This had changed with Andre 3000’s victory decrees of his disdain for the “close minded folks” and notion that the “South had something to say”, which rocked rap beyond belief. With the brewing tension of East Coast and West Coast, Outkast’s victory brought a lot of visceral opposition, as they were generally disregarded as just some Southern rappers. Even while Outkast were unique in providing acerbic lyrics backed up by unique flows and a thematic deviation, the duo was still stuck in the aggregation of Southern music that confined artists from bridging gaps in hip hop’s regional divides.Įnter the 1995 Source Awards. The association with northern artists to Southern music was a bouncy sound associated with simplistic lyrics boisterously delivered and bouncy production consisting of fast percussion.
However, it did not always constitute this for the well renowned duo, as their first effort Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik was still very much a reaffirmation of the then prominent southern sound. With this in mind, Atlanta rap duo Outkast has been able to defy many of the conventions implied by hip hop’s pre-existing forms, specifically the sound of ‘Southern Rap’ of the 1990’s. Considering its long evolution, there still remains a cyclical nature behind the formulaic sound that characterizes not only eras, but also regions, ultimately making certain projects as stand out efforts.
As a genre, a lot of its rhythmic confines are usually associated with a time that fits in with some combination of specific instrumentation, song structure, and sonic landscapes. Hip hop music is sometimes considered a finite art form, even while the sounds of multiple eras can differ across time.