Tunnel Rats is a
West Coast underground hip hop collective founded in 1993 in
Whittier, California. Named after the
tunnel rats in the
Vietnam war, the mixed-gender, multi-racial collective consists of some seventeen individual members and incorporates four affiliated groups,
LPG, Future Shock, Foundation, and
New Breed, which have recorded both within Tunnel Rats and independently. Several members also formed two additional side-projects, Footsoldiers and The Resistance, which recorded one album in 2006 and collaborated with
KRS-One. Pioneers in the
Christian hip hop genre, Tunnel Rats often met with resistance from church leaders who disliked the collective's aggressive style and felt that Tunnel Rats praised their rapping skills more than glorifying God. In the early 2000s, the
East Coast group
The Cross Movement likewise criticized Tunnel Rats, claiming it did not place enough emphasis on the Gospel. Due to a high number of
Mexicans in the collective, Tunnel Rats also encountered
racism when performing in the
South. Despite these hardships, Tunnel Rats managed to garner critical acclaim and majorly impacted the Christian hip hop movement. The collective has released four albums, plus numerous additional recordings from its affiliated groups and individual members. Though currently on hiatus, Tunnel Rats has not disbanded, according to a statement by member
Peace 586.