Hip-hop was born in the concrete jungle but southern hospitality has moved it to Atlanta. New York will always be the birthplace of hip-hop but its current location is in the heart of the South. With songs like “ Welcome To Atlanta” it made people want to visit the southern hub of hip-hop.
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Growing as a hip-hop artist or producer in New York is hard because it is a city which has a well-established market. When people say New York and hip-hop in the same sentence, people usually throw-out names like Biggie, Nas, Jay-Z, Fabolous, Big Daddy Kane, etc.; whereas Atlanta is currently getting to the stage where people associate the city with Ludacris, Gucci Mane, Outkast, Future, 2 Chainz, Lil Jon and Young Jeezy, to name a few.
In recent years, more artists have emerged and succeeded in Atlanta so it brings more credibility to the music industry in the area. In the world where the industry and street standards of hip-hop is driven by hardcore beats and freestyles that proved if the artist’s had skill and ability to rap, “The A” brings a different sound and style of hip-hop which ranges from trap music, songs with questionable lyrics and the most popular dances.
In the early 2000’s, millennials heard songs like “Get out the Way” by Ludacris, “Get Low” by The Ying-Yang Twins and “Kunck If You Buck” by Crime Mob in constant rotation across the nation, they had no other choice but to find more information about the upcoming hip-hop mega house.
Even movies like “ATL” featuring T.I, gave Atlanta a major spotlight in the world of entertainment. Artist usually glamorization southern women in music videos along with the popularity of strip club name drops like Magic City in songs, has put it on the map.
Atlanta is often referred to as the “New York of the South” because of the mixture of cultures in one place. Atlanta’s growing population, which is 54% Black or African- American as of 2015 according to Subanstats.org (https://suburbanstats.org/population/georgia/how-many-people-live-in-atlanta), is a reason why the city has dethroned NYC. Atlanta is still growing and changing the hip-hop scene everyday but once the heat has died down… what city will be next to take the throne?
