Philadelphia emcee Freeway stunned fans last year with his critically acclaimed fourth solo album Diamond In the Ruff. Now, in a recent exclusive via SOHH, the “Flipside” spitter weighs in on the most underrated artists in Hip Hop.

Philly Freezer explained that he believes The Roots frontman Black Thought is one of the most slept-on lyricists in Hip Hop, along with Common and Mos Def. Freeway added that he feels like these artists – as well as Nas and the G.O.O.D. Music roster – are helping usher in a new era of lyrically-inspired Hip Hop.

“As far as other people, definitely Black Thought [is underrated]. He’s a monster,” he said. “Everything that he’s put out is quality. Everything that he puts out is quality. Common is another one that’s crazy with the lyrics. Mos Def is another artist that’s definitely slept-on that’s got a lot of positive messages and lyrics and flow patterns in his music. There’s a lot of us out here in the music.”

He continued, “I feel like Hip Hop is coming back around with releasing the Nas Life Is Good album and then the Nas…and Scarface record that came out [DJ Khaled’s “Hip Hop”], then you have people like G.O.O.D. Music where Common and Kanye West are bringing real Hip Hop to the table.”

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