The Paper Chase. They're one of my favorite bands of all time but no one's seemed to heard of them. Probably doesn't help that they're disbanded "at the moment". The front man and vocalist has since moved on to another band, The Nighty Night, who for all intents and purposes is the Paper Chase 2.0 since his voice pretty much made the band in the first place. Their music definitely isn't for everyone as it's pretty grim and bleak. They're very much 'nightmare fuel' music, but without being overly 2spooky. I hesitate to call it Lynchian, but that's probably the best descriptor I have.
Their two best albums are
You are Now One of Us,
God Bless Your Black Heart and
Someday This Can All Be Yours pt. 1. The first carries the theme of fear as means of controlling people, and the latter is a concept album of sorts about the human condition and how insignificant we are in the grand scheme of the universe (or destruction/natural disasters if you take it at face value) Oh, and don't hold your breath about any other parts to STCABY. I think that's it.
The two albums before God Bless Your Black Heart were before the band really came into their signature sound so they're not really ...good. Personally, some of the tracks are so unpolished and poorly produced to the point of being unlistenable. But maybe that was the point, especially given how disjointed and cacophonous the stuff gets later on. There are gems hidden on the EPs however.
Anyway, here's one of my favorite songs for you guys to sample.
My second recommendation is one of my favorite rappers of all time! Brotha Lynch Hung.
Once again, this isn't for everybody. You can't deny that he's a skilled rap vet that could easily spit circles around most folks in the mainstream nowadays. He's signed with Strange Music so if you're into Tech N9ne or Hopsin you would definitely like him.
Keeping it 100, Lynch is nowhere near a conscious rapper. If you head into his music expecting hard-hitting topics and lyrics that make you think you will be sorely disappointed. His entire image is horror-inspired, campy and ridiculous. It's basically the rap equivalent to a splatterpunk movie, and I love every minute of it. Cannibalism, murder and torture are staple themes, so if you're sensitive to that kinda thing you might wanna move along.
And Caro Emerald. I'm so shocked not many have heard of her. Her voice is absolutely divine and her songs are so charming and jazzy.