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Southern hip hop, also called Southern rap, is a genre of American hip hop that emerged from a late-1980s club-oriented vibe in southern U.S. cities, including New Orleans, Houston, Nashville, Atlanta, Memphis, Charlotte and Miami.^[1][2] The music was a reaction to the 1980s flow of hip hop culture from New York City and California, and can be considered a third major American hip hop genre, after East Coast hip hop and West Coast hip hop.^[3] Many early Southern rap artists released their music independently or on mixtapes after encountering difficulty securing record-label contracts in the 1990s.^[4] Atlanta, Georgia, is a prominent city in the region's hip hop scene.

History[link]

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, rap music was primarily dominated by artists from the East and West Coasts. Los Angeles and New York City were the two main regions where hip hop was receiving attention.^[5] In the 1980s, Southern cities began to catch on to the rap movement.^[6] The Geto Boys, a rap group from Houston, were the first rap artists from the South to gain major popularity. Southern rap's roots can be traced to the success of Geto Boys' Grip It! On That Other Level in 1989, the Rick Rubin produced The Geto Boys (album) in 1990, and We Can't Be Stopped in 1991.^[7] After the Geto Boys rose to stardom, Houston became the center for Southern hip hop. Miami also played a major role in the rise of Southern Hip-hop during this time frame with successful acts like 2Live Crew, Uncle Luke, and other artists who relied heavily on the Miami Bass sound. In the late 1980s, other rising rap groups such as UGK from Port Arthur, Texas, and 8 Ball & MJG from Memphis, Tennessee, moved to Houston to further their musical careers.

By the 1990s, Atlanta had become a controlling city in the Southern hip hop movement. Groups like OutKast and Goodie Mob played a huge part in helping the South become a center for hip hop music.^[8] OutKast's Big Boi and Andre 3000 became the first southerners to record album sales like the powerhouse rappers on the East and West coasts. The most successful Southern labels came out of New Orleans during the mid-to-late 90's. The city had rooted its particular style in its very own Bounce music. This style was first introduced by way of the "Triggerman" song by New York rap group Showboyz in the late 1980s. Cash Money Records, No Limit Records, the now defunct Big Boy records revolutionized financial structures for successful Southern rap labels. Their artists went on to sell millions of albums and have gained much respect in the hip-hop community. By the early 2000s, artists from all over the South had begun to emerge. Artists like T.I., Lil Flip, Ludacris, Nappy Roots, Trick Daddy, Trina, and Trae all made their mainstream debuts during this time frame. In 2004, OutKast won six Grammies for their album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, including Best Album.^[9] Big Boi, Andre 3000 and many other Atlanta rappers played an enormous part in bringing Southern hip hop to the popularity level it has reached today.^[10][11] In 2005, the Houston rap scene got wide audience, and many Houston rappers started to get nation-wide and world-wide audience such as Paul Wall, Mike Jones, Chamillionaire, UGK, Pimp C, Bun B, Lil' Flip, and Slim Thug. During this time, Baton Rouge made its mainstream entrance through rappers of Trill Entertainment, a label started by Pimp C. The most prominent artists from this label are Webbie, Lil Boosie, Foxx, and Mouse on the Track.

Recent hip-hop has seen a rise in interest for: J. Cole, Big K.R.I.T., Curren$y, Yelawolf, B.o.B, 2 Chainz, BlackMask and Gucci Mane.

Atlanta[link]

In 2009, the New York Times called Atlanta "hip-hop's center of gravity",^[12] and the city is home to many famous hip-hop, R&B and neo soul^[13] musicians. Local multi-platinum artists include OutKast, Ludacris, Usher, Ciara, B.o.B (rapper in songs Airplanes and Nothin' on You), Young Jeezy and T.I. Others include:

In the 1980s and early 1990s Atlanta's hip hop scene was characterized by a local variant of Miami's electro-driven bass music, with stars like Kilo Ali, MC Shy-D, Raheem the Dream and DJ Smurf (later Mr. Collipark).^[12] MC Shy-D is credited with bringing authentic Bronx-style hip-hop to Atlanta (and Miami), such as 1988's Shake it^[14] produced by DJ Toomp; Jones was signed to controversial southern rap label Luke Records, run by Luther Campbell aka "Uncle Luke". Arrested Development won the Grammy in 1992 with Tennessee, while Mr. Wendal & People Everyday and Kris Kross won with their hit song Jump.

By the mid-1990s, the rise of OutKast, Goodie Mob and the production collective Organized Noize, let to the development of the Dirty South style of hip-hop and of Atlanta gaining a reputation for "soul-minded hip-hop eccentrics", contrasting with other regional styles.^[12]

From the late 1990s to early 2000s, producer Lil Jon was a driving force behind the party-oriented style known as crunk. Record Producers L.A. Reid and Babyface founded LaFace Records in Atlanta in the late-1980s; the label eventually became the home to multi-platinum selling artists such as Toni Braxton, TLC, Ciara. It is also the home of So So Def Records, a label founded by Jermaine Dupri in the mid-1990s, that signed acts such as Da Brat, Jagged Edge, Xscape and Dem Franchise Boyz. The success of LaFace and SoSo Def led to Atlanta as an established scene for record labels such as LaFace parent company Arista Records to set up satellite offices.

In 2009 the New York Times noted that after 2000, Atlanta moved "from the margins to becoming hip-hop's center of gravity, part of a larger shift in hip-hop innovation to the South." Producer Drumma Boy called Atlanta "the melting pot of the South". Producer Fatboi called the Roland TR-808 ("808") synthesizer "central" to Atlanta music's versatility, used for snap, crunk, trap, and pop rap styles.^[12] The same article named Drumma Boy, Fatboi, Shawty Redd and Zaytoven the four "hottest producers driving the city".^[12]

Crunk[link]

The term crunk is used as a blanket term to denote any style of southern hip hop,^[15] but it is mainly used to denote a musical style that originated in Memphis, Tennessee, in the mid-to-late 1990s. It was popularised by Atlanta rapper Lil' Jon,^[16] and gained mainstream popularity in the period 2003–04.^[17] A typical crunk track uses a drum machine rhythm, heavy bassline, and shouting vocals, often in call and response manner.^[17]

Notable musicians[link]

Southern rappers generally originate from Atlanta metropolitan area, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Houston, Dallas, Memphis, Charlotte, Tampa, Nashville, and Miami.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Film New Flavors: The Emergence of Southern Hip Hop (2008)
• News about Southern hip hop artists
• Local Houston Rappers and Hip Hop Artists
• Matt Miller, "Dirty Decade: Rap Music and the U.S. South, 1997-2007", Southern Spaces, 10 June 2008. http://southernspaces.org/2008/dirty-decade-rap-music-and-us-south-1997-2007