Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music. In fact, while maintaining the use of the same musical and expressive techniques, it is characterized by socially engaged content, rejection of all stereotypes of traditional hip hop, distance from major record labels, and consequent artistic influences.

The music of such a culture stands out mainly because the artists are usually not produced by major record labels, often for their music characterized by continuous experimentation and lyrical content. Many underground artists have successfully used hip hop to convey content of social justice, global and political change, and collective consciousness.

The beats of alternative hip hop are often characterized by fusions of loops sampled from just about every genre of music, and mainly reggae, jazz, funk, rock, and soul, which is why they are not considered true rappers by their peers.