It’s a known fact that hip-hop music has always been defined by the region it originates from. The East Coast is known for its complex freestyle lyrics, the West Coast for its gangster-related beats and the Dirty South for keeping a laid back tempo. However, over the past decade, an unexpected addition rose from the middle of nowhere. This new addition is the Midwest, known as hip-hop’s unofficial fourth coast, and is starting to leave a powerful mark on the map of hip-hop.
Since the early 1960s, America’s Heartland was recognized for producing the legendary styles of Motown. However, it wasn’t until the mid ‘90s that a new musical resource of talent was discovered and Midwest underground hip-hop began to make way. With popularization of the Internet and the development of websites such as MySpace, up and coming artists in cities like Minneapolis and Milwaukee gained the tools to compete with the big names in New York and L.A. This led to a new wave of homespun hip-hop artists that haven’t been afraid to let the world know where they were born and how they were raised.
The Midwest subterranean hip-hop movement has proven to be particularly powerful in states like Minnesota and Wisconsin. Cities such as Minneapolis, Madison and Milwaukee have all become heavily influenced by this rhyme-slaying art form. Even though La Crosse may not be considered a predominant hip-hop community, it is close enough in distance to these three cities where any music aficionado will still be able to get their fill.
Minneapolis, Minn.
The hip-hop scene in Minneapolis started out small in the mid ‘90s with a few artists deejaying and rapping at house parties throughout the metropolitan area. It wasn’t until the early 2000’s that it became well-known with the development of the local record company, Rhymesayers Entertainment. Today, the infectious break beats of Atmosphere and the supremely honest Islamic rapper, Brother Ali, dominate the scene. Both their music and the music of others around them is heavily charged by political, economic and social issues.
Milwaukee, Wis.
Hip-hop in Milwaukee dates all the back to the early 1980s, but it didn’t receive recognition until around 1992. Until the end of the 1990s, the Milwaukee scene was greatly restricted to the city’s north side. However, in the early 2000s, members of the hip-hop community began to attend the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee where they pioneered different cultural organizations. These organizations began to bridge the gap between the north and east side by inviting artists from the north side, such as Kid Millions, to perform on the east side. Most recently, Milwaukee’s sound heavily incorporates the use of live instrumentation and neo-soul influences.
Madison, Wis.
Politicians, Bucky the Badger and crazy college kids aren’t exactly what comes to mind when describing a city that heavily influences hip-hop. “While Madison doesn’t exactly have its own huge hip-hop base, it is very welcoming to new artists of any genre, making it the perfect place for a musical movement to flourish,” says Tricia Wehrenberg, UW-L junior and Madison native. Recently, the streets of Madison have been filled with the reflective rhymes of The Crest and the self-confessional lyrics of F.Stokes.
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