Southern hip hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip hop music that emerged in the Southern United States and the Southeastern United States, especially in Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, Memphis, and Miami—five cities which constitute the "Southern Network" in rap music.
Although the music scene of Atlanta is rich and varied, the city's production of hip-hop music has been especially noteworthy, acclaimed, and commercially successful. In 2009, The New York Times called Atlanta "hip-hop's center of gravity", and the city is home to many famous hip-hop, R&B and neo soul musicians.
Jay Wayne Jenkins, known by his stage name Jeezy, is an American rapper. Signing to Def Jam Recordings in 2004, his major label debut, Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, was released the following year and debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, selling 172,000 copies in its first week and was later receiving platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Jeezy is credited, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, for helping to pioneer and popularize trap music with a mainstream audience.
Derek Andrew Safo, better known by his stage name Sway or Sway DaSafo, is a British rapper of Ghanaian descent. He is also a producer, having established Dcypha Productions, signed to Island/Universal. Safo's 2008 track "Black Stars" gave kudos to popular Ghanaians across the diaspora. Sway's first big track, "On My Own" was released under the name Sway DaSafo.
Jasiel Amon Robinson, better known by his stage name Yung Joc, is an American rapper. He is best known for his 2006 hit single "It's Goin' Down".
Howard Hewett Jr. is a Grammy Award-winning American singer–songwriter. Hewett rose to fame as the lead vocalist of the Grammy winning R&B/soul vocal group Shalamar. In 1985, he left the group to pursue his solo career, but he later returned to the group in 2001. He signed with Elektra Records. In 1986, he released his long awaited debut solo album, I Commit to Love.
SRC is an American record label created by former Loud Records CEO Steve Rifkind. It was a subsidiary of Universal Music Group and was distributed through Republic Records.
Tyree Cinque Simmons, professionally known as DJ Drama, is an American DJ, record executive and music promoter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the co-founder of Generation Now, an Atlantic Records imprint with artists including Lil Uzi Vert, Jack Harlow, and Skeme on its roster. He initially gained recognition as the official DJ for Atlanta rapper T.I. and as a prominent mixtape DJ with his series, Gangsta Grillz. Numerous artists have appeared on DJ Drama's Gangsta Grillz tapes, including Lil Wayne, Fabolous, Ludacris, Jeezy, Gucci Mane, and many others. He was a co-founder of the Atlanta-based DJ and artist collective known as the Aphilliates. Drama has released 5 studio albums, curating tracks with some of the industry’s most lucrative talent, the most recent of which being Quality Street Music 2 in 2016.
P-Square is the defunct music duo consisting of the twin brothers, Peter Okoye and Paul Okoye. They produced and released their albums through Square Records. In December 2011, they signed a record deal with Akon's Konvict Muzik label. In May 2012, P-Square signed a record distribution deal with Universal Music Group. On 25 September 2017, numerous media outlets reported that the group disbanded. Reports about a breakup surfaced after Peter reportedly sent a termination letter to the group's lawyer. Prior to this report, the duo disbanded in 2016, supposedly over a disagreement about the role of their manager.
Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam, also known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur from New Jersey. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first single from his debut album Trouble (2004), followed by the second single "Lonely".
Konvict Muzik is a record label founded by R&B singer Akon. Other than Akon, popular artists such as T-Pain, Kardinal Offishall, Kat DeLuna, Red Cafe, Dolla and Verse Simmonds have signed in the past or are still present on the label. At the beginning of most Konvict Muzik artists' songs there is the sound of the clank of a jail cell, followed by Akon uttering "Konvict". Akon started his own label after the success of his debut album. Akon has signed a deal with Columbia Records and Epic Records for new artists signed to Konvict. Fotemah Mba held the executive position of Vice President of A&R for the label.
"I Wanna Love You" is a song written and recorded by Akon featuring Snoop Dogg. It was released in October 2006 as the second single from his second studio album, Konvicted. It is also featured on Snoop Dogg's eighth album, Tha Blue Carpet Treatment. This song was Akon's first #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 and was also Snoop's second #1 on the same chart. It also reached a peak of #3 on the UK Singles Chart. The track originally had Akon as a featured artist and was performed by Plies, then an up-and-coming rapper from Fort Myers, Florida, but his verse was replaced by Snoop's and his name has been left out from the writers' credits. This song was #88 on MTV Asia's list of Top 100 Hits of 2007. The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 50th Grammy Awards in 2008.
