In an interview early last year, rising Atlanta rapper Tezzus made a prediction about the music industry that sounds more perceptive as time goes on. “It’s gon’ be no such thing as ‘mainstream’ [or ‘underground’], especially with the internet,” he told Overlooked. “It’s just music. All the platforms gon’ clash.” This idea’s been stewing in my brain ever since. No one has to compete for airplay or video placements or even Billboard slots anymore to get exposure; the online algorithm is both a free-for-all and the end-all-be-all. That reality is what makes regionality in music so compelling nowadays. There are entire worlds that you’ll never find if you don’t swipe away from what’s placed in front of you.
The Black music coming out of South Florida right now makes up a couple worlds on its own. A lot can be seen as “post-Kodak” street rap: The jiggy soporifics of Bani and Mike Lary, the brisk get-rich-quick schemes of El Snappo and DaRainGo, the strained melodies that have turned Loe Shimmy into a star. Separately, you still have ex-City Girls