"Dirty South" is a song by American hip hop group
Goodie Mob featuring American rappers and fellow
Dungeon Family members
Big Boi and
Cool Breeze. It was released in 1996 via
LaFace Records as the third single from Goodie Mob's debut studio album Soul Food (1995). Recording sessions took place at Purple Dragon Studios and Bosstown Recording Studios in
Atlanta.
Production was handled by
Organized Noize, who also served as executive producers together with
Babyface and
L.A. Reid. The song popularised the titular phrase, which has since been used to refer to
Southern hip hop.[1]
The song takes on a gritty theme and deals with life in the streets,[2] such as
sex trafficking, with mentions of certain people and places.[3]
Critical reception
Tom Doggett of RapReviews wrote "'Dirty South,' the unofficial anthem, ups the ante. For starters, the beat is one of the most involving, head-nodding works in all of rap history. Organized Noize has quite a track record, but this is certainly near the top." In regard to the overall performance, he wrote "By name-dropping and mentioning specific places, they manage to put the listener right there with them. The crown jewel of the song, though, is the chorus, which is guaranteed to have you singing along by the second time through."[3]
Track listing
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Dirty South" (Clean Version)
2.
"Dirty South" (Instrumental)
3.
"Dirty South" (Acapella Clean Version)
Personnel
Cameron "
Big Gipp" Gipp – songwriter, lead and backing vocals, creative director
Antwan "
Big Boi" Patton – songwriter, lead vocals
Frederick "
Cool Breeze" Bell – songwriter, lead and backing vocals
Patrick "
Sleepy" Brown – songwriter, drum and keyboards programming, producer, executive producer
