I had a neighbor, Curtis, who was from Texas originally. Our conversations about music were interesting. At the time, I was a typical geeky white hip-hop guy who listened to Kool Keith, Del tha Funky Homo-Sapien and Eminem. He told me he loved the Houston hip-hop scene and I knew nothing about it. I had always loathed early Lil Wayne and Cash Money Records and generally didn't think of southern rap very well.
Man, has that changed. I now understand why southern rap is so popular. My southern exposure is limited - I've been to Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. For some reason, with the exception of guys like T.I., southern rap is just a whole lot tamer than rap from the west coast or northeast. Sure, there is the typical tough guy talk and misogyny, but for some reason it seems less enraged. I've yet to find a southern 50 Cent or Eminem, and this may just be because the south - with all its problems - doesn't breed the sort of conditions that New York or Detroit does.
The two rappers I've been drawn to the most have been Bun B and Yelawolf. Bun B is as lyrically fit as they come and has dropped some brilliant lines, like this one from "Choose Your Side:"
I’m slightly off-kilter, somewhat tuned out
And loony-toony, I’m looped up and looned out
So not being of a sound state of mind
I’m an example of western civilization’s decline
Yelawolf has been mentioned plenty here before and the Alabama enigma has collaborated with the Houston rhymesayer Bun B on both tracks and in the music video for "Good to Go:"
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