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Dirty South: OutKast, Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, and the Southern Rappers Who Reinvented Hip-Hop Paperback – May 1, 2011

by Ben Westhoff (Author)

16 customer reviews

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Rap music from New York and Los Angeles once ruled the charts, but nowadays the southern sound thoroughly dominates the radio, Billboard, and MTV. Coastal artists like Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, and Ice-T call southern rap "garbage" but they're probably just jealous, as artists like Lil Wayne and T.I. still move millions of copies, and OutKast has the bestselling rap album of all time. In Dirty South, author Ben Westhoff investigates the southern rap phenomenon, watching rappers "make it rain" in a Houston strip club and partying with the 2 Live Crew's Luke Campbell. Westhoff visits the gritty neighborhoods where T.I. and Lil Wayne grew up, kicks it with Big Boi in Atlanta, and speaks with artists like DJ Smurf and Ms. Peachez, dance-craze originators accused of setting back the black race fifty years. Acting both as investigative journalist and irreverent critic, Westhoff probes the celebrated-but-dark history of Houston label Rap-A-Lot Records, details the lethal rivalry between Atlanta MCs Gucci Mane and Young Jeezy, and gets venerable rapper Scarface to open up about his time in a mental institution. Dirty South features exclusive interviews with the genre's most colorful players. Westhoff has written a journalistic tour de force, the definitive account of the most vital musical culture of our time. Ben Westhoff is a former staff writer for St. Louis's Riverfront Times, whose work has also appeared in the Village Voice, Creative Loafing, Spin, and Pitchfork.

Dirty South: OutKast, Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, and the Southern Rappers Who Reinvented Hip-Hop

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Journalist and hip-hop enthusiast Westhoff delivers a fascinating exploration of the musical and personal terrain of what has come to be known as the Southern sound of rap by such artists as Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, and Ludacris. Westhoff convincingly details how Southern rap music—"party music, full of hypnotic hooks and sing-along choruses"—took over from dominant East Coast and West Coast rap styles by replacing "normal rap structures and metaphor-heavy rhymes... in favor of chants, grunts and shouts." In fact, the beauty of Westhoff's descriptions of the genre as a whole and various songs in particular will make old fans as well as newbies want to search out and play classic CDs such as OutKast's "Aquemini" and "Kings of Crunk" by Lil Jon. And Westhoff's personal trips to the home bases of each artist he presents show how the personalities of the artists reinforce their music, which leads to scenes such as Lil Wayne's equally impassioned and hilarious defense of his fast-paced, workaholic lifestyle: "What am I supposed to do, take a vacation? This is the vacation right here." (May)
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Review

"Unprecedented in its research of the origins of Southern Hip-Hop, this gem is key to understanding the catalyst that caused the 21st Century Dirty South explosion." --The Source

"Dirty South is a must-read for anybody interested in hip-hop's ever-growing role in America's cultural consciousness." --Zack O'Malley Greenburg, Forbes

"Even if you only barely recognize the names in the full title...you can still understand and enjoy Ben Westhoff's new book." --Andrew Matson, Seattle Times

"[A] consistently entertaining and enlightening chronicle of hip-hop below the Mason-Dixon line." --Martin Caballero, Dig Boston

"A fascinating exploration of the musical and personal terrain of what has come to be known as the Southern sound of rap." —Publishers Weekly

"Westhoff offers an excellent introduction to hip-hop in the South that will be informative and enjoyable for both newbies and those familiar with Southern hip-hop...A great introduction to Southern hip-hop, and a fun book for those familiar with the genre and its artists." —Library Journal

"Packed with lively reporting and colorful social history...doesn't shy away from the bigger questions. Westhoff grapples with Southern rap's troubling racial politics and takes on the critics." —Rolling Stone

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Product details

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Chicago Review Press (May 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1569766061
ISBN-13: 978-1569766064
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #204,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #106 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Musical Genres > Rap
- #511 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Forms & Genres > Popular
- #538 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > History & Criticism

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Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars

5 star		69%
4 star		12%
3 star		19%
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Top Customer Reviews

Great crash course in Southern rap

ByMitchell Kingon February 17, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Each chapter covers a different artist (or group of artists), so all together it is a fairly comprehensive history of Southern hip hop through the decades.

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Definitely a great learning resource

ByAmazon Customeron December 13, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Always entertaining and informative. Westhoff knows how to write book about hip-hop. Definitely a great learning resource.

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Excellent read!

ByTedon July 14, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Before reading this book I considered myself a novice in terms of southern rap. But Westhoff eloquently breaks down all the key rappers and their influences in a highly informative a brilliantly written way. This is one of those books that you never want to put down. Highly recommended!

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Really good

ByDiane Troision April 28, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I really enjoyed this book, it has a lot of history of southern rap which I love. I thought it was well written, and interesting. I always wanted to know about DJ Screw, and what happened to Baby. It also tells a lot about writers and producers, I was not aware of all that Timbaland and T Pain have done. I would read another book by this author.

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DIRTY SOUTH

ByJAYon June 14, 2011

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I HAVE READ IN MANY YEARS, IF YOU ARE INTO HIP HOP, YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK

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Needed for school

ByAndrea D. Cravenon January 28, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is a book I needed for a college class, it arrived on time, it's a great read! Very pleased

11 comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Not bad

ByDominickon September 2, 2011

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

An entertaining read. I'm still not sure why Nelly is in this book and I don't agree with the verdict on DJ Smurf but this book is a quick and entertaining read.

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Three Stars

ByMark O'Donnellon December 16, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Could use a bit more interviews or insider knowledge, doesn't offer you much you couldn't find out on Wikipedia

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

I'm a Fan of the Dirty South

I seriously loved this book. I couldn't put it down. Westhoff does an incredible job of presenting southern hip hop in a journalistic way that is mostly unbiased, but at the same...Read more

Published on May 7, 2015 by Preston Johnson

An entertaining and enlightening read

I'm a 62-year old teacher/assistant director, musician, and piano teacher at an independent school.

I just finished reading Dirty South and loved it, especially the...Read more

Published on July 5, 2013 by Rick Stevens

Pretty good

Enjoyable informative read Read more

Published on April 30, 2013 by JBK

None

this is a good book and if you want hip hop you got it after you read this amazing book before i got the book i thought it would be lame but i was wrong very wrong Read more

Published on December 28, 2012 by Nijah Jackson

LIKE PROUST, BUT BETTER AND ABOUT HIP HOP

KIND OF HARD TO GO WRONG WITH A BOOK THAT STARTS OUT WITH A SUBURBAN WHITE BOY PARTYIN' WITH THE 2 LIVE CREW.Read more

Published on June 14, 2011 by Jimmy 3

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