Milwaukee hip hop

Milwaukee hip hop is a regional subsect of American hip hop specific to the state of Wisconsin, and its largest urban center, Milwaukee in particular. The genre is said to have came to prevalence in the hip hop community in the early 1990s, with the alternative-rap group Arrested Development's (although mostly Atlanta-based, their lead, Speech, is a Wisconsin native) success at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards, including the Best New Artist Award.[1][2] Another notable event would be the release of Milwaukee native Coo Coo Cal's #1 Billboard Hot Single "My Projects" in 2001.[3] Milwaukee hip hop made a resurgence in the 2010's and can be considered to belong to the larger Midwest hip hop and drill scenes.[4]

In contrast with the larger Midwest hip hop genre and the neighboring Michigan and Detroit rap scene, Milwaukee hip hop is much smaller and reclusive. Sonically, it is evocative and of the drill and trap genres.[4] In its recent innovations, including its presence on TikTok, and standout artist Certified Trapper, Milwaukee hip hop has adopted a more brash and humorous style.[5][6]

  1. ^ Levy, Piet (January 25, 2024). "Its a golden age for Milwaukee hip-hop. Here are 15 rappers you need to know about". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  2. ^ "Arrested Development | Artist | GRAMMY.com". Grammy. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  3. ^ Levy, Piet. "Coo Coo Cal is the only Milwaukee rapper who had a No. 1 song. A new movie shows how it all fell apart". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Pierre, Alphonse (August 21, 2023). "Inside the Unmistakable Madness of Milwaukee's Rap Scene". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  5. ^ Barshad, Amos (August 8, 2023). "Meet the Artists Reinventing Hip Hop on YouTube and TikTok". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  6. ^ Pierre, Alphonse (November 18, 2022). "Welcome to the Bizarre, Confusing, and Fun-as-Hell World of Milwaukee Rapper Certified Trapper". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 29, 2024.