A Brief History of Atlanta's Rise in Hip-Hop

These independent labels led to Atlanta’s establishment of its own record industry. Yet, Atlanta hip hop was not immediately welcomed with open arms, as it grew into a variant of Miami’s electro-driven booty music - a subgenre characterized by heavy bass, fast tempos, and sexually explicit lyrics. By the mid-1990s, gangsta rap became increasingly popular and the rise of LaFace Records’ OUTKAST, GOODie MOb, and production group Organized Noize led to the mecca’s recognition as “The Motown of the South”.

Atlanta found its own sound. Pairing this early movement with OUTKAST’s 1994 manifesto Southernplayalistcadillacmuzik, and the “something” that the South would later have a say in, 1982 and “Let Mojo Handle It” sparked a flame for Atlanta’s decades-long cultivation of what has become one of hip hop’s most significant cultural innovations: trap music.

Trap music is a derivative of hip hop that has dominated the modern popular music scene since the early 2000’s. See TI’s Trap Muzik (2003), Young Jeezy’s Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101 (2005), and Gucci Mane’s Trap House (2005).

Conspicuous for its 808 kick samples, recurrent producer tags, syrupy autotuned vocals, and repeated ad libs, trap holds widespread appeal. Although its upbeat club sound invites listeners to dance regardless of the song’s lyrical content or whether its key is minor or major, anecdotes carrying deeper messages and personal reckonings lie beneath the layers of heavy production. 

Originating in the late 90’s out of Atlanta’s rising scene, the first references to a conceptual “trap” are embedded in The GOODie MOb’s Soul Food (1995). OUTKAST’s “Spootieootiedopalicious” (1998) acknowledged the duality in enjoying the indulgences afforded by the trap house lifestyle while simultaneously urging listeners to “marinate on” the trappings of the cycle of poverty as perpetuated by drug dealing and overt attempts by the Atlanta police Red Dog Unit to target black communities and black men.

The sentiments conveyed through the trap aesthetic are central to the experience of Black Atlanta community members growing up during the crack-cocaine war. These resilience stories represent one iteration of the complexities of the black American experience since the days of slavery.

Similar to New York block parties, Atlanta also had underground environments for expressing the culture with others. Opened in 1993, Club 559 was situated in the West End less than half a mile from the Atlanta University Center, is now a Family Dollar store. Once upon a time, however, this jook joint is where early down south rap music was played – oftentimes before reaching popular radio.

Crunk music - a union of musical elements such as bass, booty, dancehall, funk, rock, R&B, and soul created my Memphis rap group Three Six Mafia and popularized by Atlanta’s Lil Jon - reigned supreme in “the 559”. Surely, Club 559 played an integral role in producing the crunk experience and indubitably influenced the music’s crossover to mainstream appeal. Take for example, Lil Jon and The Eastside Boyz' “Who You Wit”. This year, it will celebrate 23 years as a 559 classic having been released in October of 1997.

While 2000 might have marked the turn of the century for many, it was seen as a point of ascension for Atlanta hip hop, trap, and crunk music – especially with the release of OUTKAST’s fourth album, Stankonia on October 31, 2000.  Stankonia will soon celebrate 20 years.

Fun fact: its lead single “(B.O.B.) Bombs over Baghdad,” was banned by many urban top 40 radio stations because of its title and subject matter. If you go to the video and scroll to 2 minutes and 55 seconds, you’ll see me waving my hands in the air like I just don’t care.