Skip to main content

Rap Regions II: Leaders of the new school vs. old School veterans

Rap Regions II

Back in 2012, i made 4 blog posts about the rap regions. There was East Coast, West Coast, Midwest, and Dirty South. While all 4 coasts are still relevant today, I feel the landscape of rap has changed dramatically in just that short time. Now more than ever; rap has become less regional. Let's peep some of the new rappers from each region. and the vets.


East Coast-The Eastside has been dominant for most of the last 20 years of rap. Artists like A$AP Rocky, Joey Bada$$, Action Bronson, Mac Miller are some nice rappers in this region. Of course they join a whole host of veteran rappers like Jay-z, Nas, Raekwon, Talib Kweli, Fabolous, Jadakiss, Joe Budden, and 50 Cent, just to  name a few. The East Coast has collaborated with the other coasts for a long time, but it seems you rarely here the classic E.C. sound anymore. J.Cole is more of an East Coast rapper style wise then dirty south, so he rounds out this roster.

Dominant Rapper-J.Cole
Fallen Rapper-50 Cent

West Coast- The west coast is arguably the dominant coast now, which is  really really hard to believe. Rappers like the Game and Dr. Dre have stayed relevant as ever. The new school rappers tho have become dominant forces, namely TDE and Vince Staples. You can even throw Earl Sweatshirt & Tyler the Creator in there...King Mez too. I guess it was just a matter of time that this coast made a serious comeback. Kendrick Lamar is arguably the best rapper right now. His label mates Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock, and Ab-Soul are all potent rappers. Snoop Dogg is also still relevant but he's singing more than rapping on his BUSH album.It doesnt look like the Westside will be fading anytime soon again.

Dominant Rapper-Kendrick Lamar, The Game
Fallen Rapper-N/A

Midwest - Ah the Midwest. Chi Town comes to mind but theres also Detroit, Cleavland, and St. Louis. Rappers like MGK are doing well, hailing from Cleveland. He seems to favor a Dirty South sound tho. There's also Danny Brown who's a weird but very talented rapper. Then there's the big emergence of Big Sean, Kanye's disciple. Big Sean is on GOOD music while rapper Kid Cudi is not. Veterans like Kanye West, Eminem, and Lupe Fiasco have continued to excel in recent years. Rappers Nelly and Twista have all but fallen off, despite, releasing good music in the last 2 years.

DR-Lupe Fiasco, Eminem
FR- Nelly

Dirty South- Once the most dominant region in rap...The durty durty has seen the emergence of Trap music in recent years. Not Crunk...you know stuff like Fetty Wapp and Future. The latter is becoming a force in rap. There are alot of veterans that are still making good music like T.I., Rick Ross,Big Boi, Jeezy,Bun B, and Ludacris. Lil Wayne was once considered the most dominant rapper in the region, but now thats far from true. Travis Scott and Young Thug are some new decent rappers. Its kind of hard to categorize Drake, but he has a Houston sound to some of his mucic, making him the dominant dirty south rapper. But then there's Big K.R.I.T. who's also really really good.

DR-Drake,T.I.
FR-Lil Wayne

Popular posts from this blog

Nas Albums Worst to Best

20)      Nastradamus (75)- It really shouldn’t be a surprise to see this one ranked so low. The lyricism isn’t abysmal but everything is pretty average. How does a song like “Big Girl” make it to a Nas album?? It’s just a boring album plain and simple….I don’t really have a lot to say about it. 19)          Street’s Disciple (82) -I hate having this one so low. I honestly like a lot of the songs on this double disc. Unfortunately there’s quite a bit of filler here just like with Jay-z’s Blueprint 2. Disc one has hits like “Nazareth Savage”, “American Way”, “ Just a Moment” and “ You Know My Style”. Disc 2 has some heat on it too: “Suicide Bounce”, the title track, “Virgo”, “Bridging the Gap” and “Thiefs Theme”.   18) T he Lost Tapes 2 (86) -This one I admit I haven’t heard that much…but its pretty decent. It gets off to a good start with songs like “Vernon Family” and “Jarreau of Rap (Skatt Attack)”. A lot of these songs are ok….but not muc...

Album Review: Kid Cudi-Insano (regular version)

 I gotta admit I didn't like this album that much when I first heard it over half a year ago. I've heard that Kid Cudi doesn't exactly play to his strengths....that's partly true. I do like his rapping here tho. Honestly most songs here kinda blend together....."Keep Bouncin'" is really hype....and it gets the album off to a good start. "At The Party" with Pharrell Williams and Travis Scott may be my favorite song. "Wow" with A$AP Rocky is another highlight. Overall tho I feel this album tries too hard to be trendy. Cudi needed to put more of his pain into it. I mean a happy Cudi album isn't a bad thing but it really seems odd to me. You're not getting alot of singing or hums here know what I mean? However the production I found to be very good. Cudi is one of my favorite rappers like top 20 and I guess this will do for 2024. Lyrics 20 Beats 23 Depth 21 Tilt 21 Verdict 85

Album Review: Lupe Fiasco's Tetsuo & Youth

Lupe has come back, and with a classic album. He seemed to be back on tracks with Food and Liquor II, but F&L2 wasn’t as fun to listen to as his earlier albums. Even LASERS was more fun. This album however, is very complex and fun to listen to. It’s also incredibly well produced. Lupe proves he’s still a top lyricist in the game. Check out his lyrical showcase on Mural, or storytelling on  Prisoner 1 & 2. He’s got a really long song called Chopper which features a lot of guests but its all good. The last song might be the weakest which features Ab-Soul. No Scratches feat. Nikki Jean is one of my favorite songs here. The interludes are pretty intersing, but ultimately skippable. This album is already up for album of the year, and honestly it will be hard for anyone to match this effort. The verdict... its 10/10 for me. This is a great album