Does the South's reign in rap have more to do with the culture of the USA than the culture of NY?

[Unknown Poster]

Cause when you think about it, NYC is a city of over 8 million people but the culture of NYC has always been different compared to everywhere else in America. It's very insular. It's almost a world in and of itself. 1, it's on an island. 2, it comprised of five boroughs, three, it's all connected by the subway system.

The rest of America is pretty much the land of the car. Long highways, mini malls, suburban areas, farms, etc.You're pretty much riding in cars all day listening to music getting from point a to point b.


I noticed the difference between NYC hip-hop and everywhere else is Southern hip-hop is smooth and bass heavy yet at a slower tempo (60-75bpm 130-140 bpm) while traditional NY hip-hop that was the most recognizable of the 90s was that boom bap sound that registered around 85-95 bpm. And in the New Jack Swing era there were them fast rap tracks like that Ultramagnetic poppa large sounding stuff with the jazz samples and it was almost at house BPMs like 115-120 even faster. Like late 80s early 90s.

So, I'm just coming to the conclusion since car culture and hip-hop culture is huge in the South and the Midwest and West Coast especially in Black and Spanish neighborhoods, and hip-hop culture was always huge amongst black and spanish here in NYC, that this is why NYC hip-hop has always been different from everywhere else and why the South was bound to gain prominence.

 

[BrothaZay]

No. South took over hip hop cuz NY fell off due to beef and crab in a barrel ass nikkas, and west coast nikkas were still tryna replicate The Chronic and Doggystyle, while possessing nowhere near the talent of Dre and Snoop so the music was trash in return.

 

[BrothaZay]

Not to mention hip hop isn't even seen as "real music" anymore.

Its basically watered down radio music. It went from powerful and though provoking to who can make the "hottest song" that gets played on the radio and in Footlocker.

Unfortunately the south does that well

 

[Cynic]

It's due to NY being dependent on samples and rigid lyricism

Samples got too expensive to clear and the copyright laws changed as well as being too complex/punchline heavy


It's their turn...cmon we been serving every decade with a new artist since hip hops inception

 

[ba'al]

It's due to NY being dependent on samples and rigid lyricism

Samples got too expensive to clear and the copyright laws changed as well as being too complex/punchline heavy


It's their turn...cmon we been serving every decade with a new artist since hip hops inception

South was sampling too.

 

[SirBiatch]

Cause when you think about it, NYC is a city of over 8 million people but the culture of NYC has always been different compared to everywhere else in America. It's very insular. It's almost a world in and of itself. 1, it's on an island. 2, it comprised of five boroughs, three, it's all connected by the subway system.

The rest of America is pretty much the land of the car. Long highways, mini malls, suburban areas, farms, etc.You're pretty much riding in cars all day listening to music getting from point a to point b.


I noticed the difference between NYC hip-hop and everywhere else is Southern hip-hop is smooth and bass heavy yet at a slower tempo (60-75bpm 130-140 bpm) while traditional NY hip-hop that was the most recognizable of the 90s was that boom bap sound that registered around 85-95 bpm. And in the New Jack Swing era there were them fast rap tracks like that Ultramagnetic poppa large sounding stuff with the jazz samples and it was almost at house BPMs like 115-120 even faster. Like late 80s early 90s.

So, I'm just coming to the conclusion since car culture and hip-hop culture is huge in the South and the Midwest and West Coast especially in Black and Spanish neighborhoods, and hip-hop culture was always huge amongst black and spanish here in NYC, that this is why NYC hip-hop has always been different from everywhere else and why the South was bound to gain prominence.

totally agree.

Although NYC is the opposite of insular imo. If anything, everywhere else is insular. NYC is the world in one city. Can't really say the same about any other city in the US.

 

[Unknown Poster]

Also, there is a very noticeable difference in the way Southern rappers on average approach tracks lyrically. Like it sounds like what you get when you fukking around on a burn run doing high freestyles in the car. NYC, is really not a blaze and ride city IMO, although I've definitely done it before.

totally agree.

