Genre: Hip-Hop
Decades Active: 90s, 00s
Eightball & MJG may have never made a significant impact nationally during their rise to fame in the 1990s, yet they indeed made an incredible impact throughout the South, where the Memphis-bred duo pioneered what countless Dirty South rappers would emulate years later. The two began on the Southern underground circuit, where they peddled their... [+] Read More
Genre: Hip-Hop
Decades Active: 80s, 90s, 00s
Once best known for his tenure in the rap unit House of Pain, Everlast successfully reinvented himself in 1998 with the best-selling Whitey Ford Sings the Blues, a largely acoustic, hip-hop-flavored effort in the genre-crossing mold of Beck. Born Erik Schrody, Everlast first surfaced in Los Angeles as a member of Ice-T's Rhyme Syndicate Cartel,... [+] Read More
Genre: Hip-Hop
Decades Active: 80s, 90s, 00s
Once best known for his tenure in the rap unit House of Pain, Everlast successfully reinvented himself in 1998 with the best-selling Whitey Ford Sings the Blues, a largely acoustic, hip-hop-flavored effort in the genre-crossing mold of Beck. Born Erik Schrody, Everlast first surfaced in Los Angeles as a member of Ice-T's Rhyme Syndicate Cartel,... [+] Read More
Genre: Hip-Hop
Decades Active: 90s, 00s
Goodie Mob's earnest and reverent approach made them one of the more admired groups of their era, and undeniably one of the most respected groups in the often irreverent and scoffed at Dirty South scene, if not the most respected. The Atlanta group's first album, Soul Food (1995), stands as one of the earliest Southern rap albums to... [+] Read More
Genre: Hip-Hop
Decades Active: 90s, 00s
Initially known best for being a huge white-boy rapper from Tennessee, Haystak overcame his anomalous status with time as listeners learned to cherish his sincerity. Unlike many of his Southern peers, Haystak didn't embrace materialism and greed; he rapped about his life as so-called "white trash," exploring the social dimensions of being white... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 90s, 00s
One of the unlikeliest success stories in rock at the turn of the millennium, Detroit rap-rocker Kid Rock shot to superstardom with his fourth full-length album, 1998's Devil Without a Cause. What made it so shocking was that Rock had recorded his first demo a full decade before, been booted off major label Jive following his Beastie Boys-ish... [+] Read More
Genre: Hip-Hop
Decades Active: 00s
Ludacris rode the early-2000s Dirty South explosion to widespread popularity, as his songs enjoyed an enormous embrace, mainly by urban media outlets but also MTV and pop radio. The Atlanta-based rapper went from local sensation to household name after Def Jam signed him to its Def Jam South subsidiary in 2000. In addition to connecting him with... [+] Read More
Genre: Hip-Hop
Decades Active: 90s, 00s
No female rap artist paralleled the success of Missy Elliott, neither during her reign nor before, and none was more deserving. Unlike most of urban music's female superstars, Missy writes her own songs as well as performs them, and her creative wit in on a par with her stylish demeanor. In addition to her talent and showmanship, though, she... [+] Read More
Genre: Hip-Hop
Decades Active: 00s
Rather than taking the underground route like most Southern rappers, Petey Pablo took the direct route into the rap game: he went straight to the top. Though few knew much about him, Pablo suddenly broke in late 2001, and not just in the South but from coast to coast -- MTV rotated his video and urban radio championed his debut single. That... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 00s
Slicing and dicing for his hometown chum, the mainstream rap hero Kid Rock, Uncle Kracker (born Matt Shafer) stepped out from behind the turntables to release his debut solo album, Double Wide, on Kid Rock's own Top Dog/Atlantic/Lava label. Yet another Detroit combination of funky post-grunge rock and hip-hop aesthetic, Uncle Kracker makes his... [+] Read More