© 2026 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Our daily newsletter, delivered first thing weekdays, keeps you connected to your community with news, culture, national NPR headlines, and more.

Memphis' mark on the hip-hop world

Click here for the original audio.

Although rap music has exploded around the world, the art form has always been anchored in regional culture. Local specificity can be heard in a rapper’s vernacular, accent and signature sounds.

Zandria Felice Robinson, writer and associate professor at Georgetown University, explains Memphis’ unique rap scene and how this southern city punched above its weight in the burgeoning hip-hop world.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags
Thanks to you, WUSF is here — delivering fact-based news and stories that reflect our community.⁠ Your support powers everything we do.