Although NYC is the opposite of insular imo. If anything, everywhere else is insular. NYC is the world in one city. Can't really say the same about any other city in the US.

Very true. Very true.

 

[MegaTronBomb!]

You do have to consider the countries most populous region, being essentially shut out for 20+ years... would end up dominating for an extended period once they got on.

and the fact that southern rappers treat rap very much differently than NYC rappers.

 

[Unknown Poster]

You do have to consider the countries most populous region, being essentially shut out for 20+ years... would end up dominating for an extended period once they got on.

and the fact that southern rappers treat rap very much differently than NYC rappers.

Well southern rappers actually put each other on and support each other. Alot of them had homegrown fanbases and they were selling out of the trunk and they got on that grind from west coast rappers, mainly people like 40 and too short. Like Geto Boys sounds more like west coast shyt like Celly Cel or something to me at times...or Ant Banks.

the west coast, the midwest, the south at one point seemed to just stop unaniously emulating NYC rappers/styles to an extent and created their own thing that seems independent of what NYC is and it just was able to become more popular and become a mainstay. Then that NYC hip-hop influence slowly started to fade away...

And the culture of the USA is always changing as it seems sometimes as NYC is such an enclosed type of city and feel but expansive as well. WE're in our own little world and forget the rest of the country moves and lives alot differently.

Like my days when I'm not busy with my own life and business is spent hanging out with my spanish nikkas up on Dekalb smoking blunts and drinking hen next to the bodega and sometimes I just end up forgetting I did not live like this and forget what the rest of America is like, then I actually leave town for a bit and I'm just presented with reality...

There are alot of different elements to talk about with the south's rise to popularity with the south, but aside from regional tensions, I just think southern rap was just more accepted to the rest of America cause they weren't secluded or limited to talking about NYC culture...they made it so you could be from anywhere us and get into their music, where as in NYC hip-hop there were and are alot of references that will go over people who aren't from here's heads and you would have to live here to really feel the culture behind the music as it was in for one period in time,

I don't know, this is something I have thought about for sometime.

 

[Unknown Poster]

It's due to NY being dependent on samples and rigid lyricism

Samples got too expensive to clear and the copyright laws changed as well as being too complex/punchline heavy


It's their turn...cmon we been serving every decade with a new artist since hip hops inception

True. Sampling laws changed the face of hip-hop, but the south was the first really to innovate with synth based production I feel like. It was really around 99-2001 you could hear the turning point which is coincidentally around the time NYC hip-hop started to decline. Which is now seemingly the standard these days.

 

[Big Mel]

Yes.

And THANK GOD.


The Cactus Album > No One Can Do It Better

Daily Operation > The Chronic

Enta Da Stage > Doggystyle

 

[Cynic]

True. Sampling laws changed the face of hip-hop, but the south was the first really to innovate with synth based production I feel like. It was really around 99-2001 you could hear the turning point which is coincidentally around the time NYC hip-hop started to decline. Which is now seemingly the standard these days.

The South was bound to rise again...it is after all where soul and those church songs come from

being a teen in these times was
50 cent/ Dipset
And1 mixtapes
Bootytalk & Onionbooty/BET Uncut
Kobe/Tmac/Vince/AI



GOAT Era

 

[NBA Youngbreh]

It reminds me of that scene in Hustle and Flow where that white dude said that southern hip hop was the blues coming back home

 

[Pier7]

being a teen in these times was
50 cent/ Dipset
And1 mixtapes
Bootytalk & Onionbooty/BET Uncut



GOAT Era

I will always miss and love that ignorant ratchet early 2000s era

Where a rapper would be chilling in the hood with a whole bunch of rowdy goons talking wild shyt and shouting out random sets

If NYC wants to get back on top, ya need to revisit this type of energy. This was the blueprint for all the fly gangsta n drill music. Except chiraq cats are less charismatic and more savage.

 

[Doomsday]

It's because black culture is stronger in the south. That's pretty much what it comes down to.