Rap's Next Revolution.

New artists mix up a real alternative to the Bentleys and babes of today's hip-hop

Two styles of music dominated the pop charts last year: preening teeny-bopper pop and street-themed rap. Waiting on the sidelines, however, are the flip sides to these two genres. New metal bands like Slipknot and Papa Roach have been picking up steam for some time, providing an antidote for teens whose sense of rebellion is not quite satisfied by 'N Sync.

In rap, the antidote to the violence, misogyny, and materialism of top sellers like Jay-Z's thug-life "Big Pimpin'" seems further away from mainstream success, but it's out there. Just listen to Jurassic 5 on their Quality Control CD: "Don't judge us by bank accounts and big cars. No matter how bright we shine, we're far from being stars."

The mixed-bag genre known as alternative rap has been marshaling its forces recently, presenting tours like Word of Mouth (with Jurassic 5, Dilated Peoples, and the Beat Junkies) and Okayplayer (including the Roots, Tabib Kweli, and Dead Prez, called hip-hop's most political group).

In many ways, alternative rap, with messages closer to typical life and sounds that are both old-school and experimental, is following the path of alternative rock's rise in the late '80s. It's a large network of local scenes brimming with talented bands getting on playlists at college radio stations. Fans hope that one of these bands will break into the mainstream and drag the whole movement with it, leading to a new direction in rap and, possibly, a lot of soul-searching.

WAITING FOR AN ANTIHERO

One producer in the movement is Dan Nakamura, aka Dan the Automator. He's responsible for some of the best recent alternative-rap albums, including Deltron 3030 with Del tha Funkee Homosapien.

The Automator compares rap today to the '80s explosion of glam metal, with everyone "so caught up in the makeup and girls that some antihero needs to come along.

"I'm not driving around in a Bentley," he continues, "and most people I know who listen to rap aren't, so a moment is going to come along when people get tired of it."

He wants to get rap out of its rut. "Hip-hop hasn't done anything as cool as Portishead or Bjork or Radiohead in 10 years," he says.

But some rap artists don't want a revolution. Even Del tha Funkee Homosapien says, "I like Deltron, because I needed to get this stuff off my chest, but it's not what I listen to."

Alternative rap may not be for everyone, but that's the point. As Dilated Peoples rap on their CD The Platform, "Make that dough for too many is the main concern/I say make the right music then your money's earned."