I believe in and they might not agree / But I stand as living proof look what God did for me
The One Where She Stayed // Marty for President (Marty solo EP)
Marty and Fern have both released their own solo EPs in the last year or so as well. Personally, I think Marty’s is better, but they’re both superb. "The One Where She Stayed" is an instant classic, as is "The One With the Villain", "The One With My Friends", and "The One About the Misfit" (he likes the show ‘Friends’).
Favorite Four Bars: I feel like Jesse cause I’m so excited *cricket noises* / She likes my jokes so I’m not embarrassed / Why are you datin’ if you don’t want marriage *Boooooo! Chill out, relax* / Let’s be awkward and weird together and before you leave I’ve got a question for ya
Supreme (feat. Clemm Rishad and N.O.R.E.) // 68th and Douglas (Fern solo EP)
Supreme… The fact that Fern got hip-hop legend N.O.R.E. on this track just speaks to his cred in the rap game. Fern is undoubtedly the better lyricist as far as rhyme schemes go, and Supreme displays that fact well. He just oozes confidence. Marty may be more charismatic, but he’ll never beat Fern bar-for-bar.
Favorite Four Bars: Win this when I stop speculation / I write rhymes to enrich this empoverished nation / The young boys tellin’ me ‘Fern, you spit motivation’ / I move and he chose me to paint illustrations
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Most of the songs I chose highlighted their lyricism. That’s not all they do. They make absolute bangers, too. If you’re looking to hear more, I’d recommend Wavemasters, Coogi Sweater, Summer of George, Sky Lanterns, Martyrs, 2004, Monte Cristo, S&G, The Misfit Generation, No Love off Fern’s EP, and all of Marty’s EP.
As they say, "Social Club is the Best."
They have two albums for free on NoiseTrade, under “Social Club”. They’re also on SoundCloud and Spotify as “Social Club Misfits”.
Thanks for reading/listening! Look for another “The Best Rapper You’ve Never Heard Of” next week!