There’s no denying Atlanta’s place at the top of Hip Hop’s regional power rankings. The culture may have been born in New York City in the 1970s, but since the turn of the millennium, it has found a vibrant adopted home in Atlanta — and there’s no sign of it being uprooted.
From Kilo Ali and Arrested Development to Outkast and Goodie Mob; Jermaine Dupri and Lil Jon to Ludacris, T.I., Jeezy and Gucci Mane; Future, 2 Chainz and Waka Flocka Flame to Young Thug, Migos, 21 Savage and Lil Baby, the ATL has pumped out seemingly endless generations of artists and producers who have remoulded rap music in their own image.
If you ask Young Thug, who appeared at the 2021 REVOLT Summit in his hometown over the weekend, Atlanta’s dominance is only set to continue for another decade.
“I don’t see no city taking over Atlanta,” he declared when asked what the next five to 10 years holds for the A. “Because we steady having new artists come from Atlanta, bruh, and we getting bigger and bigger and bigger. The biggest artists that are popping right now are from Atlanta.
“We gon’ keep going higher and higher. I don’t see no other city gaining the number one spot again. We got it.”
How has Atlanta has been able to displace New York as the modern-day Hip Hop mecca exactly? According to Thugga, it’s thanks to the city’s sense of community, collaboration and uninhibited creativity.
“The Southern hospitality, man. It’s Black, it’s just Black as fuck,” he explained. “The youth kinda own everything, the newer generation run everything. Everybody got hearts, everybody love each other — well, for the most part. It ain’t that many haters.”
Gunna, who was sat next to Thug on the REVOLT Summit stage, concurred. “Definitely more real ones than haters in Atlanta, believe it,” he added.
Metro Boomin Ranks His Top 5 Atlanta Rappers - But Jeezy, 2 Chainz & André 3000 Miss Out
Even non-Atlanta rappers recognize the greatness of the city’s Hip Hop heritage. Last year, Long Beach, California native Vince Staples hailed Atlanta as the home of Hip Hop’s greatest ever rappers while chiming in on the chatter surrounding a potential Verzuz battle between T.I. and 50 Cent.
“Atlanta got the best rappers ever and it’s not even close,” he argued on Twitter. “It’s ten billion rappers from Atlanta and they all got a classic song and unique outfits. They probably got more outfits than they got songs.”
He continued, “Young Dro got more wordplay than a lot of n-ggas from everywhere and he not even brought up as a top Atlanta rapper. If we doing states California up there but as a city Atlanta got way too many n-ggas and way too much innovation. Atlanta got Big Gip !!!”
Watch Young Thug’s full conversation at the 2021 REVOLT Summit below.
Atlanta will ruin* rap for the next 5-10 years.
Has already ruined it since 2007. Now it’s just gay AF. Today’s GAyTL rappers spend more time shopping for clothes and screwing each other than actual making “Real Music”. Jeezy, Gucci Mane, OutKast and Ludacris are the only good that ever came out of there. The rest is garbage.
Nobody will remember young thug or any dress wearing mumble “rappers” in 10 years.
To be honest it’s a stretch. I think this is actually their peak..the sound went to experimental snappy music all the way to get back to a level that outkast reached. You have lil baby with the lyrics and have still thhe young thug type of flow. Rap is now going back to the lyrics and production. The highest selling artist were drake Cole and Ye this year you had Nas win a Grammy. Atlanta is quantity over quality.
Lol I dont care what city people are calling the best when rap is the way it is right now. Drake is still selling the most which in itself is an embarrassment to hip hop as a whole. Kanye running around trying to convince everybody he’s a genius when he’s clearly not that smart in general.. only smart in a business sense. Cole is decent. Then you got these dumb mumble rappers who can barely talk or make any sense in interviews. Can we get a new genre? Were due for a new one. Rap is so bad right now. It’s like rock in 80s. I give it maybe another decade of being the highest selling genre. It’s getting so bad and will continue to get worst.
More like ATL gave Hip Hop the “runs” lol. Been in the toilet ever since and hasn’t came out the bathroom in almost 15 years.
Drake, Cardi B, Megan the Stallion, Jcole, Kanye, … which one of current popular rappers is from Atlanta?
A lot of black people I knew who grew up in the New York/ New Jersey area moved to either the Atlanta or Charlotte area for work and space reasons back in the late 90s early 2000s so this doesn’t surprise me as a lot of the institutional memory of rap is concentrated in these areas now. Lots of peoples nephews and nieces making music in Atlanta – very high quality productions recently