TUBMAN UNDERGROUND INTERVIEW

A DM interview with w/ the Underground Rap Instagram page Tubman Underground 

Written by: Amari Newman

6/17/2024

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Like Artificial Intelligence, internet rap seems to double in size and impact every year post-COVID. You probably know an aspiring rapper, producer, manager, etc...There's a variety of reasons for this uptick: software that simplified music-making to a level never seen before, or investment into the genre from multinational corporations (Conde Nast, LVMH, Viacom). Whatever the reason, the amount of rappers in the world seem to exponentially multiply every day. 

In the midst of this, a social media phenomenon developed known as the Underground Rap Promo Page. These accounts are normally on Instagram, and post religiously about artists they deem as "next up." Although it's capable of introducing artists to new fanbases and vice versa, the IG promo page movement has grown into a shameless mob of 

(AI-powered?) pages that churn out repetitive clickbait about rap stars, or anyone willing to pay their promo fee. I personally try to steer clear from these pages. 

Until I came across Tubman Underground. The name is kinda crazy, but Tubman runs a page worth following. He primarily posts the core artists pushing the Dark Plugg sound to its absolute brink and beyond (Perc40, tdf, Boolymon, wildkarduno, Lazer Dim 700, lildre556, Osamason, Mel V Chapo, etc...) This is one of my favorite pockets in the underground, and arguably the most influential right now.

The Tubman Underground page is a good balance of drop updates, beefs/gossip, memes, and actual music. Most of the content is screenshots of dms and social media posts, or screen recordings of IG lives, concerts, and snippets. The casual rap fan who scrolls through the page will gain a solid understanding of the distinct segment of the underground he's covering. Another thing that sets Tubman apart is his actual involvement in the scene. He’s thrown shows and hosted mixtapes with the artists he’s posting about.

I reached out to Tubman Underground a couple weeks ago and we did a Q and A via Instagram DMs

Read our conversation below

Amari: So where are you from originally? And what was it like growing up there?

Tubman: Not originally from here, but I mostly grew up all around the usa 🇺🇸 , pretty chillax vibes🛁😎

Gotchu, were you always into underground rap growing up? Who was the first artist you got into that wasn’t on the radio / you had to go on the internet to find?

Honestly I wasn’t into “underground rap” at all before, if you’re not including the whole 2016-17 SoundCloud wave. I think the first underground artist I actually took time to listen to first was SlimeSito probably. I’m not sure🛁

SlimeSito is a great introduction to the game, he was locked in with a lot of key people in the underground. So when did you start Tubman? I know this isn’t the first “Tubman” account u made so what inspired you to start it?

Like late 2022, this was originally a backup account. The original got banned by online people I had “beef” with then, but both were made about the same time🛁

And for the second question, it’s basically to contribute to culture I feel like there’s been a good impact🛁 

Your page shines a light on a section of rap that’s very influential to the youngins and scene in general, but hasn't been fully embraced by blogs or publications.

That goes into my next question, how do you view the Tubman page right now? Is it a news page, promo page, meme page, etc..  How are you approaching it?

I couldn’t even put it into a category. I feel like that’s subconsciously limiting, and I feel like everyone got their own way to describe it🛁

However you view it is cool 🛁😎🔥.

You post basically everyday. Do you have people that send you relevant content? Or are you just grinding through IG stories and twitter to find new updates and snippets?

Nah. I really just scroll and whatnot throughout the day, and pick stuff to post that day. Usually, whenever someone sends me stuff, it’s to expose something or someone, but apart from that nah🛁  

So how many hours a day do you think you dedicate to the page on average?

I don’t even know honestly 🛁

Facts. Do you communicate with other underground rap pages? Was curious if y’all share info with each other and collaborate? Or is it an everyone for themselves type of vibe?

I’m cool with most of them lowkey🛁

I personally don’t collaborate on stuff that much, but they all chill for the most part🛁

How do you feel about promo? Do people hit you up for promo often? And are you open to doing it?

Paid promo is a way for someone to get themselves out there🛁

And people hit me for promo daily. I’m open to it, even though some might not agree with my prices🛁

Have any labels reached out to you for A&R work / promo? If so, how was that experience? 

Yeah labels have reached out for promo. As for A&R work, I’m not even interested in doing that for a label 🛁😭 

My experience with them has been iffy. They usually move entitled in a way🛁

That makes sense lol. Who are your top 5 rappers and producers right now?

I don’t got really top 5 of either bro, but I’ll just name some prods 🛁

Boolymon, Thrty, OK, Perc40, Tdf, Whyceg 🛁

Ard thanks for talking with me bro. What should the people expect from you in the future? Another Tubman show? Or Tubman mixtape soon?

Yeah doing another show soon, and a lot of other stuff in the works 🛁😎Ⓜ️

Check out Tubman Underground's: Instagram, Twitter, SoundCloud, and YouTube