Hip-hop's southern turn may, perhaps, have been partly a marketing ploy, but there's no denying the arrival of a number of talented new artists from this region. After all, why should a form of music originated by African Americans not discover it roots -- and its stems and branches -- in the region of the country where African American culture originated?
Some would see Arrested Development as the first Hip-hop crew from the south to break out, and certainly their debut album 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of... made quite a splash in 1992, but others point out that the AD style was more alterno-rap than southern, and that vocalist Dionne Farris was actually from New Jersey. For me, the real breakthrough came two years later with OutKast's Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, especially the track "Crumblin' Erb." Those lazy loping beats, the slight singing quality of the rap vocal, and bell-like synth tones, and sung chorus had me right from the beginning, and though I couldn't put my finger on it on a map, East Point immediately became an important place in my Hip-hop geography.
The other ingredients, though -- the ones that people probably have in mind when they use the phrase "dirty south" -- are a lot rawer and rougher than that polished debut. There's gangsta attitude, heavy heavy bass, the slowed-down crawl of "crunk," and a whole new cast of characters from the Geto Boys to Trick Daddy, the Three 6 Mafia, and of course Ludacris.
I have to confess that none of these later artists has been on heavy rotation in my house, though I followed OutKast for some years, and have all their albums. But maybe I'm missing something -- in fact, I'm sure I am. So post suggestions here, or bring a few links to class to share -- let's see if we can't dig a little deeper into Hip-hop's southern turn.
Outkast, I agree, would be the real jump-off for Southern hip hop. Although there are some very poetic rappers form the dirty Souf it seems to me that they have a strangle hold on what I call anthem rap. The song that comes on in the club, school dance, or any other social event and everyone just starts wild in' out. Some of the rappers I associate with the south that aren't here are Goodie Mob, Nelly, UGK, Birdman, Master P, Jermaine Dupri, Cash Money Millionaires, Juvenile, Trick Daddy and others. Most seem to be the music I had listened to in high school. I find it funny I've been a fan of UGK(Texas based). Honestly I can't tell you the name of any UGK songs but every time I ask, "who is this?" someone seems to say UGK. So apparently I'm a fan.
ReplyDeleteI always think of Nelly and the St. Lunatics in the southern rap category, with songs like Country grammar.
ReplyDeleteWhen someone mentions the "dirty south" the first rapper that comes to mind is definately Ludacris. One song that he did was called "Down in the Dirty" which talked about how much money they rake in etc. I do agree that the whole dirty south thing was meant for advertisment and it definately worked because more upcoming rappers represent it and make it well known to the public.
ReplyDeleteEarly southern rap seemed to owe more to the west coast than the east. Even after it developed into its own sub genre it seemed to keep an affinity for synths and bass heavy tracks, which I would say is one of its more noticeable links to the west coast. Also in common with the west coast is the car oriented culture that informs a lot of the tracks. Both the southern rapers and the west coast rappers shared familiar geographic landscapes (spread out, non metropolitan ghettos) which also finds its way into the genre's narratives.
ReplyDeleteThe southern rap of the past decade has since embellished a heavy southern vernacular and delivery, introduced the "chopped and screwed" trend, and become associated with the use of off the rack intoxicants like cough syrup (Three 6 Mafia "Sippin on Some Syrup" ) to mention a few relatively recent developments.
Scarface "Mind Playin Tricks on Me 94"
Outkast "Mainstream"
T.I. "Top Back"
Clipse "Mr. Me Too" (an underrated album Clipse "Trill")
Trae Tha Truth Feat. Rick Ross and Lil Wayne "Inkredible"
Great comment, good track selection -- I'd forgotten to mention "chopped and screwed"!
DeleteSouthern Hip-Hop has several hubs in my opinion, Atlanta, Houston and Miami being the three that I would break down. In Atlanta you have the influence of Outkast, Goodie Mob and even Cee-Lo. Houston has UGK, Chopped and Screwed music by DJ Screw and his influence is definitely felt even in New york hip-hop in the modern era. Miami I would say Uncle Luke and others are often uncredited for being influential, New Orleans rappers are also often overlooked when it comes to southern MC's. The Geto boys are definitely one of my favorite groups from the south. Bun B from UGK, has constantly put out quality music while representing the south and has with alot of NY rappers and west coast rappers, the influence of southern rap is still collbareted l very alive today. An honorable mention would be a new up and coming artist named Big K.R.I.T. who is making alot of waves in the underground. He is from Mississippi and is rejuvenating to hear.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Vanessa. While Nelly didn’t rise as an artist until after Ludacris and the other well-known artists of the south he defiantly brought his dirty south slang into style using words like, hur,and thur. His unique sense of language and style brought a more southern flow to the dirty south music. His hit album country grammar has a song featuring the St. Lunatics called “Batter Up” really brings you to the deep and dirty south with its chorus being:
ReplyDelete“I say the fish don't fry in the kitchen
Beans don't burn on the grill (that's right)
It took a whole lot of tah-ryin
Just to get up that hill
I said but now we're up in the BIG LEAGUES
My dirty it's our turn at bat
And just as long as we livin, it's Lunatics playa
It ain't nuttin wrong with that, huh - batter up”
What I wonder is what gave these rapper's the idea that the south was even "dirty"? Exploring this thought, I found that the southern states have been called "dirty" simply for lack of a better word. The states were and very much are dirty. For example, Louisiana, Tennesse and Mississuppi have been known for unsanitary homeless shelters, filthy streets and where drugs, sex and crime have all been exposed first to today's rappers. In fact, such general topics are pinpointed in today's drug market sales- with teen's addiction becoming an epidemenic... and TV Sale's ratings jump? Now each rapper, as much respected by me, seems to have a hit rating because they rap of their native hometowns and lifestyle. Or perhaps they were paid to expose such truths about the south. So maybe the concept of the "dirty south" is not so "ludacris"...after all.
ReplyDelete