Best Local Hip-Hop Act

Take two minutes and 14 seconds out of your busy schedule and watch J.I.D’s segment for the 2018 XXL magazine Freshman Cypher and it?s clear that the hype is well deserved. On the heels of releasing 2017’s The Never Story via J. Cole’s Dreamville Records, rapper J.I.D (born Destin Route), has blazed a path through Atlanta’s underground hip-hop scene, smoking the competition on all fronts. Dude?s brain is blessed with a high-speed processor to rap harder, faster, and more coherently than anyone else who calls the Atlanta metro home. Over the last year he has shared the stage with Mac Miller, Thundercat, and the likes, and his up-coming sophomore album, DiCaprio 2, is building up to be Atlanta?s hip-hop event of the year. less...

In 2018, Playboi Carti took his signature brand of mumble rap and ran with it, creating the playful sing-rap style that defines his first proper album, Die Lit (Polydor). Carti, born Jordan Carter, possesses a high-pitched, scat-like rap style that sets him apart from his counterparts such as Lil Uzi Vert, Travis Scott, Lil Yachty, et al. Carti’s technique is fully on parade in songs such as “Right Now,” “Poke It Out,” and “Choppa Won’t Miss” feat. Yung Thug, creating infectious hooks and one liners like, “I’m on ‘em beans for the real, I’m on the lean for real” in “Lean 4 Real” (feat. Skepta). Carti’s style is something to embrace. His energy and songs capture a snapshot of a young Atlantan in his prime. less...

If the children are the future, Two9 is a harbinger of hell to pay. And no, that’s not a backhanded compliment. Like Los Angeles’ Odd Future and Harlem’s A$AP Mob, the ragtag Atlanta collective of MCs and producers recalls an era when smoking blunts and bagging stunts was no fun if the homies couldn’t have none. Ratchet lyrical aspirations aside, this young crew of rowdy upstarts has a mean work ethic that includes an endless stream of new music, in-house video direction, and production, which they’ve successfully farmed out to big names such as Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky, and Kreayshawn. Did we mention they run deep? With a core consisting of Key!, Curtis Williams, Fat Kids Brotha, Retro Su$h!, Wavy Wallace, and Damien Aidoo, Two9’s extended list of hometown affiliates (MoneyMakinNique, Papa Jae, the Coolismac, DJ Osh Kosh, Originalfani, Gunner Stahl) make it hard to sleep on the self-made movement espoused on the recent mixtape Two 9 Forever. Five years ago, an otherground rap scene sprouted in Atlanta that largely went unheralded by the industry players-that-be. The emergence of Two9 feels like a second coming of sorts. Just don’t expect these kids to be content with asking for what’s presumably theirs for the taking. www.two-9.tumblr.com. less...

After debuting with the bombastic Flockaveli last year, rap’s most divisive figure found time to pose nude for PETA and then announced his early retirement at the age of 25 in an attempt to flee the industry bullshit. Gotta love a hood-hard rapper with a heart. Waka Flocka Flame, don’t go! wakaflocka1017.com. less...

Remember that scene from “Chappelle’s Show” when Charlie Murphy recalls the time when the late Rick James came to his brother Eddie’s pad and started jumping up and down all over the leather sofa with his muddy platform boots on, yelling “Fuck yo’ couch, nigga!” Well, that’s HOLLYWEERD to the nth degree. Take the lineup: a self-styled savant who goes by “the Dreamer,” two full-time tat artists (Tuki Carter and Chris “the Love Crusader” McAdoo) from City of Ink, and a jazz-sax journeyman who calls himself the mythical Stagolee. That ain’t no rap group, it’s a band of gypsies. Since materializing out of thin air nearly two years ago, the four-man crew has busily crafted its own unruly narrative. The three mixtapes released in the past 12 months showcase the group’s penchant for combining sweet indie-pop incarnations with self-indulgent fantasy funk. It’s a nutty mix. Yet somehow they’ve managed to turn their wild inconsistencies — from constantly evolving musical influences including OutKast and the Doors to hit-or-miss live performances — into the main attraction. Like a traveling freak show, Hollyweerd piques our curiosity. No matter how odd, we can’t turn away for fear of missing what might happen next. www.myspace.com/hollyweerd. less...