Originally posted by: clamum
There's still some good quality stuff out there. Check out:
Del tha Funkee Homosapien
Hieroglyphics
Deltron 3030
Binary Star
Jurassic 5
Zion I
Some of those are a little older (early 00s, late 1990s) but still good; none of that gangster/bling/MTV bullshit. I haven't kept up on new hip-hop too much, I listen to mostly punk music.
EDIT:
Tech N9ne is a bit different than the above, more midwest-hardcore rap, but still decent.
Adding to the list of underground artists:
Aesop Rock's latest album is pretty damn hot, his best since Labor Days (which has Daylight, possibly my favorite song of all time, on it).
Sage Francis' last album was good as well, though it doesn't quite live up to Healthy Distrust (and neither can compete with Hope, which he did as the Non-Prophets, easily one of the best hip hop albums in the last decade).
Cannibal Ox was amazing. They released one album, Cold Vein, which was an instant classic, then broke up (which sucks a lot).
I don't generally like "punchline" rap, but Tonedeff is amazing. He has one of the hottest flows you will ever hear and his lyrics are ridiculous (which just happens to be the name of one of his first singles). If you aren't impressed by the flow on "Move In, Ride Out," you don't like rap.
Blackalicious is an amazing artist, with great lyrics and flow, who can deftly switch between word play (Alphabet Aerobics), speed rhyming (Blazing Arrow), serious concepts (Shallow Days) and lazy rhyming (Sleep, one of those beautiful tracks where the melody is like a lullaby).
But yeah, I stopped checking out new hip hop a few years ago (with the exception of artists I already knew). In the words of Sage Francis "hip hop went from being artistic to a pop hit, mainstream took control and we cannot stop it. It's a black art being manipulated by white controllers, just like rock and roll is." This statement is delightfully ironic as Sage Francis is white, but ignoring that humorous trivia, he has a point. I've entertained myself in recent years by going back and discovering artists I'd heard about in the early 90s but never really listened to: Big Daddy Kane, Organized Konfusion, Run DMC, Eric B and Rakim, Biz Markie, Slick Rick, A Tribe Called Quest, etc. It's amazing how much great music I missed out on being stuck in the mindset of "if it isn't in the vein of NWA or Snoop, it isn't real hip hop." Ah to be young and ignorant again...