When Hip-Hop turned 50 in 2023, tributes celebrated pioneers from the Bronx to Compton. But one Southern voice says his contributions to hip-hop have been neglected, and he's not keeping it hush-hush.
Uncle Luke, the Miami bass legend and lead singer of 2 Live Crew, posted an impassioned message on Instagram: He started Southern Hip-Hop in 1985, yet no one seems to care.
"Yo, what up? This y'all boy, Uncle Luke," he said in his video. "The question of the day I have for y'all is, I started Hip-Hop in the South in 1985. Right here in Miami. My question is, why ain't nobody talking about that? 40 years, 40 years. This year is 40 years."
Although Hip-Hop's milestone birthday was well celebrated with documentaries, tributes, and performances honoring its torchbearers, Luke believes the South and his contributions to its rise were given short shrift.
For those familiar with Hip-Hop history, Luke's charges don't come out of the blue. As the ringleader of 2 Live Crew, he didn't just make music, but he also helped create a whole movement. His particular raunchy, bass-heavy party anthem defined Miami bass and paved the way for Southern Hip-Hop's reign for the next several decades.
Luke was also an instrumental figure in the history of the music industry. His legal fights for free speech culminated in a Supreme Court case that helped determine the rights of artistic expression in America. If it weren't for Uncle Luke going to the mat for the right to be explicit, Hip-Hop might be a completely different beast today.
Why is Uncle Luke not mentioned alongside other Hip-Hop pioneers? Some contend the industry has traditionally centered on the East and West Coast when narrating the origin story of hip-hop, with the South as an afterthought. Some say Miami bass, with its party themes, wasn't regarded as seriously as the socially aware or hardcore styles arriving from other places then.
Whether people want to acknowledge it or not, Luke had an impact. Miami bass blazed trails that southern rap would follow into the era of 808s and trap. The big mesmerizing backbeats, the booming 808s, and the dance culture all return to what Luke was doing in the '80s."
The message from Uncle Luke is clear: respect the history. While Southern Hip-Hop continues to dominate the charts with distributive dominance artists like Lil Baby, Megan Thee Stallion, and Future, it pays to remember the groundwork laid decades prior.
The ball is in play. Will the industry finally give Uncle Luke the credit he's been owed for 40 years? Because he won't stop asking for it.
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