Artists like 9th Wonder

Little Brother was an American hip-hop duo from Durham, North Carolina, that consists of rappers Phonte and Big Pooh. DJ and producer 9th Wonder was an original member of the group but departed in 2007. The group has produced five acclaimed studio albums and six mixtapes. Little Brother is highly regarded among hip-hop fans and critics.

Peter O. Phillips, better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapper. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time, and is often mentioned alongside DJ Premier, RZA, and Q-Tip as one of the mainstays of 1990s East Coast hip hop production. He rose to prominence in the early 1990s as one half of the critically acclaimed group Pete Rock & CL Smooth. Early on in his career, he was also famed for his remix work.

William Paul Mitchell, better known by the stage name of Large Professor, is an American rapper and record producer. Based in New York City, he is a founding member of the underground hip-hop group Main Source, and is credited with having discovered and mentored fellow New York City-based rapper Nas. About.com ranked Large Professor at No. 13 on its Top 25 Hip-Hop Producers list.

Glen Earl Boothe, professionally known as Knxwledge, is an American hip hop record producer and songwriter from New Jersey, currently based in Japan. Since 2009, he has had over 200 releases via Bandcamp. His songs are often a mix of various genres, such as jazz, soul, old-school hip hop, and modern rap.

Slum Village is an American hip-hop group from Detroit, Michigan. The group was formerly composed of the rappers Baatin (1974–2009), T3, and rapper / producer J Dilla (1974–2006). J Dilla left in 2001 to pursue a solo career with MCA Records. Elzhi joined in his absence, after which Baatin also left due to health complications.

Phonte Lyshod Coleman, known mononymously as Phonte, is an American rapper, singer, producer, actor, and voice over artist. He is a member of the North Carolina hip-hop trio/duo Little Brother and one-half of the duo The Foreign Exchange. His music spans multiple genres including R&B, hip-hop, house and electronic music.

Patrick Owen Baril, known professionally as Statik Selektah, is an American DJ and record producer from Boston, Massachusetts. He is also the founder of Showoff Records. In 2010, he formed the hip hop group 1982, alongside American rapper Termanology. He has resided in New York City since 2004.

The Foreign Exchange is music duo consisting of the American rapper Phonte and the Dutch record producer Nicolay, their music is a blend of hip hop, soul, R&B and electronica.

James Dewitt Yancey, better known by the stage names J Dilla, Jay Dee, or simply Dilla, was an American record producer, rapper, and composer. He emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip-hop scene in Detroit, Michigan, as a member of the group Slum Village. He was a founding member of the Soulquarians, a musical collective active during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Yancey and Madlib collaborated as the duo Jaylib, releasing the album Champion Sound. Yancey's final album, Donuts, was released three days before his death. He was also known for producing the Pharcyde album Labcabincalifornia.

Terrace Jamahl Martin is an American musician, rapper, singer, and record producer. He is perhaps best known for producing records for several prominent artists in the music industry, including Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, the Game, Busta Rhymes, Stevie Wonder, Charlie Wilson, Raphael Saadiq and YG, among others. Martin is a multi-instrumentalist whose music production embodies funk, jazz, classical and soul. Martin released his sixth studio album, Velvet Portraits, on his label, Sounds of Crenshaw Records, through Ropeadope Records.

Talib Kweli Greene is an American rapper. He is one half of the hip-hop duo Black Star, which he formed in 1997 with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def. Their 1998 single, "Definition", entered the Billboard Hot 100 and preceded their eponymous debut album (1998), which entered the Billboard 200. The duo then began pursuing solo careers, although one further Black Star album — No Fear of Time (2022) — was released thereafter.

Cookin' Soul is a group of rap producers and DJs from Valencia, Spain. In its early days, it was made up of Big Size, Milton, and Zock. Currently, Big Size is the only active member. The group is known for its productions on numerous tracks by MCs and rap groups around the world. They are also recognized for releasing a large number of mixtapes and albums. Producing work since around 2005, Cookin' Soul has developed a strong presence in the mixtape circuit in the US, according to El País.

Blu & Exile are an American hip-hop duo, formed in 2007, composed of rapper Blu and hip-hop producer Exile.

Pete Rock & CL Smooth were an American hip hop duo from Mount Vernon, New York. They made their debut with their 1991 EP, All Souled Out and followed that with their 1992 LP Mecca and the Soul Brother.

Shante Scott Franklin, better known by his stage name Currensy, is an American rapper. Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, he signed with the local record labels No Limit Records, Cash Money Records and Young Money Entertainment in the mid-2000s, but parted ways with both without any major releases. He signed with DD172 to release four albums before signing with Warner Records to release his fifth album and major label debut, Weekend at Burnie's (2011). In February of that year, he founded the record label Jet Life Recordings.

Maksim Lembersky, known by his stage name Your Old Droog, is a Ukrainian-born American rapper and producer from Brooklyn, New York. He first gained public attention in June 2014 when online rumors were circulated that his self-published debut EP was actually recorded by veteran New York rapper Nas under an alter ego, before revealing himself in August of that year as a 25-year-old Ukrainian American. His self-titled debut album was released digitally on November 25, 2014. The name "Droog" comes from the Ukrainian word 'друг' meaning "friend".

Herbert Anthony Stevens IV, better known by his stage name Ab-Soul, is an American rapper. Raised in Carson, California, he signed with the indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2007, where he formed the West Coast hip-hop group Black Hippy alongside fellow California-based rappers Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and Schoolboy Q. His third album, These Days... (2014), peaked at number 11 on the Billboard 200. He is Black Hippy's sole member to remain an independent artist.

NxWorries is an American music superduo consisting of recording artist Anderson .Paak and record producer Knxwledge. They are signed to Stones Throw Records and released their debut studio album, Yes Lawd!, in 2016 and their second studio album Why Lawd? in 2024.

Rahkeim Calief Meyer, better known by his stage name Roc Marciano, is an American rapper and record producer. He is known for his intricate internal rhymes and wordplay detailing mafioso and pimp themes over sample based production. He has been called the "Godfather of the Underground" for pioneering the resurgence of gritty, lyrical rap and use of drumless sample loops in the early 2010s with his highly influential debut album Marcberg (2010).

People Under the Stairs was an American hip hop duo from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2019. Since their inception, the group consisted solely of Christopher Portugal and Michael Turner. The group employed a DIY work ethic of sampling, MCing, DJing, and producing all of their output.

Kev Brown is an American music producer and artist. He is the founding member of the former Low Budget Crew.