Icelandic Hip Hop

The first major hip hop crew from Iceland was Quarashi, who were inspired by the rock hybrid music of Beastie Boys and Rage Against the Machine. Around the same time Quarashi released their first album, several rap groups were formed such as Subterranean which are considered to have released one of Icelandic hiphop's biggest classics, Central Magnetizm. Other groups included Team 13 (which later became Twisted Minds), Multifunctionals, Bounce Brothers and Hip Hop Elements (later named Kritikal Mazz). They all rapped in English except for one song from Multifunctionals called "Númer 1." During that time the first crew rapping entirely in Icelandic came forward with aggressive radio singles: that band was Sækópah and consisted of the rappers BlazRoca and Sesar A. Shortly thereafter, they formed SupahSyndikal along with members of Subterranean and Tríó Óla Skans. BlazRoca and Sesar A were vital to the second generation of artists that defined itself by rapping in Icelandic. XXX Rottweiler (formerly known as 110 Rottweilerhundar), along with Sesar A, published the first all Icelandic hip hop albums in Iceland in 2001. In 2002 a new wave of rappers had followed their lead by rapping exclusively in Icelandic: Bæjarins bestu, the freestyle battle champs of Iceland in one unit, Móri, a gangsta rapper who uses Icelandic, Afkvæmi Guðanna (The Offspring of the Gods), Bent og 7Berg (Bent and 7Berg), Skytturnar (The Marksmen), Hæsta Hendin (The Highest Hand) and Forgotten Lores. Icelandic lyrics are usually very direct and aggressive, with battle raps forming a sizable portion of Icelandic hip hop.

Forgotten Lores released their debut album "Týndi Hlekkurinn" in 2003 and their second album "Frá Heimsenda" in 2006. The albums are two of the most critically acclaimed Icelandic rap albums and "Frá Heimsenda" received a 5 star rating in the national newspaper Morgunblaðið.

One of the largest hip hop events is Rímnaflæði in Miðberg, a freestyle competition where young MCs and rap bands (usually ages sixteen and younger) compete by rapping a single song on stage. The first jury was made up of Sesar A, BlazRoca (XXX Rottweiler hundar) and Omar Swarez (Quarashi).