Earlier this year, Hot 97’s Ebro Darden asserted that Southern Hip Hop’s dominance in the music market will soon come to an end and Future is the only thing the South has at this point. Now, 20-year rap veteran Lil Keke explains to DJ Smallz why Old Man Ebro is wrong.
“We just getting started,” the “Southside” rapper says. “The other people had 15-20 years. You know what kills us down here? In all those eras that you named from New York when they had their 15-20 year run and the West Coast, we loved all that.”
The plot twist comes in when the rap industry failed to embrace Southern music in its infancy, whereas the people from the South supported their own artists regardless of how popular they became and/or faded out of mainstream relevancy. Keke says because of this, the region’s reign will never end because the South won’t ever stop supporting the South.
“They used to call us ‘country,’ but country people, we all stick together,” he says. “We’re just [now] bubbling and flaring up.”
The Houston rapper also notes how the South doesn’t age their artists and points out the fact that respected rap veterans such as Scarface can go on tour to make money today because he’s still supported by rap fans both young and old. He also names Yo Gotti, Young Jeezy, Juicy J and other dirty South rappers who can still make music years after breaking onto the scene and have fans waiting for their next release or tour.
“You don’t have a 17, 18, 19, or 20-year-old going back to the store buying a Run-D.M.C. Not that they don’t respect it, they just not from that,” he says. “You don’t have a 18, 19, 20-year-old going back and getting AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, an Ice Cube album. But you could get a 15, 19, 20-year-old to go buy a Face Deeply Rooted or new Lil Keke Slfmade, like that.”
Watch Lil Keke’s interview with DJ Smallz below.
Love how he threw in a little self promotion for his own album at the end. I’m sure everyone is gonna be waiting in line to buy your new album, Keke.
You could get someone to buy Deeply Rooted, but not Slfmade cause you’re trash and irrelevant as fuck. Btw you just gettin started?! you guys already ruined hiphop, this is actually the end.
no you idoit. he’s talking about his fan base. obviously you are not a fan so he wouldnt expect you to buy it. hes talking about longterm followers. i assume you’ve never went to texas. you’d know that if you did. hes a legend down there
we don’t clown our southern legends down here. That’s why NY fell off yall clown your legends.
southern rap is getting dull and played out like NY rap did before it. there’s gonna be some new shit to push southern rap out. probably some hybrid style with more focus on EDM.
The South is the largest region in America . It’s going to be hard to get the South to not buy their own music and buy NY or any other regions music Before their own . #KeepDreaming #ItWontHappen
713 All day $tand Up!!! – 7/13/2016
Keke done fell off like a mf but he has a point. The south gon always be here we aint goin nowhere. We always supported our own but now with the internet, southern artists, producers, etc. dont need the NY and LA record labels to make money and put out product.
I’m sure his new album is fire. Houston artists don’t make wack albums. They might make albums that are more popular. But never a wack album. I’ll support Self made and Deeply Rooted cause I know these albums are going to have some content laced with tight ass flows. These h.h.d.x. keyboard warriors only know what the radio tells them to, like this bitch made f k.h.h.d.x. Little Key key is a legend in Texas get your facts straight you bum.
Dont ever menntion ice cubes shit,Fuck is u saying little niggah