Cincinnati Hip Hop | Rawkus Records, the Legacy of Mood and New Music from Main Flow

The 1996 launch of Rawkus Records was more than just the start of a new label, it was the initiation of a new conscious and creative turn in hip hop music. Acting as a counterbalance to the culture industry's commodification of hip hop culture, Rawkus opened an avenue for artists such as Punchline, Wordsworth, Bahamadia, Kanye West, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Hi Tek, Eminem, Last Emporer, Big L, El-P, and Pharoahe Monch. 

However, the history of the Rawkus era is incomplete without including the foundation laying album from the Cincinnati hip hop group Mood - Doom.

New track from a Mood alumnus Main Flow. Be on the look out for the release of his new album Cincinnati Kid, due to be released June 24, 2014. Available now via Itunes or Amazon.

Main Flow came up in Cincinnati with the hip hop group Mood (Main Flow, Donte, and Jahson). Mood's 1997 debut album, Doom, is considered an underground classic - introducing the world to Hi-Tek and Talib Kweli and launching the career of hip hop super producer J. Rawls.

Three years later, Kweli and Hi-Tek would go on to release one of the definitive albums of the Rawkus era: Reflection Eternal - Train of Thought.

Also in 2000, Mood was featured on the classic compilation: 
Mission Control Presents: Prehistoric Sounds Featuring Mood. 

Main Flow, Donte, and Jahson have continued to drop solo and collaborative material. In 2011 they dropped Live again and rumors of Doom 2, to be produced by Hi-Tek, continue to circulate throughout hip hop circles.



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Bonus Spotify Playlist: The Rawkus Records Legacy