If you look into the history of Southern
rap music, you’ll see that Southern rap artists such as Tag
Team, Juvenile, Mystikal, the 69 Boyz, Ludacris, Master P, and many more
all did their part to ensure the growth of Southern underground rap.
Because of these Southern rap artists, Southern underground
rap was able to develop into the huge genre known as Southern rap hip
hop, today. Southern rap hip hop, also frequently referred to as Dirty
South rap, has its roots in Miami bass music made popular by 2 Live Crew.
It’s easy to see the connection between 2 Live Crew’s sexual
dance beats and the sounds of Southern underground rap because Southern
rap artists were, to a large extent, emulating and expanding upon 2 Live
Crew and front-man Luther Campbell’s style.
One Southern rap artist that used sexual innuendos to spice
things up was Mystikal. Although having many hits in the Southern rap
hip hop genre, Mystikal (from New Orleans) is most known for his catchy
single “Shake Ya Ass.” Mystikal also happened to be on Master
P’s record label No Limit.
A common trend found in the history of Southern rap music
is that most Southern rap artists were signed to the No Limit label. As
far as some are concerned, there would be no history of Southern rap music
at all, if it weren’t for Master P’s No Limit label. Others
argue that Southern rap hip hop would’ve made it big regardless
of No Limit; the people that argue this point of view credit the rise
of Southern rap hip hop to the flourishing Southern underground rap scene.
The Southern underground rap scene is synonymous with the
Dirty South rap underground. Although a distinction can be made between
these two genres, the line is always blurred as the history of Southern
rap music is also the history of Dirty Southern rap music.
Whichever school of thought you may belong to, Master P’s
contribution to the history of Southern rap music is undeniable. Initially,
Master P operated only in the Southern underground rap scene, his famous
No Limit label was initially only a record store.
An examination of the history of Southern rap music shows what really
gave Master P the edge over other Southern rap artists; while mainstream
Southern rap hip hop had to answer to record
labels and certain social standards, No Limit was able to give Southern
rap music fans unadulterated gangsta rap, complete with aggressive lyrics
to match the hard hitting beats. Master P and his No Limit rappers offered
fans Southern rap music that wasn’t watered down; they may have
been producing what is known as “Southern rap hip hop” but
it was also pure Dirty South rap in the truest sense of the phrase.
If the history of Southern rap music shows us anything, it’s that
the artist is always accountable to the fans, and if the fans get what
they want, the artist is sure to succeed
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