three six
mafia, the
greatest story
in memphis rap
4/6
8 ball & MJG,
duo from
orange mound
3/6
tommy wright iii:
the horrorcore
storyteller
2/6
gangsta boo:
the queen of
memphis rap
5/6
gangsta pat:
a worthy rival
and a
crazy flow
6/6
the creators:
DJ spanish fly
DJ squeeky, &
DJ zirk
1/6
spaceghost-
purpp and
the rise
of phonk
1/5
phonk: a
new genre
emerges
2/5
xavier wulf
and the new
underground
sound
3/5
chris
travis:
waterboyz
legacy
4/5
black smurf
the hustle
god: waterboyz
legacy
5/5
young dolph:
generosity,
leaving a
memphis legacy
1/6
key glock:
the protégé/
the new face
of memphis
2/6
blocboy jb:
how the
'shoot' took
over the world
3/6
tay keith:
the producer
behind memphis'
modern sound
4/6
nle choppa:
from high
school to
stardom
5/6
glorilla:
a star
from
frayser
6/6
The 90s was an important decade in Memphis rap as this is when the classic Memphis underground sound was created. This genre of music,
also known as Memphis horrorcore, began as very low-budget due to the West and East coasts' dominance over rap music; however,
this lo-fi sound is what helped give Memphis rap its signature style.
Early Memphis rap sampled a lot of soul, horror movies, used distortion and utilized very simple piano and synth lines and the legendary
drum sounds of the TR-808, all of which went on to influence later Memphis rap and rap in general.
The 2010s marked a new era of music on the internet. With the rise of SoundCloud and southern rap as a whole, there was also a resurgence and return
to the gritty Memphis underground sound that especially thrived within this new DIY rap scene that mimicked how Memphis rappers made music since
the beginning.
We start to see collectives like RaiderKlan and SeshHollowWaterBoyz take over the underground, using the same intricate flows, aesthetic and lyrical
darkness that put 90s Memphis rap on the map; we also see a new genre, "phonk", that was directly created to emulate that Memphis sound and often
incorporates 90s Memphis rap samples and drum sounds.
Contemporary Memphis rap has carved out an interesting niche in music. Rappers from all over the city have cultivated a very recognizable sound inspired
by those triplet flows of the 90s underground and the heavy kicks and loud hi-hats that the city is known for. Memphis has also begun receiving its flowers
in the conversation of influence as southern rap has become dominant, although it is still often overlooked.
Producers like Tay Keith have taken the Memphis production mainstream, collabing with artists like Drake, Travis Scott and Cardi B, the infamous
90s Memphis rap group Three 6 Mafia has become one of the most sampled and interpolated groups in modern rap, and Blocboy JB's dance and song "shoot"
has become such a viral phenomenon that his choreography is featured in one the most played video games ever.
Memphis Rap Archive [uncomprehensive]
about the Roland TR-808
Memphis Rap Archive is a website that chronicles the
Memphis underground hip-hop sound of the 90s and how it has influenced the
underground internet rap scene in the 2010s, as well as the contemporary Memphis rap sound and modern hip-hop in general.
Memphis rap has had a large influence on the current sound of hip-hop, but it is often left out of the conversation; this website aims to take various
scattered elements from across the internet to show the influence clearly and shine a light
on an underappreciated subgenre.
this website is never complete and meant to be constantly updated; if you have requests for artists to be added contact me here
website designed and developed by Galen Aubrey Hicks, typefaces used are Steps Mono by Raphaël Bastide and Jean-Baptiste Morizot,
Fraktion by Pangram Pangram Foundry, Supply Mono by Pangram Pangram Foundry.
special thanks to Amy Auman, Thuy Tran, and Com Des 2023 //
click here for more work
