On your iPod...

Over the last 20 years, hip-hop has been the fastest growing genre of music on planet earth; always garnering more fans and selling more albums each year than the one preceding it. In the beginning, hip-hop meant something. Artists like N.W.A. and Tupac Shakur came out of the gate with a discernable social agenda and made music that people cared about because of what they were saying. The fact that they could dance to it was just a bonus.

In recent years however, hip-hop has become a one trick pony of muscle-bound braggarts with big chains talking about how much money they have, how many women they get, how much weed they smoke and what kind of cars they drive. The American public has eaten up this nonsense wholeheartedly, never questioning the validity of the genre as a whole. If you don't make your beats, don't write all your lyrics, and you rap into a soundboard with pitch correction software that can be patched and fitted at the push of a button, how exactly are you an artist?

Yes, on any given night you can walk through the student apartments and hear the soothing sounds of Flo Rida and Soulja Boy, and oh what a pleasure it is. Little does the average college student know, that there are actually rappers that exist outside of this overproduced materialistic sphere with real talent, danceable beats, and no AutoTune or ghost writers in site. Yes, it's true: there is actually music you can dance to that will not take a physical toll on your intelligence. Put down that T-Pain CD and listen up, because there are a few rappers you should know about.

New York's own Cage, born Chris Palko, is one of the most inventive artists in modern hip-hop. His last two albums, 2005's "Hell's Winter" and this year's "Depart From Me" are the two that are highly suggested. Cage sings about depression, anxiety and drug addiction in the catchiest way possible, with big danceable electronic beats and some deft guitar work and production by ex-Hatebreed guitarist, F. Sean Martin. Cage winds his words like a pint-sized flannel-donning Eminem, pressing all the bad memories of his troubled childhood out into emo-rap cuts like "Perfect World" and "Captain Bumout". Both records are fun, catchy and challenging both stylistically and lyrically. And get this, Top 40 fans: he writes his own songs. Get into it.

Aesop Rock made his way up to PSU last year over Easter weekend. The kids who weren't in attendance for the sparsely populated show definitely blew it, because Aesop rules. He has the best vocabulary of any rapper and has released several excellent albums on rapper El-P's Definitive Jux label. Aesop has a style and deep, breathy baritone all his own; this guy makes pop rap for college kids and really pulls off every note. His latest album, 2007's "None Shall Pass" is an absolutely flawless piece of independent hip-hop that should not go unnoticed by anyone who has ever enjoyed a beat or verse from any kind of rap artist. Aesop has a little something for everybody to nod their head to.

Lastly, the most important artist that should be mentioned is hard working Minneapolis emcee P.O.S., who not only raps both solo and as a member of celebrated underground outfit Doomtree, but also serves as head of Doomtree Records. It's hard to believe that after three amazing albums, P.O.S. is still flying under the radar. His profile was raised a little bit this summer by his third stint on the VANS' Warped Tour and the marginal success of his album "Never Better", but P.O.S. has been grinding it out since the 2004 release of his debut, "Ipecac Neat."

P.O.S. is the absolute definition of a talented rapper, weaving tales of love lost and won flawlessly together with pithy social commentary and self-deprecating humor. This guy really has some important things to say, and hey, if you don't want to listen, you can still dance. Some would consider his 2006 album "Audition" one of the greatest achievements in hip-hop over the last 10 years.

So there you have it Plymouth, a starter kit. Further research into the artists that collaborate with these three will reveal some other really cool names like Yak Ballz, Benn Grim, Sims, Dessa and Sage Francis floating around. Hip-hop is a beautiful, wonderful genre that was created for self-expression, witty word play and rapport about social issues. It's sad it has turned into one giant parody of itself, and that artists like Lil' Boosie and Drake dominate the charts. So give these guys a listen and win back some of those brain cells you lost on that last Flo Rida record.