Is Miami or Atlanta the No. 1 rap city?
October 8th, 2009 by Ben Westhoff in Music news
WE THE BEST? YEAH, RIGHT.
Atlanta is top dog when it comes to hip hop cities, right? Having definitively vanquished New York, LA, and, um, Houston in recent years, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of debate on this issue. But believe it or not, folks in Miami somehow think they’re the best. DJ Khaled constantly yells out as much at the top of his lungs.
And sure, they’ve got something of a case, what with top-selling MCs like Rick Ross, Plies, T-Pain, Trick Daddy and Flo Rida residing in the general vicinity. Hell, even Lil Wayne lives in Miami Beach these days. A new disc from E-Class and Khaled — the ringleader of the bunch, even if he doesn’t really do much more than invite people to his recording studio and press record — is designed to drive this point home.
Live From the 305 features South Florida folks such as Ace Hood, Trina, Brisco, Trick, Flo and ten tons of other rappers I’ve never heard of. As a regional showcase, it closely resembles Killer Mike’s recent compilation CD, Underground Atlanta, which I liked a lot.
So how does the Miami version stack up? Not well. Even if you like these guys, none of them really brings their A-game. Consecutive tracks about graphic sex and prostitution, “How Much” and “Drop That,” ramp up the groan factor, and the beats are universally unmemorable. Khaled doesn’t even appear to have had all that much involvement in this project; he’s not screaming over the tracks, for one thing.
Is this album proof that Miami still plays second fiddle to Atlanta? Not necessarily. But it sure doesn’t give you any reason to think otherwise.
Leave a Reply