Dirty Decade: Rap Music and the US South, 1997–2007
During the decade of 1997–2007, rap music produced in cities such as Atlanta, New Orleans, Memphis, Miami, and Houston transformed the margins into the rap mainstream. These years saw southern artists rise to national prominence, with a related surge in major label interest and investment in souther...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Emory Center for Digital Scholarship
2008-06-01
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| Series: | Southern Spaces |
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| Online Access: | https://southernspaces.org/node/42841 |
| _version_ | 1819226818857664512 |
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| author | Matt Miller |
| author_facet | Matt Miller |
| author_sort | Matt Miller |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | During the decade of 1997–2007, rap music produced in cities such as Atlanta, New Orleans, Memphis, Miami, and Houston transformed the margins into the rap mainstream. These years saw southern artists rise to national prominence, with a related surge in major label interest and investment in southern rap, a process encapsulated and expressed by the idea of the Dirty South. Through an examination of artists, music, promotional imagery, scholarly writing, and journalism, Miller surveys rap scenes in several southern cities. He explores the Dirty South as a geographical imaginary, and examines the widespread appropriation and adaptation of the trope of "dirtiness." Next, Miller turns to the emergence and marketing of "crunk." Crunk, like the Dirty South, is a contested and problematic intersection of musical style and spatially keyed identities. The essay concludes with a foray into the visual culture of the Dirty South, revealing how rap music imagery has affirmed, critiqued, and confounded received ideas of the South. Throughout, musical and visual examples provide contextual support. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T10:31:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9b7236aad7d3487fbd4a9e258e921245 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1551-2754 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T10:31:32Z |
| publishDate | 2008-06-01 |
| publisher | Emory Center for Digital Scholarship |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Southern Spaces |
| spelling | doaj.art-9b7236aad7d3487fbd4a9e258e9212452022-12-21T17:50:25ZengEmory Center for Digital ScholarshipSouthern Spaces1551-27542008-06-0110.18737/M78P5TDirty Decade: Rap Music and the US South, 1997–2007Matt Miller0Emory UniversityDuring the decade of 1997–2007, rap music produced in cities such as Atlanta, New Orleans, Memphis, Miami, and Houston transformed the margins into the rap mainstream. These years saw southern artists rise to national prominence, with a related surge in major label interest and investment in southern rap, a process encapsulated and expressed by the idea of the Dirty South. Through an examination of artists, music, promotional imagery, scholarly writing, and journalism, Miller surveys rap scenes in several southern cities. He explores the Dirty South as a geographical imaginary, and examines the widespread appropriation and adaptation of the trope of "dirtiness." Next, Miller turns to the emergence and marketing of "crunk." Crunk, like the Dirty South, is a contested and problematic intersection of musical style and spatially keyed identities. The essay concludes with a foray into the visual culture of the Dirty South, revealing how rap music imagery has affirmed, critiqued, and confounded received ideas of the South. Throughout, musical and visual examples provide contextual support.https://southernspaces.org/node/42841African American StudiesEconomicsFilm/Television/RadioGender and SexualityMusicJournalism |
| spellingShingle | Matt Miller Dirty Decade: Rap Music and the US South, 1997–2007 Southern Spaces African American Studies Economics Film/Television/Radio Gender and Sexuality Music Journalism |
| title | Dirty Decade: Rap Music and the US South, 1997–2007 |
| title_full | Dirty Decade: Rap Music and the US South, 1997–2007 |
| title_fullStr | Dirty Decade: Rap Music and the US South, 1997–2007 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dirty Decade: Rap Music and the US South, 1997–2007 |
| title_short | Dirty Decade: Rap Music and the US South, 1997–2007 |
| title_sort | dirty decade rap music and the us south 1997 2007 |
| topic | African American Studies Economics Film/Television/Radio Gender and Sexuality Music Journalism |
| url | https://southernspaces.org/node/42841 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mattmiller dirtydecaderapmusicandtheussouth19972007 |