Once upon a time in a universe far, far away, HipHopDX used to host blogs. Through Meka, Brillyance, Aliya Ewing and others, readers got unfiltered opinions on the most current topics in and beyond Hip Hop. After a few years, a couple redesigns and the collective vision of three different Editors-In-Chief, blogs are back. Well, sort of. Since our blog section went the way of two-way pagers and physical mixtapes, Twitter, Instagram and Ustream have further accelerated the pace of current events in Hip Hop. Rappers beef with each other 140 characters at a time, entire mixtapes (and their associated artwork) can be released via Instagram, and sometimes these events require a rapid reaction.
As such, we’re reserving this space for a weekly reaction to Hip Hop’s current events. Or whatever else we deem worthy. And the “we” in question is me, Andre Grant and Ural Garrett. Collectively we serve as HipHopDX’s Features Staff. Aside from tackling stray topics, we may invite artists and other personalities in Hip Hop to join the conversation. Without further delay, here’s this week’s “Stray Shots.”
Did Katrina Stop The Second Wave Of NOLA Hip Hop?
Andre: My Freshman year Psych professor was fond of a saying that has stuck with me throughout my life: correlation does not equal causation. It’s saved me from countless blunders over time and flung me directly into the way of others. Was there a second wave of NOLA Hip Hop brewing before the tragedy that was Katrina? It’s extremely hard to say. It stopped a lot of momentum, that’s for sure. Cash Money had to move to Atlanta for a while. Frank Ocean ended up in L.A., and No Limit (it’s stop coming up rather soon regardless) was kept short of a real, genuine swan song, but to have me tell you that NOLA Hip Hop suffered a loss so great that it still has not recovered there is, well, a study in how scenes work. This is completely unscientific, by the way, so work with me.
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Scenes are affected by many things, but none more so than people. Folks are the life’s blood of every scene and without a steady stream of it pouring out through the venues and record shops and street corners then you have nothing. Katrina drove that scene out of its core and scattered it throughout the country with folks ending up God knows where. It also drove a stake into the heart of several dreams, as the survivors had to deal with the living, the dead, and themselves. Trauma often breeds great creativity, but the combination of displacement, vultures swooping in looking for land, crooked insurance companies and a rampant misunderstanding of cultural tropes led to whatever was brewing in True Detective country to fizzle. For those that returned, it must have seemed like there were more important things than music. Things like bringing your community back.
Katrina was the defining event of George Bush’s presidency, and, in a strange way, the defining act of the 21st century in America. We raged, and fumed and went to war with no one and everyone after 9/11. For that memory, and at that time, my wounds are vivid and fresh. But after Katrina there was no one to go after. Not the Army Core of Engineers or the poor folks dragged into the undertow or the businesses that lost everything. You couldn’t blame anyone or anything at all. And that helplessness has carried over to all of us, I think.
Afterward, the torch bearer of NOLA rap has largely been Wayne. That’s quite the burden to bear.
Ural: Around three or so days before Hurricane Katrina hit, I’d just landed in New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong International Airport with my family in tow for my freshmen year of college at Southern University and A&M College. Getting a taste of southern hospitality, a recent graduate of my alma mater and total stranger at a Baton Rouge (around 60 miles from The Crescent City) Chili’s gave me a ride to Wal-Mart for some dorm room essentials. From an outsider looking in, it was creepy watching the mad dash for essential supplies like batteries and water. Matter of fact, I was pissed that the water section was damn near empty at the time. It was a Saturday night or almost two days before the most catastrophic natural disaster the United States ever witnessed hit landfall. Southern shut down and had students out of state such as myself stay indoors for about a week and a half. Once the cable and internet got turned back on, witnessing the horror New Orleans residents were faced with was fucking jaw-dropping. That attitude turned into a rage once I became acquainted with friends who still suffer from the aftereffects to this day. Let’s not forget the lack of true support on both state and federal levels. Looking back, though, one industry nearly destroyed from Katrina was its Hip Hop scene. Though a handful of artists has found success one way or another, there hasn’t been a collective movement quite like pre-Katrina era Cash Money and even No-Limit. Putting things into perspective, watching an episode of HBO’s Treme really serves as a great example of how displaced most musicians were following the events.
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Then again, by the time Katrina rolled around, Master P tried unsuccessfully to relaunch No Limit as The New No Limit. Meanwhile, Lil Wayne was the only credible artists left after Juvenile, Mannie Fresh and B.G. left Cash Money as Mystikal still laid in jail. By the time that label restructured, they set up shop between Atlanta and Miami. Makes sense why Lil Wayne would hold his Lil Weezyana fest in New Orleans’ on the storm’s tenth anniversary. When it comes to individual artists not attached to a label, Frank Ocean left the city for Southern California and linked up with Odd Future before having his break-out moment. Current buzzworthy producer/rapper Chase N. Cashe found his way in L.A. after the hurricane as well. Even Big Freedia and Young Greatness settled in Houston for a while before getting back to the city. For someone with as much talent as 3D Na’tee or Dee-1, the lack of a bustling Hip Hop scene similar to Atlanta, New York or LA made their eventual rise unnecessarily harder. Looking at successful stories emcee’s like Curre$ny’s rise within a city severely handicapped scene wise is more than inspiring. Like the city before Katrina, there were organizational issues with that only heightened afterwards. Thankfully, there are still great new artists from the area including Alfred Banks who recently won a promotional contest with Revolt and McDonalds. Did Katrina exactly stop the second wave New Orleans’ Hip Hop? Not necessarily. But, its potential for movement building moments akin to its coastal peers is severely severed.
Andre Grant is an NYC native turned L.A. transplant that has contributed to a few different properties on the web and is now the Features Editor for HipHopDX. He’s also trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot. Follow him on Twitter @drejones.
Ural Garrett is a Los Angeles-based journalist and HipHopDX’s Senior Features Writer. When not covering music, video games, films and the community at large, he’s in the kitchen baking like Anita. Follow him on Twitter @Uralg.
