Artists like Dessa

Steve Zing is an American drummer and bassist. He has performed with Implosion, Mourning Noise, and The Undead before joining Samhain.

Kyle Smith, better known by his stage name Cecil Otter, is a rapper and producer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is a founding member of the indie hip hop collective Doomtree.

Ali Douglas Newman, better known by his stage name Brother Ali, is an American rapper, community activist, and member of the Rhymesayers Entertainment hip-hop collective. He has released eleven albums, four EPs, and a number of singles and collaborations. Some of his best known works include The Undisputed Truth (2007), Us (2009), and Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color (2012), all of which charted on the US Billboard and were favorably received by critics.

Eyedea & Abilities was an American hip-hop duo from Saint Paul, Minnesota, consisting of rapper Eyedea and DJ Abilities. The duo was founded in 1999 and became a prominent figure of the underground hip-hop scene, becoming known for Eyedea's philosophical and socially conscious lyrics, along with DJ Abilities' dynamic experimental fusion of stylistic elements from both rap and rock, as well as electronic music. The group was active until Eyedea's death in October 2010.

Ian Matthias Bavitz, better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American rapper and producer. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip-hop acts that emerged during the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was signed to El-P's Definitive Jux label until it went on hiatus in 2010. In a 2010 retrospective, betterPropaganda ranked him at number 19 at the Top 100 Artists of the Decade.

Bernard Dolan is an American rapper, spoken word artist, activist, screenwriter, and composer based in Providence, Rhode Island.

The Coup is an American hip-hop band from Oakland, California. Their music is an amalgamation of influences, including funk, punk, hip-hop, and soul. Frontman Boots Riley's revolutionarily-charged lyrics rank The Coup as a renowned political hip-hop band aligned to radical music groups such as Crass, Dead Prez and Rage Against the Machine.

Blackalicious was an American hip-hop duo from Sacramento, California, made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel. They are noted for Gift of Gab's often tongue-twisting, multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's soulful production. The duo released four full-length albums: Nia in 1999, Blazing Arrow in 2002, The Craft in 2005, and Imani Vol. 1 in 2015. Gift of Gab died in June 2021.

Jaime Stuart Meline, better known by the stage name El-P, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a member of the widely acclaimed Company Flow, and has been a driving force in alternative hip-hop since the 1990s. He is now most widely-known as one half of Run the Jewels. He has produced for rappers including Aesop Rock, Cage, and Mr. Lif. He was a member of The Weathermen and was the co-founder, owner, and CEO of the Definitive Jux record label.

Tsidi Ibrahim, known professionally as Jean Grae, is a South African-born American musician and writer. She emerged in New York City's underground hip-hop scene and developed an international following. Throughout her music career, her distinctive style and lyricism gained recognition, with artists such as Talib Kweli, Jay-Z, and Black Thought of 'The Roots' expressing admiration for her work.

Regan Farquhar, better known by his stage name Busdriver, is an American rapper and producer from Los Angeles. He has collaborated with rappers such as Myka 9, R.A.P. Ferreira, Nocando, Open Mike Eagle, 2Mex, Aesop Rock and Radioinactive. His primary producers have been Daedelus, Boom Bip, Daddy Kev, Loden, Paris Zax, Omid, Kenny Segal, and Nobody. He has also worked with D-Styles on two albums.

Jedi Mind Tricks (JMT) are an American underground hip hop group from Philadelphia, founded in 1996 by two high school friends, rapper Vinnie Paz and producer Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind. In 1999, rapper Jus Allah joined the group to record their second studio album, Violent by Design. Jus left the group shortly after, but returned in late 2006 and began working on the sixth studio album, A History of Violence. In 2011 Stoupe left the group because "his heart wasn't in making JMT records anymore". In 2013, Jus split from the group indefinitely, and Stoupe returned in 2015.

Daveed Daniele Diggs is an American actor, rapper, and singer-songwriter. He is the vocalist of the experimental hip hop group Clipping. In 2015, he originated the dual roles of Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the musical Hamilton, for which he won a 2016 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical. Along with the main cast of Hamilton, he was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in the same year. He portrayed Aaron/Oh Father in the superhero series The Boys (2026).

Dilated Peoples is an American Los Angeles-based hip-hop trio, composed of rapper and record producer Evidence, rapper Rakaa, and Beat Junkies deejay and record producer DJ Babu. The group is better known in the UK, where they reached the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart with two tracks, "This Way" and "Worst Comes to Worst". Their songs were featured in the 2003 video games Need for Speed: Underground and NBA Street Vol. 2, as well as MLB 06: The Show.

Hieroglyphics, also known as the Hieroglyphics Crew and Hiero, is an American underground hip hop collective based in Oakland, California. The group includes founder Del the Funky Homosapien, fellow rappers Casual, Pep Love, and all four members of the group Souls of Mischief—Phesto, A-Plus, Opio, and Tajai—as well as DJ Toure and producer/manager Domino.

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

Zion I was an American hip hop project founded by MC and producer Baba Zumbi in Oakland, California. K-Genius and Amp Live were also project members.

Angel Del Villar II, better known by his stage name Homeboy Sandman, is an American rapper from Elmhurst, Queens in New York.

Julio Francisco Ramos, better known as Ceschi Ramos, or simply as Ceschi, is an American rapper from New Haven, Connecticut. He is a co-founder of Fake Four Inc. He won the Connecticut Music Awards for Best Hip Hop in 2014.