South vs. North: Why Is Southern Hip-Hop On Top?
I had a conversation with a group of young hip-hoppers recently. The subject was why does it seem like the south is dominating mainstream hip-hop? From radio airplay, album sales to simply the trends: the grills, the dances, the oversized tees, can we truly pinpoint what it is that is keeping the dirty south on top?
Based on the stats from Billboard.com, only one northern artist is on the list with a hot single or album at the moment: Mims. But the south currently has several southern artists who are holding their region down that includes Unk, Rich Boy, T.I., Young Buck, and Young Jeezy to name a few. Again I ask; why there aren’t more artists from the north listed?
The first names that come to mind when I think of mainstream cats from the north are Jay Z, Nas, 50 Cent, and Eminem; but in comparison to the south, you hear and see more of southern artists than that of their northern counterparts.
As a Maryland resident, technically I am from the south, just not the deep south. Any state below the Mason-Dixon is a southern state legally. So for some of us here, it is easy to attach ourselves to northern hip-hop, others favor dirty south hip-hop and for people like me, we create and love a variety of it all. (I guess because Maryland is in the middle). So, I pretty much gravitate to what I think is real and what I think is hot. Despite my personal views on what I believe real hip-hop is, I still listen and analyze all of it.
So on any given day I may be rotating something from the south in my MP3 player or from the north; but as I reflect on 2007 in comparison to 1997, the big difference is evident; northern hip-hop is not as prevalent. Is it the lack of northern dance songs, the lack of northern trends? Or is simply that mainstream radio is not spinning northern artists like the southern? Could it simply mean that hip-hop is changing? Well, change is evident, but will this change kill or revive mainstream hip-hop, hip-hop in general? Or could it be like my boy says, “…it’s simply the south’s time to shine.”
Whatever the case, what I find common about almost every southern hip-hop song is the rhythm, style of drum and message. Almost everyone one of the songs rotated has a similar sound and beat; that trademark southern flavor. Beats that push you to participate in the various dances the south has coined; getting “crunk” in the club. The north has a unique sound as well; but there haven’t been many songs in the past few years that get the people “amped” up like those from the south. There really hasn’t been many that even make me say “oh sh*t!” when I hear them on the radio.
Could it just be me? Could it be that there are plenty of hot northern tracks on the radio and I am just not feeling them personally, possibly? Or could this pattern I speak of be the truth and agreed upon by the masses? Whether some agree or not, there is a southern dominance present, causing an imbalance in the music we hear. I personal feel there is a lack of creativity and soulfulness in both regions but the beat and rhythm is what is keeping many afloat. I believe the south has become more appealing to our youth, the main reason why they have been consistently at the top of the charts. What I have come to realize is young people buy CD’s and MP3 downloads more than those of my age range, so if you can appeal to the young audience, you will do well.
by Guest Author: ScholarMan
Copyright © 2007. C. Schmidt. All Rights Reserved.
NeoRealist wrote:
Yea I just posted a 50 interview where I asked him about that..he blames the South for rap’s lack of complexity…hmmm
Posted on 19-Jun-07 at 3:26 pm | Permalink
Heda wrote:
Check this MIMS interview its kinda bout that
http://www.mimsmusic.net/0D6FCFFFF00001DD900060000CEEF/Content/ContentDetail.aspx
Posted on 19-Jun-07 at 5:41 pm | Permalink
ScholarMan wrote:
LOL @ 50 Cent for “lack of complexity.” His name alone shows how complex he really is.
I tried to check out that Mims link but it didnt work.
Posted on 20-Jun-07 at 5:50 am | Permalink
Heda wrote:
MIMS link works for me but you can just go to the official site and click on Videos and you will see it
www.mimsmusic.net
Posted on 20-Jun-07 at 12:46 pm | Permalink
Pete Tan wrote:
Great article! It’s funny, the other day someone referred to today’s pop rap as “ringtone music.” People really don’t even wanna hear the words anymore.
