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Kendrick Lamar has had a big year. His infamous Drake beef song has had more exposure than his entire discography put together. Intelligently, he has chosen to use that spotlight to introduce these casual listeners to his actual music. Kendrick Lamar is the most creative rapper in the game. Every release he does something you haven't heard. We choose to stay away from the "Big 3" argument because being a great "indie rapper" is a different set of criteria. Any 10 seconds of "GNX" proves his talent and is top notch hip hop, but activism is divisive. How do we make the world better? More fair? "Tv off" is a great song, but the message is a little open ended. He explores several different angles of reality. 
The rappers with depth are getting older, and although they are aging well, the lack of upcoming artists makes celebrating seasoned rappers seem like over-hype. Interestingly, the song "GNX" addresses this reaction by featuring three rappers that seriously miss the target.
In the monotony of modern existence, music has become a background experience for most rather than a foreground experience. Independent hip hop is no different. RapIndie has a catalog of nearly 1000 posts, but if you want to become one of them, this is what RapIndie looks for:

1. Raps that are difficult or creative.

2. Artist authenticity (rapping about their own lives).

3. Cultural significance (songs that elicit social reactions from people).

4. Empowerment (songs that break stereotypes, or songs that display stereotypes in a positive light).

Denzel Curry is a rapper from Carol City, Florida. He started with a shaky hipster following that didn't really embrace him. As a result, he flickered between sophistication and conventional presentation. This album feels like the first album where he's found himself. The music is good. The audience is clear. Denzel Curry has proven his brand, but when you aren't reinventing the wheel, the challenge is making a great song that gets recognized. G's Up is a great song featuring 2 Chainz and Mike Dimes. He didn't have the connections to make it surface, but Denzel Curry has a strong enough internet following to compensate for that. This album is worth a listen if you like hip hop.

Tyler has a clout in suburbia that is bigger than rock bands. Likewise, RapIndie was a blog that formerly but is no longer: a suburban thing. Tyler resonates in many areas that no one else does, but it's a little bit of a personal bias to overhype him because of it.
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