Southern Hip Hop

Putting The Science Into Music

Southern Hip Hop developed across cities including Houston, Atlanta, Miami, Memphis and New Orleans during the 1980s and 1990s. The category brought together several regional styles rather than one uniform sound, with each scene drawing on local club culture, funk, soul, blues, electro and bass music.

Houston became an early centre through artists including the Geto Boys, whose work combined hard production with social commentary, horror imagery and accounts of life in the American South. DJ Screw later developed the chopped and screwed style by slowing records, repeating sections and altering pitch to create a distinct local form.

Miami Bass grew through fast drum-machine rhythms, powerful low frequencies and party-focused lyrics built for clubs and car sound systems. Artists including 2 Live Crew helped bring this bass-heavy branch of Southern Rap to a national audience during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Memphis developed a darker underground sound through artists and producers including Three 6 Mafia, DJ Spanish Fly and Tommy Wright III. Their recordings used repetitive samples, heavy drum programming, distorted textures and direct vocal delivery that later shaped Trap, Horrorcore and underground Hip Hop.

Atlanta became increasingly important during the 1990s through OutKast, Goodie Mob and the wider Dungeon Family collective. Their music connected Southern Soul, Funk and live instrumentation with inventive production and lyrics that challenged the industry's focus on New York and Los Angeles.

During the 2000s, Southern Hip Hop became commercially dominant through Crunk, Snap Music and Trap. Artists including Lil Jon, T.I., Jeezy, Ludacris and later generations from Atlanta and other Southern cities helped make regional production styles central to mainstream Rap.

The Southern Hip Hop category can include Houston Rap, Miami Bass, Memphis Rap, Atlanta Hip Hop, Crunk, Trap and other styles rooted in the southern United States. Its defining character comes from regional variety, strong bass, distinctive rhythmic patterns and the influence of local musical traditions.

At Scientific Sound Asia, southern hip hop is a defining feature of Mixtape Addict, with further appearances on Flamin' Hip Hop and Boom Bap Show.