Flobots, People Under the Stairs, Busdriver

People Under the Stairs
The underground hip-hop outfit People Under the Stairs was formed by Mike Turner (Double K) and Chris Portugal (Thes One), who met on the fringe of L.A.'s late-'90s hip-hop underground.

Busdriver
Possessing a hyper-literate, intellectual style of rapping augmented with dizzying elocution that would tongue-tie even the fiercest auctioneer, Busdriver is eclectic and eccentric enough to cite vocalese jazz singer Jon Hendricks as a primary influence.

Flobots
When a pair of intelligent, visionary emcees joins forces with a battle-hardened, groove-fusing rhythm section, a classically trained violist, and a jazz trumpet player, the result is a sound that explores and expands the frontiers of live hip-hop.