WHO RUN IT?!...down south rulers

nowadays it seems that almost every rapper in the dirty loves to throw some royal moniker in front of their name in an effort to state their superiority. T.I. is the self-declared "king of the south" and lil scrappy is considered the "prince of crunk" and so forth and so on, but who really runs it? and do these rappers have the right to call themselves the "king/prince/whatever" of anything?

well, we all understand that rappers from the south are of a different breed and held to a different standard. while east coast rappers have edgier beats and darker lyrics, southern rappers have bass-heavy beats and laid back, yet sometimes still gully, lyrics. however, it seems that lyrics aren't emphasized as much in the south as they are in the north. for instance, if a rapper from the up north had subpar lyrics or flow, no matter how dope the beat was, he would be considered whack (ie: memphis bleek or tony yayo). however, a rapper from the south could have subpar lyrics as long as his beats rattle the trunk properly, and still be a favorite of the masses (ie: ying yang twins "haaaaaaaaaa" or "whoooo?!" mike jones). T.I. and lil scrappy are two of the rappers from down south who have decent, if not better then decent, flow. however, is their flow good enough to have them be considered royalty in the game? and how can we forget the other rap monsters of the south? outkast, scarface & the geto boys, bun-b & pimp-c, mjg & 8-ball, just to name a few, are among the LEGENDS in the south more deserving of all the accolades then some of the newer rappers from the south.

VIBE magazine posed the question "is T.I. the jigga of the south?" I asked several individuals (all hailing from NY, NJ, OH, and VA) if they thought T.I. was dope enough to be labeled the "jigga of the south." a look of bewilderment came over the face of my boy, cease. "is T.I. the jigga of the south?" he asked. "niggas should ask 'is T.I. the luda of the south?'!"

it's obvious who my boy believes to be the best rapper in the south, and though his question is geographically inaccurate, he raises a good point. we all know jay-z to be one of the most lyrical rappers in the world. so in comparing T.I. to hov, are they saying that T.I. is the most lyrical rapper in the south? my boys and i have a running joke (even though it's not funny and it's true) that luda has never given us anything whack. even his subpar bars shit on many people's best. now that's not to say that T.I. is whack (which he is far from), but let's face it, he is definitely no luda.

and speaking of people whose worst bars still shit on other people's best, this brings me to my favorite rapper below the mason-dixon line. on a label known for below-average rhymes, yet bangin beats, lil wayne a.k.a. weezy f. baby (please say the baby, baby) shines like the true lyrical star he is. in my opinion, he has single handedly kept rap credibility in cash money records' corner for the last 3-5 yrs. at a label known for stuntin and flossy rhymes, weezy's lyrical content is nothing short of superb. if you need further proof please check any CD or mixtape he has ever released (i recommend dj drama: dedication).

in conclusion, though it is obvious to most true fans of the culture who runs the east (jay-z, nas, dipset <--wishful thinking maybe) and the west (dr. dre, snoop, and pac <--from the grave or galapagos islands), it's harder to determine who runs the south. with young cats like T.I., scrappy, young jeezy, and others on the rise it is nearly impossible to realize who deserves to sit atop the throne. a new rapper from the south sprouts up every week, vying for the top spot. if you ask cease who has the number 1 spot, he'll tell you "the nigga with the song." maybe cats should hold off on labeling themselves anything other than their rap names until they put in the years that the veterans in the south have put in. that's just my thought ladies and gentlemen.