Southern Coast
Southern hip-hop originated from the styles of the East and West coasts, but added the influence of southern Black music including gospel and the blues. Artists in this region often simultaneously embraced their regional identities and experimented with new sounds. Different cities within the South created sounds that reflected their subcultures. Miami and Atlanta hip-hop emphasized deep bass and electronic beats, as showcased by groups such as Miami-based 2 Live Crew. One of the first popular hip-hop groups in the South, the Geto Boys, originated out of Houston in the 1980s. Their lyrics often addressed important issues such as drug addiction and growing up in poverty. DJ Screw utilized many Southern hip-hop artists such as Atlanta-based Outkast and Memphis-based 8Ball & MJG on his mixtapes. Southern artists began frequenting the music charts in the early 2000s, and many took inspiration from DJ Screw's method of chopping and screwing by using slowed down beats.
"Thematically, they emphasized the peculiarities of southern black life and played up cultural differences between New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. Musically, the groups tapped into southern black music, particularly gospel, rock 'n' roll, the blues, and Stax soul, mixing southern sounds with drawled deliveries. As a member of Goodie Mob noted, they embraced their southernness with aplomb: 'We cut words off. We're lazy with our tongue. We really don't give a damn about your diction. . . . So, you know, you're going to have to rewind it a few times.'" (Grem, 58-59)
