Memphis rapper Yo Gotti quoted as one of the Best of 2006 by NY Times

Yo Gotti’s “I Told You So” and Lil Wayne’s “Dedication 2” are two of the rappers and rap albums quoted by New York Times as must-have local hip-hop hits.

Yo Gotti’s “I Told You So” and Lil Wayne’s “Dedication 2” are two of the rappers and rap albums quoted by New York Times as must-have local hip-hop hits that would leave any 2006 hip-hop collection incomplete. In the article on New York Times, which focused on Baton Rouge rapper Lil Boosie, it was mentioned that local rap seems to be the thing today.

The article also goes on to mention that in the year of rap 2006, T.I.’s “King” was the years best hip-hop CD and the only 2006 CD to sell over 1 million copies. It goes on to mention that Busta Rhymes’ album “The Big Bang” and also Rick Ross’ heavily promoted major label debut “Port of Miami” both barely sold a half-million copies.

Comments were made that rappers are not selling like they use to because they’re thinking local. Are rappers truly thinking locally? “I think so,” says Hosea ‘M Town’ Mays, Jr, founder and director of MemphisRap.com. “It is something I have been saying to rappers in conversations for quite some time now. It’s not that the South is not marketable it’s just that most aren’t marketed properly. There’s immediate proof in that, here in Memphis, when you look at rappers like Playa Fly and Gangsta Boo, or even Gangsta Blac who all in my opinion and the opinion of many others are rappers who could have been the biggest of the biggest rappers if marketed right. I mean there’s many others too out of the South but these artists just came to mind and I’m not saying they can’t still make it big but just sayin it’s long overdue, if so. Maybe the majors that are picking up the locals in the South are not hiring on the right people that know this market; or maybe, there’s just not much interest yet in really getting behind our artists financially because they (the majors) haven’t seen the profit that can be made from it. I think that independent artists that are making a descent profit can lead the way somewhat if they put their own money in the right places and show the majors what they’re capable of before signing too soon. Otherwise artists should simply make sure that they will be marketed properly by the label that they sign with by first seeing it on paper,” states Mays.

Well one thing’s for sure and that is the South has definitely launched into the music industry and has made marks from dance trends, designer mouth pieces to changing fashion and even the language of today which slang today has the South written all over it. Or should we say relaunched into the music industry because with just a simple search of the internet or library you will find the South has actually been a leader or rather biggest inspirator of music from the beginning. Even in the Rock N Roll scene the South was there in the beginning; in the Rhythm & Blues scene the South was there in the beginning, and though many may not know it, in the Hip-Hop scene the South was there in the beginning. You must keep in mind that the camera’s and print media that published to an extremely broad audience back then where not exactly spotlighting the South.