Where to start with Southern Hip-Hop

Southern Hip-Hop is a music scene from Southern United States, 1987–2007. Its principal artists include Outkast, UGK, Three 6 Mafia and Organized Noize. This issue covers 10 essential albums and 19 dated events.

Start here

1
Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik
Outkast · 1994
It proved Southern rap could be regionally specific and commercially viable, establishing the live-instrumentation aesthetic that defined the scene.
2
Ridin' Dirty
UGK · 1996
Original release: Jive · JDAB-42426-1 · 12″ Vinyl · US 1996
It carried the Gulf Coast's blues-inflected, Pimp C-produced sound into national relevance, showing the scene's other founding region.
3
Mystic Stylez
Three 6 Mafia · 1995
It became the blueprint for Memphis's dark, horror-influenced production style, revealing a third distinct pillar of the Southern sound.

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4
ATLiens
Outkast · 1996
Original release: LaFace Records · ARCD 6029 · CD · US 1996
Outkast's 1996 sophomore album pushed into spacey, dub-influenced territory, dropping the 'player' personas of their debut entirely.
5
Aquemini
Outkast · 1998
Original release: LaFace Records · 73008-26053-4 · Cassette · UK 1998
Released September 29, 1998, Aquemini fused Big Boi's zodiac sign, Aquarius, with André's, Gemini, into a single word marking the leap forward from ATLiens.
6
Soul Food
Goodie Mob · 1995
Released in 1995 and produced entirely by Organized Noize in Rico Wade's un-air-conditioned basement, Soul Food established Atlanta's socially conscious, Southern soul-influenced aesthetic as a direct counterpoint to gangsta rap's commercial hold on the genre.
7
CrazyNDaLazDayz
Tear da Club up Thugz · 1999
Released in 1999 under the Tear da Club up Thugz name, a Three 6 Mafia side project, CrazyNDaLazDayz stands as one of the first fully realized crunk albums.

For the obsessed

8
Stankonia
Outkast · 2000
Original release: LaFace Records · 73008 26072 2 · CD · Germany 2000
Stankonia, released in 2000, was the first hip-hop album to openly acknowledge rave culture as an influence, folding techno and electronic music into its sound as ecstasy worked its way into Atlanta's clubs.
9
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
Outkast · 2003
The 2003 double album went diamond, becoming the highest-certified hip-hop release ever at 13 million units.
10
When the Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1
Three 6 Mafia · 2000
Original release: Loud Records · 497506 2 · CD · US 2000
Three 6 Mafia's first platinum album, released in 2000, marked the group's turn from underground horrorcore pioneers to commercially successful crunk innovators, arriving a year after CrazyNDaLazDayz, released under the…

The stories behind every record are in Southern Hip-Hop, a members' issue.