IndyGround puts Columbia's hip-hop artists on the map

COLUMBIA — The heads in the crowd bopped on beat to the fresh sounds of an underground league of hip-hop gentlemen making their way above ground. This was music they could vibe to.

At the The Fieldhouse, the crowd watched IndyGround hip-hop artists master a stage in the back, flanked by two men drawing and painting on canvases.

"Hip-hop is alive and well in Columbia!" exclaimed emcee Omar Kadir from the center of the stage.

IndyGround Entertainment, a record label that brings together many Columbia hip-hop performers, had officially arrived at the Bluebird Music and Arts Festival in mid-November.

It took four years, but the IndyGround label has given legitimacy to Columbia's hip-hop scene. Ray Pierce, who goes by Steddy P., created the label and has helped bring together a diverse set of artists, recorded albums and put on shows across the Midwest. It has become something of a success on Ninth Street and around Columbia. To the outside world, IndyGround is putting Columbia on the map.