The modern marvels of technology have brought the music world many new and interesting gifts. One of the most important things that this technology has created is the ability to create beats using software. This advance is important because it brought us the ability to create new styles of music including Southern Rap.
What is Southern Rap?
Wikipedia defines it as “a form of American hip hop music that emerged from a late-1980s club-oriented vibe in southern U.S. cities.” It goes on to to proclaim it to be “a third major American hip hop genre, after East Coast hip hop and West Coast hip hop”.
With this description, it is easy to see that southern rap is a very powerful influence in the modern music industry.
How Technology Created Southern Rap
With programs like Fruity Loops, budding rap artists had a new tool for the creation of rap beats and remixes. With a small amount of techno savvy, a recording artists could create and mix their own beats from the comfort of their home recording studio. Adding vocals and sound effects via software editing, the new rapper could create popular music that was already preserved in a digital format that could be easily shared.
A Long Hard Road
Unfortunately, the road to fame was not an easy one. The big recording company executives were not inclined to jump on the bandwagon. For a large portion of the 1990’s, southern rap artist simply could not find a toe hold in the music industry.
This rejection by the big recording labels brought us another important aspect of the modern music world. Many talented rappers were able to break into the music industry by producing and marketing their own recordings via their own Indie labels or on mix tapes. This step created a movement towards independent recording labels that is still going strong today.