Reggie Miller Choke Sign

You know these dudes.

The cats you hear on every mixtape, you hype your peoples on like “Yo! You ain’t even up on (insert random name here). Son gone blow!” Said artist proceeds to make a few more stellar appearances on tapes and your anticipation is primed. He even manages to further your belief that his indeed going to make it to the big leagues by mentioning that he’s just signed a trillion dollar deal with some nondescript label. At this point, you’re ready…

…and son never drops.

Industry politricks. Lack of work ethic. The inability to leave behind punchlines and craft an actual song. Whatever the reason, that favorite is no longer the flavor of the season.

Son of my personal disappointments and those who potentially better make their next move thier best move…or start looking in the want ads.

Doo Wop’s whole Bounce Squad

JoJo Pellegrino

Genovese

Gillie The Kid

Papoose

We definitely got love for son but can we get an album Pap? Even if he doesn’t drop, he got that lifetime endorsement with Gino Green so he’ll be the crispiest dude workin’ @ the Sprint customer service spot. (Smoking Sessions With Papoose)

Big Kuntry

Being affiliated with one of the biggest names in the game but going virtually unnoticed, Kuntry has an unmatched vocal tone & can spit when he chooses to. The question is will TIP finally let him step to the plate & get a crack @ it? His DJ BurnOne mixtape was reason enough to believe that he’s got what it takes.

Fam-lay

Another one we’ve got love. But with the label shiesting him on support, the situation seems like it’s out of his hands. If his album drops, it’ll be a monumental event. (Smoking Sessions With Fam-Lay)

After thinking about it to myself, I threw the same question out to the Crew to get their responses…


Supernatural

Probably the litmus test for a “Punchline Posterchild” if you had the time to create one. He came along and wrecked shop plain and simple from the late 1990′s right around the time when the underground was king. If you’ve seen him live, you know he’s got freestyle skills for days. But his proposed album debut composed entirely of freestyles didn’t fly. Now he’s back on the scene with his son Haj, most recently at the Rock The Bells tour. But will he ever do more than go off the top of his head?

Chris “Preach” Smith

LordHaveMercy

His voice basically sounded like concentrated thunder when I first heard it on Flipmode Squad’s album. When Flipmode dissolved, aside from Rah Digga, he was one MC some people half-expected to be the next to blow up. After a couple of singles and a few mixtape appearances however, the world is still waiting.

Beware

Crooked I

He’s been on the scene for almost ten years. Claiming to be Long Beach’s finest, he’s proved his skills can cover more ground than a California quake. However, with that said, there’s still no studio. We definitely dig the weekly freestyle cuts, but isn’t there something more productive you could be doing? This take on the Ignition Remix has had me fiending for almost 4 years.

T.C.


R.O.C.

(Gotty’sâ„¢ Note – This one got the biggest “ohh shit I remember dude!” reaction out of everybody in the Crew. Period. Anybody who has the video clip of R.O.C. freestyling on Rap City, please post it or send it in.)

If your initial reaction was Jay-Z related, then that’s a perfect probable cause for him to be on this list. Maybe the parties that be felt it was better for him to play the background rather than to take the limelight. Anytime you heard anything rewind worthy from Jermaine Dupri, Da Brat, or a then Lil’ Bow Wow, he was most likely responsible. While he didn’t have a lot of songs to boost up his discography, he made every guest appearance count. Mainly on Jermaine Dupri’s “Life In 1472″ as far as star quality, well he didn’t do too bad as he chopped it up with JD and Keith Sweat on the club closer “Come Home With Me.”


Hittman

Making your nationwide debut on a multi-platinum, certified classic probably gives you 99.9% of having a solid career as a rapper, but Aftermath newcomer Hittman proved that you can never count out any odds against you. Although he was overexposed on Dr. Dre’s 2001, (he appeared nine times, not including skits……NINE TIMES DAMMIT!!!) he proved his worth and talent throughout the album. Taking on a character that was half debonair assassin, half ghetto everyman, his witty, drunken flow packed with hiliarous content made him one of the brightest stars on the West Coast block party. But after all the chronic smoke cleared, Hittman faded in the atomosphere just as fast, since we’re closing in on nearly a decade since 2001‘s release, its probably a safe assumption to say that Hittman has killed his last track.

John Public

Copywrite

Regarded as one of the best punchline cats around, dude was all over the web at one point, in videos screaming, battling, always hype. Had some success with his debut (The High Exhaulted) in 2002 and with The Weathermen (The Conspiracy) in 2003. After breaking off with them and getting beat up (money owed or hip-hop beef, no one knows), he was apparently being courted by The Roc as recent as 2005. Mostly a bravado/battle cat, he could shine on an in-depth track once in awhile. In the last two years, he’s fallen off the radar.

That said, dear reader, who are some of yours? Feel free to add tracks & links so we can all hear from the greatest rapper nobody’s ever heard of.