Southern Rap Architects

Like most genres of music, southern rap is a story of appropriation and adaptation. The seeds were planted when Afrika Bambaataa, an ex-gangbanger from the Bronx, discovered the robotic electronica of German outfit Kraftwark and hooked up with producer Arthur Baker. Bambaataa and Baker are credited with introducing Roland's TR-808 drum machine to hip-hop with their 1982 single, "Planet Rock." The song’s rollicking bass lines and sci-fi undertones were adopted by south Florida producers, who labeled the music Miami bass. The futuristic motif was soon replaced by the cartoon melodies of Tyrone Brunson, and then shortly thereafter by the X-rated raps of 2 Live Crew, Californian natives who had only recently moved to south Florida.

Bass quickly expanded beyond its regional boundaries, resonating in the wards of New Orleans (where a young Manny Fresh and his New York Incorporated crew would help create bounce), the projects of Memphis (where producers would slow down the beats and add a layer of bluesy swagger, dubbing it “buck”), as well as in the slums of Rio De Janeiro (where they’d combine the 808 with traditional Brazilian funk for a genre that would become known as favela funk). It would make its way through the Caribbean in the '90s before reemerging in the States via Atlanta in the late-'90s in the form of crunk -- a subgenre that mingled dancehall's propulsive rhythms with buck’s chanted lyrics.

While southern artists have always maintained the appearance of regional unity, southern rap has never been homogeneous. Bass music may have been pivotal to the formation of one strand of southern rap, but it's far from the only game in town. The Geto Boys exemplified the art of southern rapping. The Houston group adopted the nihilistic tropes of West Coast gangsta rap and worked with New York producer Rick Rubin (who, incidentally, unknowingly helped lay the framework for bass when he sustained an 808 kick on T La Rock's 1983 single "The World is Yours"). The group was instantly vilified by moralists due to raps that dealt with themes of drugs, poverty, inner-city violence and necrophilia. Nevertheless, the Geto Boys' 1992 hit "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" garnered both the group and the South their first inklings of respect from their New York peers.

The Geto Boys' success paved the way for a new generation of southern lyricists. Most notable among these were Outkast, an Atlanta group influenced by the flows of West Coast underground acts such as Souls of Mischief and the African Diaspora themes of New York acts such as Pete Rock and CL Smooth. They fused these far-flung inclinations with a healthy dose of southern roots gospel. After the release of Outkast's 1994 debut, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik , the group moved toward the same Afro-futuristic funk that influenced Bambaatttaa.

In the years since, southern hip-hop has continued to expand and incorporate more sounds and cultures – from Bay Area export Master P’s No Limit army to the south-of-the-border rhymes of South Park Mexican.