Third Coast: OutKast, Timbaland, and How Hip-Hop Became a Southern Thing [Paperback]

Roni Sarig (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2007

Typically, more than half the top rap songs in the country are the work of Southern artists. In a world still stuck in the East/West coast paradigm of the ’90s, Southern hip hop has dominated the genre-and defined the culture-for years. And the South’s leading lights, most notably OutKast, Timbaland, and more recently, crunk superstars like the Ying Yang Twins and Lil Jon, have expanded the parameters of hip hop. Third Coast is the first book to deal with Southern hip hop as a matter of cultural history, and the first to explain the character and significance of down South rapping to fans as well as outsiders. It tells the story of recent hip hop, marking how far the music has come sonically and culturally since its well-documented New York-centered early years.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Though most casual fans know the story of hip-hop's birth in the ashes of the South Bronx, the story of the South's entry into the modern rap scene remains relatively unknown. Here, author and music writer Sarig (The Secret History of Rock) provides the "Dirty South" its first complete history, an ambitious tale featuring Southern industry luminaries like Pharrell Williams and Jermaine Dupri, as well as the acts mentioned in the subtitle. Sarig's chronicle boasts remarkable depth and breadth, covering every aspect of Southern hip-hop, including dozens-if not hundreds-of acts. Moving away from historical documentation to analysis can lead Sarig to make some questionable generalizations ("it's easy to observe that, today, the blues is almost entirely the province of middle-aged white people"), but his attention to the music itself reaches some dizzying pinnacles-as in deconstructing crunk lyrics to reveal connections to 11th century working-class Saxons. Throughout, Sarig is informative and entertaining, keeping an eye on the big picture while managing this huge swath of uncollected music history; though the necessary surfeit of details may wear out casual readers, Sarig ably connects the stories of record shops, roller discos and street corners from Houston to Miami to Virginia Beach.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Rap has become mainstream, and Sarig limns some of its most important performers by adopting a regional focus on what may at first seem an unlikely place, the American South. Like the Allman Brothers in the 1970s, Timbaland, OutKast, and others have created an identifiably southern style. Different sensibilities and a refreshing noninvolvement in rap's infamous East-West contretemps mark the irrepressible enthusiasm of many southern rappers. From Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik in 1994 onward, the playful OutKast (Andre 3000 and Big Boi, aka Andre Benjamin and Antwan Patton) has exhibited an adventurous approach that earned huge sales, and Timbaland (ne Timothy Z. Mosley) is a noted producer and composer as well as performer. All southern hip-hop, aka Dirty South Hip Hop, is probably a cipher to those for whom rap genres and performers all sound alike, but Sarig may help even them differentiate and appreciate this complex, fun, less-threatening relative of gangsta rap. A good introduction to its subject and appreciation of an important movement in pop music. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306814307
• ISBN-13: 978-0306814303
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.1 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #800,719 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Needs a Part 2! January 7, 2010

By Sharelle Brown

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

As a hip-hop fan originally from the East Coast, but now residing in the Midwest, where a majority of popular rap music is from the South, I was interested in reading this book to learn about the development of hip-hop in the Southern region. This book seems to focus primarily on Outkast, with notable sections on Eightball and MJG, Timbaland, and The Neptunes, among others. My only problem is that this book was written right before some of the better artists of today really made it big, so it seems as if it's incomplete. Maybe the author will consider a part 2?

5.0 out of 5 stars Quality September 2, 2011

By Dominick

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is the best book I've read about Southern Hip Hop. The detail Sarig goes into and the breadth history he's able to touch on is amazing.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Source - Southern Hip-Hop June 1, 2009

By E. Watson

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book provides a good overall synopsis of Southern Hip-hop. The historical framework from which it develops is discussed at length. The research is supplemented by firsthand accounts of the author with musicians and others in southern hip-hop. The author is not afraid to posit his own conclusions and challenges the reader to do so. This study of southern hip-hop is written very well and is an easy enough read for those who are just fans of the genre. It is also so substantive in its facts, research, documentation, etc., that it is suitable as a source for the music scholar.