For the Australian DJ, see Dirty South Southern hip hop is a form of American hip hop music that emerged in the late-1990s as a popular force from cities including, but not limited to, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Memphis, New Orleans, Miami, and Baton Rouge. In the 1980s, the rise and spread of hip hop culture from New York City and California spurred cities in the Southern United States to develop and nurture their own respective hip hop scenes. Without large urban markets like New York City and Los Angeles, major record labels largely ignored the South for decades. Southern rap artists were forced to release their music independently. The mixtape scene has factored largely in the success of many of today's southern rap artists. Typical features The production style of southern rap can veer towards either a soul-based sound (Dungeon Family, Arrested Development) or a bouncier sound, Dirty Sou