Writin’ Dirty

While East Coast and West Coast rappers battled, sometimes figuratively, in the ’90s, both sides paid little attention to a rising threat for hip-hop dominance: the South. From 2 Live Crew’s obscenity trial to the Geto Boys showing how good it feels to be a gangsta to OutKast’s “Hey Ya!” being one of the biggest crossover hits of the Oughts to Lil Wayne’s current status as arguably the most significant rapper on the planet, Southern rappers have had an enormous impact on the state of hip-hop today — and driven the street price of black-market prescription cough syrup through the roof. Writer Ben Westhoff, a frequent contributor to the Observer‘s music section, traveled throughout the region from Weezy’s New Orleans hood to the late DJ Screw’s Screwed Up Records and Tapes to research for his Dirty South: OutKast, Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, and the Southern Rappers Who Reinvented Hip-Hop. He’ll read, answer questions and sign copies 6 p.m. Thursday at Cliff Notes, 1222 W. Davis St.; following the signing next door at the Kessler Theater is a reception and Camp Wisdom concert featuring Geno Young.
Thu., April 28, 6 p.m., 2011