Hip-Hop As The New Southern Gothic

The southern environment and the artists that have come out of that environment have provided America with some of it’s greatest and starkest reminders of both how far we have come and far we have yet to go. To this very day, America remains a country divided between the North and the South with the South not fully trusting the North and vice versa. While the characterizations of both the North and the South have changed with the modern political language representing the South as the ‘Bible Belt’ and the North often as ‘Liberal Elites’, the history of this ambiguous geographical yet rather pronounced cultural divide stretches back to before the Civil War. While times have changed, the South remains characterized by the racial classes that have defined its history. 

It is important to mention that in no way is the South this backwards region while the North is completely righteous. Many African-Americans came North to flee the restrictions of Jim Crow to find many subtle yet just as forceful road blocks in Northern cities, and this was a point made very clear by Ralph Ellison in his landmark work Invisible Man. However, racial tensions have often been more accentuated in the South and this in many ways directly led to one of America’s most distinct literary genres; the Southern Gothic.

The Southern literature has often been characterized by extremes. Whether it is the 19th century fictional portrayal of the joyous slave or the 20th century Southern Gothic style, the South has been either a heaven or hell. Southern Gothic authors such as William Faulkner, and Flannery O'Connor often portrayed the South as the latter. However, this does not mean these artists exhibited uniformity in their feeling towards the South. O'Connor often supported the South and instead condemned the North for the hypocritical superiority it displayed when condemning racism in the south while turning a blind eye to their unique brand of racism in the North. But a common thread within the Southern Gothic novel is the portrayal of the South with grotesque imagery as a dying region.

However, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is now almost half a century old and the Souther Gothic novel has all but become history. As a result Southern Hip Hop has picked up where the likes of Faulkner and O'Connor left off with an interesting twist. 

Since bursting onto the seen in the past decade, Southern Hip-Hop has been blasted for it's apparent lyrical vapidity as it has jumped to the forefront of the drug rap subgenre. Dubbed the 'Dirty South' by the legendary Goodie Mobb, Southern hip-hop often contains the same grotesque imagery that characterized the Southern gothic novel. 

The divide between North/South is already apparent in this groundbreaking song with lyrics like:

So when they pulled up playing Rock the Bells

We took what we want and left 'em quiet as hell

While nihilism and the representation of the grotesque is nothing new to hip-hop, this song displays very well how much of a factor place plays within the narration. Setting is as much a defining characteristic within the Southern Gothic novel as it is in Southern hip-hop.

Of course, the twist that exists when comparing the Southern Gothic novel to Southern hip-hop is that southern hip-hop is a predominantly African-American art form which is often regionally focused while the Southern Gothic novel was dominated by white Southern authors portraying the grotesqueness of the South. This change in perspective is essential and this is clear when The Clipse states in their song 'Virginia': 

Ironic, the same place I'm makin' figures at

That there's the same land they used to hang ni**ers at

The South's tumultuous racial history is, of course, not lost on the modern southern hip-hop artists in most instances. They know and often have lived through the grotesque imagery that was often depicted in the Southern Gothic novel. 

In this sense, southern hip-hop is often more authentic than the Southern Gothic novel and is also a more authentic art form than many give it credit for. While the Southern Gothic often strove to reveal the grotesqueness of the South, which was often defined by racism, through the eyes of the white southerner, southern hip-hop lends that voice to the person at the center of that grotesqueness. 

However, with the change in perspective of the artist comes a change in the product. A very unique author in the Southern Gothic subgenre was Flannery O'Connor as she stopped short of completely condemning her Southern homeland and instead displayed the grotesqueness of the South as part of her identity. This is incredibly similar to much of southern hip-hop as the grotesque is often portrayed in a nostalgic light as it represents the familiar. 

However, one constant in both the Southern Gothic novel and southern hip-hop is it represents a unique part of America; a part where the past and the present struggle to reconcile each other. The South may be grotesque and it may have a very accentuated dark history, but both the Southern Gothic novel and southern hip-hop display it for what it always was: unique. And no hip-hop group displayed this better than the ATLiens themselves with a style that is uniquely Southern. 

ATLiens ~ Outkast from ATLien on Vimeo.

Put Your W's Up!

One of my favorite debates when it comes to hip-hop music is who is the best hip-hop group of all time. Despite the huge numbers of talented ensembles to choose from my conversation generally boils down to just two: Outkast or the Wu Tang Clan. Of course, I always say, choosing between these two is like choosing between apples and oranges. You got the southern duo with the eccentric Andre and smooth Big Boi on the one hand and on the other you have the almighty conglomerate known as the Wu-Tang Clan with their no holds barred lyricism that is often introduced with some snippet from a kung fu movie. But for the debates sake, I never let reasoning get in the way of making a decision, and I always declare that the Wu has the number one spot. 

It is important to note that this doesn't take anything away from Outkast. Bombs Over Baghdad is still ahead of its time. But a collection of talent that is compiled within the group of the Wu-Tang Clan is so astounding that they have not only produced great albums as a group, but the solo projects that have spun off have been equally as rewarding with Raekwon's Only Built for Cuban Linx II being the latest example. 

But perhaps the greatest example of Wu-Tang's greatness is their latest album titled Chamber Music which isn't even technically a Wu-Tang album considering that three members are missing. Despite this, it was one of the best hip-hop albums of 2009 and since it was not an official Wu-Tang album it has not received the attention it deserves. 

What one finds in Chamber Music is RZA at his best with production that puts Wu-Tang's already dramatic lyrical story-telling against a live band sound. The album is an unofficial tribute to their legacy and shows that a combination of RZA production with even a less than full Wu Tang roster makes for a better product than most conglomerates could ever dream to put out. 

Harbor Master- Wu Tang Clan

Wu Tang Clan Chamber Music