As I watched the Dirty South edition of HipHop Honors last week, I was saddened because there wasn’t a North Carolina segment of the show. I tweeted the question, “where are the NC rappers?” It received a chuckle or two from a few friends and followers, but I really wanted to know, and according to an article I found on Wikipedia, it does.
North Carolina’s hip hop scene is vibrant and very relevant.
The Triangle metropolitan area also boasts a long-standing and diverse hip-hop scene. During hip-hop’s golden era in the mid-90s, both the Lords of the Underground, who met while attending Shaw University, and Yaggfu Front were acclaimed for their jazz-influenced, socially conscious rap also Omniscience who released two singles in 1995 before being dropped by Electra.
In 1998, Little Brother, composed of Rapper Big Pooh, Phonte, and 9th Wonder, met while attending North Carolina Central University. The successful alternative hip-hop group also co-founded the Justus League collective, which features other important North Carolina emcees, including L.E.G.A.C.Y., The Away Team, Darien Brockington, Edgar Allen Floe, Chaundon, and Cesar Comanche.
Other major-label rappers and producers from North Carolina include J. Cole, Kaze, Ski, and Petey Pablo. Well-known underground acts include Kooley High, The Beast, Harvey Blount, and The Nobodies.
