Artists like Ugly Duckling

Tsutomu William "Tom" Shimura, better known by his stage name Lyrics Born, is a Japanese-American rapper, singer, and producer. He is one half of the duo Latyrx with Lateef the Truthspeaker.

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.

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.

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.

Charles Stewart, better known as Chali 2na, is an American painter and rapper, associated with the groups Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli. He is known for his bass-baritone voice and quick-delivery rapping style.

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.

Jean-Jacques Cadet, better known by his stage name J-Live, is an American rapper, DJ, and record producer.

The Beatnuts is an American hip hop group and production duo from New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les. JuJu is a Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les is a Colombian American from Jackson Heights, Queens. Although only peripheral members, they are routinely acknowledged by Q-Tip as being members of Native Tongues. The Beatnuts were originally a trio before Fashion, now known as Al' Tariq, left the group to start a solo career. V.I.C. was also a member of The Beatnuts' production team for a while.

Jeffrey Michael Haynes, better known by his stage name Mr. Lif, is an American rapper from Boston, Massachusetts. While being praised because of his political lyrics, he has released two studio albums on Definitive Jux and one on Bloodbot Tactical Enterprises. Mr. Lif is also a member of the hip-hop group The Perceptionists with long-time friends and collaborators Akrobatik and DJ Fakts One.

Swollen Members is a Canadian hip-hop group from Vancouver, British Columbia, consisting of rappers Madchild and Prevail, and producer Rob the Viking. Former group members include Moka Only, Easy Roc, Zodak. Swollen Members have released eight studio albums, three compilation albums, two greatest hits albums, and one live album.

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.

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.

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.

Teren Delvon Jones, better known by his stage name Del the Funky Homosapien or Sir DZL, is an American rapper.

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.

Derrick Lemel Stewart, known professionally as Fatlip, is an American hip hop musician. He started his career in the hip hop group The Pharcyde.

Antonia D. Reed, known professionally as Bahamadia, is an American hip hop artist and singer. Bahamadia released her debut album, Kollage, in 1996, followed by the independently released EP BB Queen in 2000. She then released a full-length album, Good Rap Music, in 2005. Bahamadia has also released the singles "Dialed Up Vol. 1", "Here", and "Dialed Up Vol. 2".