In 2017, Southern Hip-Hop is the most prominent sounding hip-hop within the genre. Many of the biggest artist in Hip-Hop are either from the south or have strong southern influences within their music. From Future to Kendrick Lamar to even Cardi B, the southern hip-hop influence is undeniable. There wasn’t always this much love for southern rappers in hip-hop.
From the rise of hip-hop in the mid to late-80s until the early 2000s, Southern Hip-Hop was considered everything but “real hip-hop”. With the rise of southern hip-hop pioneers such as Outkast, Three 6 Mafia, & UGK in the 90s and Young Jeezy in the early to mid-2000s, southern hip-hop became a mainstream staple within pop culture. In this essay, I will be talking about the artists that I just mentioned and what current day artists have taken their influence and turned it into their own style.
Outkast is one of the highest selling hip-hop acts of all-time and is one of the true pioneers of hip-hop in Atlanta, Georgia. Outkast has released 6 albums, all of which have received critical acclaim. In 2003, their double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, would top the music charts and become one of two hip-hop albums to win a Grammy for “Album of the Year.” Andre 3000 and Big Boi are famous for putting the south on the map with their soulful and funky beat selection to go along with their individual styles of rapping made up a rap infusion that showed great versatility. With Big Boi’s soulful and laid back flow and Andre 3000’s melodic harmonies and ability to switch flows at the drop of a hat, their lyrics added to an already diverse rap palette. Along with their music, Outkast is also famous for their 1995 Source Awards (which is considered one of the most iconic hip-hop events to have ever taken place) appearance. Outkast would be awarded the “New Artist of the Year” award. After receiving boo’s while accepting the award, Andre 3000 went on stage and said; “It’s like this though, I’m tired of them Closed Minded folks, It’s like we gotta Demo tape but don’t nobody want to hear it but it’s like this: The South got something to say! That’s all I got to say. (ATL/Youtube)” That night and that quote would signify the beginning of southern hip-hop being a part of mainstream hip-hop. Along with their Atlanta influence, it is evidence that they have influenced hip-hop artist from all around the country. Kendrick Lamar is a great example of an artist whose music has the same feel as Outkast although he is not from the south. Kendrick Lamar also uses soulful and funky beats to go along with a flow eerily similar to Andre 3000’s. Kendrick has done a great job of taking the Outkast style and putting a west coast spin on it.
Three 6 Mafia used their unique sound and hard and gritty lyrics to help lay a foundation for Memphis hip-hop along with horrorcore and crunk hip-hop. DJ Paul, Lord Infamous, & Juicy J formed Three 6 Mafia in 1991 when they started making mixtapes that were passed around Memphis. By 1995, the group added members Gangsta Boo, Koopsta Knicca, and Crunchy Black and that year they would release their debut album Mystic Stylez. Three 6 Mafia has released over 20 different projects since 1995 under many different aliases. They would become the first hip-hop group to win an Academy Award for best original song for their song “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp.” In the beginning, Three 6 Mafia used extremely dark and gravelly beats to go along with their grim and graphic lyrics to go with their bouncy flow. Examples of this can be heard on songs such as Tear Da Club Up 97 and Tongue Ring. This style of music would be deemed as horrorcore hip-hop. In the 2000s, Three 6 Mafia would transition into crunk music with their hits Stay Fly and Poppin My Collar. Three 6 Mafia is also known for using their own in-house production to create their music. 21 Savage & Metro Boomin are great examples of artists whose music compares very well to Three 6 Mafia’s. 21 Savage lyrically is very gritty and at times can be grimy with the things that he says. While Metro Boomin is famous for making dark, menacing beats that hit hard but at the same time be a party track. These are two examples but there are much more who have flows that pattern some flows used by Three 6 Mafia in their music.
Underground Kingz (UGK for short) was a one of a kind group who showed that they were too “Trill” to not live on forever. UGK was another group who showed great versatility throughout their career together. Bun B was the savvy conscious but street smart rapper who had a way of going between flows. Pimp C was also a savvy street smart rapper who used his whit to create vivid stories of life in Houston. UGK was able to use that lyrical expertise to go along with their ear for bass heavy smooth flowing beats that exemplified the sound of Houston hip-hop for years to come. In 1992, UGK was signed by Jive Records and shortly after they released their debut album Too Hard to Swallow. They would stick to their name and remain an underground staple of hip-hop throughout the 90s. Their debut to the mainstream hip-hop audience came with their appearance on the 1999 Jay-Z record Big Pimpin which is widely regarded as one of Jay’s best songs. Pimp C had the breakout verse of the song that took UGK from “Underground Kingz” to rap legends. UGK would follow up Big Pimpin with another mainstream hit with Sippin on Some Syrup with Three 6 Mafia. Sadly though shortly after, Pimp C’s prison sentence would stop the momentum that UGK gained after their two chart-topping hits. After Pimp C was released from prison in 2005, he and Bun B both began to work on solo projects. In 2007 they would release ‘International Players Anthem (I Choose You)” featuring Outkast which is their biggest and final single. Sadly on December 4th, 2007, Pimp C was found dead from a drug overdose in a hotel in West Hollywood hotel room. A$AP Rocky and the A$AP Mob have incorporated many of UGK’s sounds and signature slang. A$AP Rocky used the slowed down beats that UGK turned into a staple of Houston hip-hop. This caught many fans by surprise as the members of the A$AP Mob along with A$AP Rocky are from New York whose hip-hop traditionally sounds a lot different than the Houston sound.
Young Jeezy is one of the true pioneers of trap music. With his honesty and realness, Jeezy was able to gain a cult-like following over the years. Jeezy started his music career under the name “Lil J” in 2001 when he released his first album “Thuggin’ Under the Influence”. After his name change first, he would then go on a run of legendary mixtapes which started with “Tha Streets Iz Watching” and then “Trap or Die: Gangsta Grillz in 2005. After signing with Def Jam, Jeezy would release his mainstream debut album, “Thug Motivation 101 (TM101)” which is now considered a classic by most hip-hop aficionados. Jeezy would release much more projects after he would drop TM101, Jeezy even dropped an album as recent as October 2016. Many people identify with Jeezy’s rawness and realness within his music. Jeezy would tell his stories in his music in such a way that people were able to gain an emotional attachment to every word. A big part of that was because of his relatability due to his authenticity. Jeezy also had the ability to minimize levels of consciousness so that anyone could understand what he was talking about. An example of this being used is on his 2008 album “The Rescission” where he was able to speak on to what was going on in the country during that time and relate it to his audience. Jeezy also is known for his frequent use of ad-libs and witty lyrics. A rapper that uses similar methods within his music is Y.G. Although Y.G. is from California, he has the ability to minimize his words and create a realism and relatability in his music. Y.G. also shows a level of consciousness as to what is going on in the world and expresses that in his music in a way that stays true to what he represents as well as what his audience represents. An example of that would be his very controversial song “Fuck Donald Trump.”
It’s safe to say that southern hip-hop has left a stamp in the music world forever. From every gritty lyric right down to the beat of the song, the south has a part of it all. These artists have made a way for new and up and coming artist to invent a music flow that will grab anyone’s attention. The spotlight wasn’t always on the south, however, now you will not hear a song without noticing the southern sound.
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