ST. LOUIS – Several artists from St. Louis were honored in celebration of Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary. To pay tribute to black creatives in the ‘Gateway City,’ an article from NPR went into detail about several rappers’ contributions to the music genre and the legacies they’ve built sonically.
They also shared a list of St. Louis rappers who’ve changed radio over the years:
Chingy, ‘Holidae Inn’ (2003)
Jibbs, ‘King Kong’ (2006)
Lil Whit, ‘Put Em In Check’ (1994)
Nelly, ‘Ride with Me’ (2000)
Nelly, ‘Dilemma’ (2002)
Raw Society, ‘How Deep is Your Love’ (1996)
Smino, ‘KLINK’ (2018)
Smino, ‘No L’s’ (2022)
St. Lunatics, ‘Midwest Swing’ (2001)
Sylk Smoov, ‘Something For Your System’ (1991)
Before being recognized globally, rapper Nelly shared that he was a microcosm of the music in the city – detailing the singularity of ‘St. Louis Blues,’ in its melodies and thoughtful sadness.
“I’m basically representing for everybody [in the] Midwest, South – everybody with that slur on their English,” Nelly expressed in an interview with MTV.