Thank goodness for hip hop blogs. More specifically, thank goodness for regional hip hop blogs. One of the best things about being a fan of hip hop culture right now is not having to rely on commercial media outlets to discover and hear new music from hip hop artists. All it takes now is initiative and a bit of web saavy.
Back in the old days (i.e. pre-2006) I used to rely on a variety of methods to stay up to speed on the latest. There was college radio, like WXYC 89.3 FM (UNC-Chapel Hill) and WKNC 88.7 FM (NC State University). Whenever I traveled, time was always set aside to visit local record stores and connect with local media outlets. I also had several associates who made it a point to share with me music discoveries from their travels.
Luckily, we now have this cool thing called blogs that not only bring us the latest hip hop news, but also the newest hip hop music first. Digging a bit deeper though, these days I check regional hip hop blogs first, even before the major hip hop blogs. One annoyance with major blogs is the repetition. I'm sure there's a reason why "everybody" has the same **insert mainstream artist's name here** video posted. You'll find variety on some of these sites, but I've found no need to visit more than two, three at the most, major hip hop blogs in one day.
Regional hip hop blogs are a different story.
Over the past few years, I've learned that a good regional site will cover the best or most buzzing artists from their state/area/city first. Oftentimes, months or even years before the artist shows up on a major blog. As a fan, it gives you an edge. You get to discover an artist's music before they hit the big time. You can watch their progression and growth. If you happen to visit a region, you have a good idea of the spots, clubs, publications, etc to check out/reach out to while in town.
A point here. Not all content posted on any given site is always the best of the best of that city. There still may be some filler, but that's no different from a major site. Overall though, there's a chance to hear really cool music first, plus build up a kick a$$ iTunes collection.
Here are a couple of my favorite regional hip hop blogs:
FakeShoreDrive.com: FSD covers hip hop culture in Chicago and the Midwest. It was there that I got hipped to Drill way before Chief Keef got signed to Interscope, the New York Times wrote a big feature about the scene in the Chi, and King Louie got shouted out by Kanye West over a Young Chop production.
MauriceGarland.com: Atlanta-based journalist Maurice Garland has the best music blog out of ATL. It was on Maurice's site that I learned how to do The MARTA slide plus read well written, thought provoking commentary like why rappers should chill on using cocaine metaphors in their rhymes.
HipHopSince1987.com: HHS1987 has the best Instagram feed of any hip hop blog, mainstream or regional. Really. Through their IG and from my phone, I keep up with what's most poppin' in new releases without even having to go to their site. If I do run across something interesting, their IG links to it. HHS1987 is Philadelphia-based and posts a great deal of mainstream content. However they do a good job of covering Philly hip hop culture as well.
DayAndADream.com: I love that Day And A Dream covers Texas hip hop culture that goes beyond just Screw. They are based in Houston and posts some of the best, in depth music reviews out there. Day And A Dream also has a somewhat new, pretty cool, on-going series called The H-Town Rap Up, where they rank and blog about Houston's hottest artists.
DCMumboSauce.com: My first introduction to DMV hip hop was Team Uncut's "Time For Freakin" that used to air on BET Uncut. DC Mumbo Sauce now keeps the torch held up for the DMV and posts up the latest from the region, including area events.
Above are just a few of my favorite regional hip hop blogs, but I also want to hear from y'all.
What is your favorite regional hip hop blog? Post a link below, Tweet me @nancioishiphop or send an email to nancioishiphop@gmail.com.