Southern Hip Hop - History

History

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the American hip hop music market was primarily dominated by artists from the east seaboard and the west coast. Los Angeles, California and New York City were the two main cities where hip hop was receiving widespread attention. In the 1980s, cities throughout the Southern United States began to catch on to the hip hop music movement. The Geto Boys, a hip hop group from Houston, were among the first hip hop artists from the Southern United States to gain widespread popularity. Southern hip hop'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 in 1990, and We Can't Be Stopped in 1991. 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 2 Live Crew 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, Georgia had become a controlling city in southern hip hop music. Hip hop groups such as OutKast and Goodie Mob played a huge part in helping the South become a center for hip hop music. 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. 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. 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.

Unlike hip hop in other regions of the United States, numerous Southern rap artists did not come from larger cities. Notable examples include Field Mob, natives of Albany, Georgia, Bubba Sparxxx, from LaGrange, Georgia, and Nappy Roots, from Bowling Green, Kentucky.

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