Genre
Dirty South
7 artists
What is Dirty South? Dirty South is the umbrella for Southern rap built for clubs, cars and strip clubs: heavy 808 bass, chanted hooks and a lot of regional slang. It covers Miami bass, crunk and the party rap that came out of Atlanta, Memphis, Houston and New Orleans.
Where it comes from. In the late '80s, 2 Live Crew made Miami bass famous: fast 808 beats and explicit party rhymes that led to a landmark obscenity case in 1990. The name comes from Goodie Mob's song "Dirty South" (1995). In the early 2000s, Lil Jon turned the sound into crunk, and Ludacris took it to the charts.
The sound. Booming 808 kicks and bass, simple synth lines, call-and-response hooks shouted like a crowd. The rapping ranges from playful punchlines to pure energy. It's the direct ancestor of trap.
Key albums
- As Nasty As They Wanna Be, 2 Live Crew (1989)
- Soul Food, Goodie Mob (1995)
- Mystic Stylez, Three 6 Mafia (1995)
- Word of Mouf, Ludacris (2001)
- Kings of Crunk, Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz (2002)
