Lemme know if you agree or disagree with their assessment of Charm City. * Page 90 of the current ROLLING STONE * For release 11/05/2006 * where hip-hop lives * The music thrives in the heartland and in smaller cities, away from the major labels and their video budgets. Can you pick the next Houston? * (c) 2006, Rolling Stone. First published in ROLLING STONE (r) Magazine. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. * Baltimore Sound. Baltimore club - a hyperkinetic style that combines breakneck beats, pop-culture snippets and spastic MCs - has started to spread outside the Charm City's limits. * Hot Spots. The city's top MCs and beatmakers record at Deep Flow Studios, which doubles as a record store; Club Choices is the premier spot for Baltimore club; Five Seasons hosts MC battles. * Scenemaker. Darkroom Productions dropped 2005's Hamsterdam Volume 1 mix CD, named after an episode of HBO's B'more hit The Wire, whose producers licensed seven songs for the new season. Locals Bossman and Paula Campbell have each been signed to majors. * Dance. Baltimore club spawned the frantic, feet-shuffling fury of the Sponge Bob dance. * Must-have. Big, buggy Stunna shades; T-shirts airbrushed with signs from your street corner; weed, Ecstasy and Grey Goose. * Mix tape. Hamsterdam 2 out in November. -- Evan Serpick * Chicago Sound. An emphasis on lyrics that dates back to Twista. "When they had national MC competitions, somebody from Chicago would win every year," says Tony Fields of All Natural Records. * Hot Spots. The city's skate-rap scene centers around the Uprise Skate Shop, which appeared in Lupe Fiasco's "Kick, Push" video; 606 Entertainment throws the hottest open-mike nights. * Scenemaker. Kanye West, Common, Lupe Fiasco, Rhymefest and local heroes like battle champ Juice, Mass Hysteria and female MC Psalm One; mix-tape guru 5ifth Element; local labels Molemen and All Natural. * Dance. Go straight to YouTube and check out some examples of juking - Chicago's answer to L.A.'s krumping. Must-have. Skateboards and custom sneakers - Fiasco has his own line of Reeboks. Mix tape. 5ifth Element, Soul Wunderful Vol. 1. * -- Evan Serpick * Memphis Sound. A mix of chanted choruses and heavy synthesizers that locals call buck, with an unmistakable underlying blues influence. * Hot Spots. Strip club Platinum Rose features "the best mix of white and black bitches anywhere," according to 8Ball of 8Ball and MJG. * Scenemaker. Oscar winners Three 6 Mafia - and prot?g?s Frayser Boy, Project Pat and Lil Wyte - are the biggest game in town, but veteran duo 8Ball and MJG are local heroes. "Memphis is the original home of blues," says 8Ball. "Even when we get 'buck,' you can feel the soul." The hottest young rapper is Yo Gotti. * Dance. A dance called the gangsta walk has been Memphis' homegrown version of break dancing since the 1990s. * Must-have. If you're rolling toward Beale Street, box Chevys - dating from the Seventies to the early Eighties - are the wheels to have. * Mix tape. DJ Drama and Yo Gotti, "I Told U So" -- Matt Barone * Miami Sound. Bass-heavy, clubcentric production, topped with feel-good subject matter. * Hot Spots. Hip-hoppers (and Lindsay Lohan) hit Opium Garden and Mansion at night, and buy their sneakers at Shoe Gallery. * Scenemaker. Diddy, Fat Joe and Lil Wayne all have homes in the M-I-A, but the natives still run the show. Dominating the scene is Slip-N-Slide Records, which includes Trick Daddy, Trina and Rick Ross. Other players in the 305: producers Scott Storch, Cool and Dre, rapper Pitbull. * Dance. Nothing too trendy this year, but fake Latin moves and bass-music-inspired booty clapping are timeless. Must-have. Everybody drives a donk, or old-school Chevy, hopefully not after they drink an Everglow, a combo of tequila and vodka. * Mix tape. DJ Drama and Plies, From The Bottom To The Top. -- Mark Binelli * San Diego Sound. A set-claiming, sign-throwing update on N.W.A-era gangsta rap, often with Mexican slang and mariachi/ranchera samples blended in. * Hot Spots. The Gaslamp district of bars and clubs is the center of gravity for San Diego hip-hop nightlife; performers also frequent venues such as Chuey's and 4th & B. * Scenemaker. With Tijuana only eighteen miles away, the hip-hop population in "the Dago" is largely Mexican. Acts such as Lil Uno, Lil Al and Low Profile Gangsters are staples of the Chicano scene, but the current front-runner is Lil Rob. "I've been put down for trying to use my slang on radio," says Rob, "so making them respect the Mexican side is San Diego's hurdle." * Dance. "Gangstas don't dance," says Lil Rob, jokingly adding, "but I think we might need one." Must-have. The car: a 1957-'63 Impala with thirteen-inch Dayton rims and hydraulic pumps. The drinks, according to Rob: PATR-N tequila and Mexican beers such as Corona and Dos Equis. * Mix tape. DJ Warrior and Mitchy Slick, Cali Untouchable Radio 13: Dago Edition. * -- Mark Binelli * Copyright 2006, Rolling Stone. First published in ROLLING STONE Magazine. (r) * Distributed by Tribune Media Services. * |