Roderick Anthony Burton II, better known by his stage name Dolla, was an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. Burton embarked on his music career in 2000, with hip hop group Da Razkalz Cru, under the pseudonym Bucklyte. The group quickly disbanded, and Burton went on to work as a model for the Sean John clothing line. In 2007, Burton signed to Akon's Konvict Muzik label. Burton released three singles from 2007 to 2009. The first, his commercial debut single "Who the Fuck Is That?", featuring T-Pain and Tay Dizm, charted on the Billboard Hot 100.
Nadir Khayat, better known by his stage name RedOne, is a Moroccan-Swedish singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive. As a record producer and songwriter, he has worked with many high-profile recording artists, most notably Ava Max, Lady Gaga, Akon, Michael Jackson, RBD, Now United, U2, Nicki Minaj, Jennifer Lopez, Nicole Scherzinger, Gru, Cross Gene, MIKA, Pitbull, Enrique Iglesias, Shakira, Wyclef Jean, Mariah Carey, Paulina Rubio, Mylène Farmer, Mohombi, Inna, Khaled, Alexandra Burke, Austin Mahone, One Direction, Marc Anthony, the Band Perry, Prince Royce, Rod Stewart, Usher and Saad Lamjarred, among many others. His production discography boasts many Billboard and international hits. RedOne has established his own record label named RedOne Records.
Kawan "KP" Prather is an American record executive, songwriter, record producer and member of first generation Dungeon Family group P.A.. He started his career at LaFace Records and has worked with TLC, OutKast, Goodie Mob, Usher, John Legend, Pink, and Toni Braxton. At LaFace he also started his own label called Ghet-O-Vision Entertainment. Under Ghet-O-Vision he signed The YoungBloodZ and a solo M.C., named T.I. and released the albums Against Da Grain and I'm Serious. Most recently, KP was appointed Senior Vice President of A&R at Island Def Jam where he signed 15-year-old R&B sensation Khalil. KP also has a production deal for his company Ghet-O-Vision at Island Def Jam, there he has signed, Las Vegas native Mr. Finley. Ghet-O-Vision has also inked a label deal with Interscope Records for up and coming Alabama M.C. Yelawolf.
Leland Sanford Austin, better known by his stage name Yung L.A. or Da Boi Lay, is an American hip hop recording artist from Atlanta, Georgia. He is perhaps best known for his debut single "Ain't I", which peaked at number 47 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and at number seven on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Austin's second single, titled "Futuristic Love (Elroy)", features American singer Ricco Barrino and was released in 2009.
Atlanta has a thriving music industry and is considered to be a capital of hip-hop including crunk, of R&B and its offshoot neo-soul, and of gospel music - in addition to a thriving indie-rock and live music scene. Classical, country and blues have historically been well represented. From the 1920s through 1950s the city was a major center for country music.
R. City is an American musical duo formed in 2003, from Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The duo is composed of brothers Theron "Uptown AP" Thomas and Timothy "A.I." Thomas. Primarily known as a songwriting and record production team, the duo has also released various bodies of work as recording artists, including their debut album, What Dreams Are Made Of, released in November 2015. They are best known for the single "Locked Away" featuring American singer Adam Levine.
Maurice "Verse" Simmonds is a Puerto Rican/Virgin Islander rapper, singer, composer, record producer, and record executive. Based in Los Angeles, California but raised in the Virgin Islands, he moved to the United States after high school and he formed the production duo the Jugganauts in the 1990s. The duo has since co-written and produced tracks such as "Man Down" by Rihanna and "Who Gon Stop Me" by Kanye West and Jay-Z, both of which charted prominently on Billboard.
Michele Sherman, better known by her stage name Siya, is an American rapper. In 2012, she signed with Tank's R&B Money label imprint. She starred in the Oxygen reality TV series Sisterhood of Hip Hop. Siya has collaborated with artists such as Chris Brown, Sage the Gemini and Kirko Bangz. Siya has performed alongside artists such as Wyclef Jean at the world famous B.B. Kings, as well as opened up for Fat Joe and Fabolous during a concert at Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York.
