“Telling a story about Hip-Hop built around any aspect of Jelani Cobb’s To the Break of Dawn”

Johnathan Tucker
ANT/BLS 3085
4th year (Real Estate)


“Telling a story about Hip-Hop built around any aspect of Jelani Cobb’s To the Break of Dawn”


Before last year I did not consider music from the south to be hip-hop. I consider the music to be noise on beats. There were a few exceptions like T.I. & Ludacris because I thought they had lyrical skills. I hated Crunk music with a passion. Jelani Cobb’s To the Break of Dawn in Chapter 2 - The Score (page 74) states “Atlanta also became the epicenter for the distinctive, though lyrically simple approach known as crunk. Defined as the Dirty South conjugation of word crank, the crunk movement was spearheaded primarily by Lil’ Jon and an array of mainly Atlanta-based artists like Yin Yang twins and Bone Crusher. Crunk’s appeal lay in its reliance upon methodical, bone-rattling, bottomed-out rhythms and elemental shouted chants. At a point when other regional artists were attempting to crate increasingly intricate R&B hooks to fasten their lyrics to, crunkists moved in the opposite direction, slowing the music down and literally yelling catch phrases.” Jelani Cobb’s describes the music perfectly. Well last summer I took a vacation out to Atlanta. I am a club head and like to party so I had to check out the club seen in the south. Let me tell you, the south gets it popping. The country folks know how to party. In New York in most spot people stand around in look and this is limited dancing depending where you go, it’s hit or miss. But for the most part I see people standing around at Hip-hop parties in NYC. But in Atlanta every place I went from the time I got there to the time I left the dance floor was full with everybody dancing. The first knight there I go to this stop in downtown Atlanta, I for get the name, but they played this song like three times that night. I felt left out. The entire spot was dancing in unity the dance looked fun and I actually like the song. The song was by an artist name Cupid called “Cupid shuffle” on the album Time for a Change. I had to learn this dance and by the time I left I did. When I came back home and try to put my friends on, they were not having it. But I had a new out look on music that came from the south because I see it’s about dancing to them and not the lyrical content. I think you have to be in it to appreciate or apart of the atmosphere. I don’t love the music but I don’t hate it.