Unsigned Hype: Ground Zero (Boston)

The Source, undoubtedly hip hop's finest magazine throughout the 1990s, had one of its premier columns in Unsigned Hype. The magazine accepted demo tapes from artists without a record deal, and would publish the best artist in their monthly issue. A lot of the artists featured in the column went on to sign deals with major labels and achieve varying levels of success. Others were not as fortunate, such as the very first group to appear in the column.

Ground Zero were the artists who were privileged enough to be featured in the very first Unsigned Hype column when it debuted in May 1990. The Boston trio consisted of The MKB, Double-A-Ron and DJ Force 5000, who claimed their "sole intent is to educate their peers to enjoy music" and "stop the recent influx of the weak into the rap world". Their music is described as being "on the funky, hardcore tip", and "there's potential for rap success" if the group were to be given "the right guidance".

However, it seems that the group were not given a chance to achieve their potential. I could not find out any information about the group whatsoever, and there are definitely no commercial releases either.

I did find a SoundClick page for member The MKB (MKBfirstunsigned), who has uploaded two instrumental tracks on his page. Interestingly, in his biography, he answers "not sure" to a question asking, "Would you sign a record contract with a major label?". It seems like the first Unsigned Hype subjects stayed merely unsigned without the hype.