These days, people don’t want to think about music, or any art, really. Whatever can stimulate you for a few moments to escape reality. Consumerism is the latest drug. “Hottest thing since crack in ‘85!”
Posted on 20-Jun-07 at 12:55 pm | Permalink
WildBunch wrote:
There is no doubt the south is doing it big.That being said ,i must also add that Hip Hop is the foundation.It is our voice of the streets and shouldn’t be limited to any area or group of people or any form of itself like Crunk or rap or whatever one would call their own version of it.I’m from New York but salute all my people making music and money whether its the derty south ,westcoast ,or midwest.We need to remember where it all started ,show some loyalty and stop letting these major labels and the media dictate this thing of ours .New York or northern Hip Hop will always be a driving force in Hip Hop and hip hop will never die but we need to tighten up our think and our grip on this thing. Its ours and we need to protect it. Its our responsibility.Support the independant dj’s and artists too.salute to all my brothers and sister hip hop heads on the grind..Its forever Hip Hop.
Posted on 29-Jun-07 at 6:36 am | Permalink
StuckintheA wrote:
I’m from New York and I live in Atlanta, GA. I really have no respect for Southern artist, except for Outkast and T.I. in some respects. I feel like southern hip hop all sounds the same. Most listeners from the north like lyrical complexity with a tight beat. So we bump Talib Kweli, Lupe Fiasco, Jay Z. Only reason southern music plays on the radio is because you can dance to it. People buy it cause they can dance to it. It’s not “listening music” you can just move to it.
Southern rap as a whole sounds like unintelligent babbling. I take this for example, you have Webbie’s Independent. Ok Ok hot beat, catchy, but as whole sounds like every other southern hip hop song. Kweli does a remix and uses the same beat but spits something with some meaning. Kweli’s version appeals to me.
Another thing is staying power. Think of the classic songs that still get play today…where they from for the most part? Northern artist. Southern rap is done once the rotation on the radio is gone. You forget about the song because the next song that comes out sounds exactly the same.
Outkast gets my props though cause they switch the style up. TI even did a little of that too on his last album. But everyone else is straight garbage.
I ain’t out to blast mainstream hip hop artist either. I just think in terms of quality of music, the North takes the gold. Quality doesn’t always get airplay or record sales.
Posted on 18-Apr-08 at 6:06 am | Permalink
Pill Possum wrote:
the south is so much more popular because southern artists work harder and put more heart into each song. rappers like lil’ wayne will do like 40 songs a month, they work together and collaborate in big groups because in the south it’s not all about you. as for lyrical creativity attacks on the south that’s crazy, southern rappers just value ridin beats highly and so do modern listeners. If northern rappers would focus on this more than they’d be more popular guys like fat joe, mims, and jadakiss do and they all have strong followings. Northern artists should also recognize the south people who can’t sell like nas try and attack it when they should just work with it.
Posted on 13-Jul-08 at 5:41 pm | Permalink
doneoz wrote:
I would like to start of by saying that right now I am sitting down watching the hip hop awards, and regardless of who wins or loses or what region has more hits I am really enjoying the awards. I was born and raised in New York and will be the first to say that my CD collection consist of mostly northern artist like Jay-Z, Biggie, NAS, Common, Talib, and Mos Def. My younger brother’s collection on the other hand consists TI, Luda, Outcast, Lil Wayne, and UGK, and he grew up in the same house as myself. I say this because we forget that hip hop is about generations, and today’s generations have chosen southern rap as their music. This bitterness between northern and southern hip hopsters needs to stop, and we need to just listen to what we like and let everyone else enjoy their music. Love the music people because it is a culture regardless of its origin or where it stands today.
Posted on 23-Oct-08 at 9:12 pm | Permalink
catchg28 wrote:
We all know “hip hop” originated up north and blah, blah, blah… But its kind of funny how when the west coast was doing their thing, the whole east coast west coast beef came up, and now that the south is on top (and it is on top, turn your radios on) hip hop is all of a sudden dead? … Yea, I guess hio hop is dead……, in the North!
Posted on 08-Nov-08 at 4:55 pm | Permalink