Reddit mentions of Dirty South: OutKast, Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, and the Southern Rappers Who Reinvented Hip-Hop

Ben Westhoff's new book about West Coast Hip Hop history, Original Gangstas: The Untold Story of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, and the Birth of West Coast Rap, is up for pre-order on Amazon. It drops on September 13th. Check out the people who've already praised on it the Amazon description, including Greg Mack and Chuck D.

I helped Ben, who previously wrote [a book about Southern Hip Hop,] (https://www.amazon.com/Dirty-South-OutKast-Southern-Reinvented/dp/1569766061?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc) with some of his research and have read the book. I think it's an excellent history of the most important period in West Coast Hip Hop music, full of detail, and with some juicy tidbits that have never been revealed before.

To get a taste of what's in the book, check out the [Facebook page] (https://www.facebook.com/originalgangstasbook/?fref=ts) for the book, which Ben has been posting on. From what I understand Ben is considering doing an AMA here around the time of the book's release. I hope you will check out his new book and ask him some questions if he does. He worked on this book for five years, interviewing some of the most important artists of the period.

Thanks Riceman, really appreciate it. I'm glad I returned to this thread to see /u/MCDayC's edits and your response, which I'm chewing on right now. Really thoughtful, articulate stuff.

There are a lot of great critical voices in this sub, and reading stuff like this makes me think that there's potential here to do something I've always wanted to do: start an online publication dedicated to long-form hip-hop criticism and commentary.

I think there's a 'gap in the market' for this kind of writing with a big-picture/cultural context angle. It'd be less focused on hip-hop news and reportage, which I think is already sufficiently taken care of by your mainstay pubs like Complex, XXL, allhiphop, deadend, Pitchfork, Noisey, as well as the countless rap tabloid and gossip sites. Out of those, I think pitchfork and Noisey are the most 'literary' and provide the most thoughtful commentary. The traditional staples of hip-hop commentary -- XXL and Complex -- don't do this is as well, and are quickly degenerating into depositories for top 10 lists and maddening slideshows.

That said, I really think there's a thirsty readership for this kind of writing. One e-zine that provides a good model/blueprint for this is The Quietus. There's a lot of meat to their reviews, features and opinion sections -- way more substance than you find in your average hip-hop pub. I'd want to take their model of thoughtful, long-form explorations on the intersect of new rock and pop culture, and apply it to the intersect of rap and pop culture. Their voice is literary but not pedantic, and their content is presented elegantly. It's definitely a "thinking man's" magazine, but it doesn't feel academic, which is something I'd want to avoid. A lot of serious rap commentary risks that distanced, academic vibe which is lame. Just needs to be smart and conversational.

I'd also want to take cues from XLR8R, which is a similarly smart voice in left-field electronic music. It's focused on staying on the very tip of what's happening right this very moment in beat music, though, which I wouldn't aim for.

Other inspiration: Ben Westhoff's fantastic piece on RiFF RAFF for LA Weekly, as well as his equally fantastic book, Dirty South: OutKast, Lil Wayne, and the Southern Rappers who Reinvented Hip-Hop. It's thoroughly researched and smart but not academic. He also does a good job of providing cultural context and history, without it reading like a history lesson. That kind of exploration of musical DNA is something I'd want to focus on, like how Westhoff traces things back to the Mississippi Delta in this book. Informing without lecturing.


Another great example of this kind of writing is Chris Molanphy's wonderful feature for pitchfork, I Know You Got Soul: The Trouble with Billboard's R&B / Hip-Hop chart. A publication dedicated to this kind of shit would be awesome. Perhaps not the most commercially viable, but definitely relevant and cool, which is more important haha.

Utilizing these blueprints, models, and inspirations to create a wholly new hip-hop publication is something that I think is pretty feasible, and there are some great voices in this sub alone that would be interested in contributing. I think there's a void in rap journalism where something like this can stand out. For example, it's common for places like XXL or Complex to publish an article listing the best ad-libs. But what's less common is an article or feature about ad-libs; their origin, how they've evolved, how they're recorded, where to they fit into a rapper's brand or aesthetic, etc. Those are the questions that are rarely given consideration beyond top 10 lists, but it's a topic that could make an interesting feature.

I've also worked for some time in the literary/publishing biz, and picked up a decent bit of know-how, as well as some useful contacts. This isn't just a pipe-dream; it's something that I've given serious consideration. This sub also provides the ideal soil to grow that early readership.

I probably shouldn't have laid out my entire roadmap for everyone to see like that like that haha. Also apologies if I just bored you with something only barely related to your comment