The South

Are you in the south? Are you from the south? If not, this may not be for you. I am a Southern enthusiast. No, not the country where they raise they raise their confederate flags and are active in their local KKK. DA SOUF’. I’ve got nothin’ but love for all things southern. All things ratchet too, G ;) I love the men. I love the accents. I love the attitude. I love the food, the family and the love. I love the immediate comfort you feel in the south, like that’s where you should have been the entire time! Now, what I want to focus on is Southern hip hop/rap. It gets SO much criticism. People create these Hip Hop Hierarchies and think that because SoRap isn’t always “educational” and “deep” and “socially revealing” that it’s not real hip hop but I say, fuck that. All music isn’t going to reveal some heightened sense of awareness. What’s your favorite song? What are the lyrics? Yeah. Thought so. Some artists have what I call Mainstream Mojo. All artists don’t have it. In fact, a lot won’t ever attain it. But that’s a good thing because if no one had it, everyone would be a bunch of underground hyper-hipsters, ya feel me? That’s what I feel like a lot of SoRap is: Mainstream Mojo. These are club jumpers. These are the songs you blast on a night out with the girls. The songs that get the basketball team ready. The songs that’ll hype you up no matter where you’re at. That’s something your ‘hyper-aware hip hop’ is never gonna have. Because different music serves different purposes. Now, do not confuse this for saying that ALL SoRap is empty and simply serves to hype the club because that’s not true. But a lot of the music that gets criticism from NY & West Coast Hip Hop Heads is. I mean we obviously have a lot of talent right out of the center of the south, ATL. All I’m sayin’ is the music that you criticize, that you call weak, empty, etc is the same music that puts Southerners in their own comfort zones. It’s what makes us Southern. We’re possibly some of the hypest people you’ll ever meet and our music reflects that. So I got nothin’ but love for all the artists with Mainstream Mojo. You may not be talkin’ ’bout any “real shit” but I’m loyal regardless. I’ll always buy (or download, you know I’m broke lol) your mixtapes. I’ll always buy your albums because I know it’s what creates the beat that runs from Florida all the way through Texas.

From Your Nearest Closet