The Motor City's Resurgence: How Detroit Hip-Hop is Making its Comeback
Song of the week: Slum Village - Fall In Love
This week’s piece is about Detroit so I had to kick it off with some Detroit rap. If you’ve never listened to Slum Village you’re in for a treat. Produced by J. Dilla.
With that said, let’s get to it.
For almost 20 years, Atlanta has had the rap game in a chokehold. The dance trends came from the A, the biggest stars, etc.
But just before 2020, a shift started happening… the culture felt different, and it was evident something that had been bubbling for years was finally taking form.
If you’re from Atlanta, you probably noticed that more people from the Midwest and the DMV area began making their way down here. And, if you’re in tune with the Hip-hop scene, you started to hear new names bubble up.
As evidenced by the charts & blogs, this cultural shift is showing one bold reality:
Detroit is The Wave now.
That’s right.
The Motor City is back in full effect, and before my Detroit folks jump on me, I know Detroit has always had an abundance of talent. They’re responsible for giving the world:
J. Dilla
Slum Village
Eminem
Royce Da 5’9
Big sean
And that’s just in the 2000s. Heading in the late 2010’s, we started to see the emergence of:
Dej Loaf
Kash Doll
Tee Grizzley
BabyTron
Icewear Vezzo
42Dugg
Babyface Ray
And many more.
My point is this though…
Atlanta will always be atlanta. NY will always be NY. But it’s somebody else’s turn. Let’s talk about it.
THE DETROIT SOUND
Detroit itself has always been known for its flash. They are the city that made Cartier a household name, after all.
Their sound is no different.
Producers are known for the unique way they use samples — often 80s songs that are flipped to be uptempo, with a unique groove. The basslines wobble, the pianos sound like their from a car chase scene. It almost sounds like a movie to hear those beats.
On the other hand, Detroit rappers are often slightly ahead of (or behind) the beat, and their flows feel slick — it’s a different pocket, much like what J. Dilla was known for.
The music producer Helluva is widely considered the pioneer of the Detroit sound, and has worked with the Detroit OGs and the new generation alike. He is largely responsible for the sound hitting the mainstream today.
Another producer by the name of ENRGY Beats is also helping to shape the sonic landscape of the city — between him and Helluva the soundbed for Detroit is so distinct you can’t help but know it when you hear it.
THE FOUNDATION
A huge part of Detroit's musical foundation stems from groups like the Eastside Chedda Boyz, The Street Lord'z, Rock Bottom, and of course the 90s acts mentioned before like Slum & Dilla.
By the mid-2000s, two groups, Doughboyz Cashout and Team Eastside became the faces of Detroit’s street scene. Together, those groups introduced the world to rappers like Peezy, Payroll Giovanni, Babyface Ray, and more.
At one point in time, Doughboyz Cashout was signed to Jeezy.
Although Jeezy is an Atlanta artist, he has deep ties to the Detroit area, and his signing was another co-sign for Detroit’s street rap scene..
For a time, Team Eastside & Doughboyz Cashout were at odds with each other, but they’ve since reconciled.
In fact, Detroit rapper 42Dugg recently had his welcome home concert, where he invited the two groups to perform together on stage.
It was a huge moment for the city. The two crews hitting the stage together signaled that Detroit was healing and poised to move forward in a major way.
But with that foundation set, let’s talk about the wave before the wave. Before we get to the current iteration of Detroit’s scene there was a movement that signaled what was to come, and that was…
The Emergence of Scam Rap
In the mid-2010’s, Detroit rap was making its presence know because of Big Sean.
However around the same time, a new sub-genre was taking form named “Scam Rap.”
As the name implies, the songs were about scamming — credit card fraud, finessing etc. The biggest song to go viral from that time was from Detroit native…
Teejayx6
That same year, he dropped the viral song “Swipe Story” — a vivid breakdown of one the many times he finessed Walmart. (Sidenote — fraud aside, you gotta appreciate the storytelling; It was really vivid).
He was also featured on HBO’s Generation Hustle series after this song became mainstream.
(SOME OF) THE ARTISTS DOMINATING DETROIT’S SCENE
Disclaimer: I know this isn’t everyone. Relax. These are just SOME of the artists responsible for shaping the city as of now…
I. Tee Grizzley
In 2017, Tee dropped his first single that went viral.
It was called “First Day Out,” and as the song title says, it was about his first day out of the Feds.
Tee was arrested for a jewelry heist in Lexington Kentucky, and sentenced to 15 years.
While studying a law book in prison, he realized that he technically wasn’t armed during the robbery and was able to use that knowledge to get out in only 18 months.
When Tee dropped “First Day Out,” it was a sign that a new sound from a new generation of Detroit rappers was emerging.
Baby Tron & The Shitty Boyz
Around 2019, another name began to make its way across the internet. This time it was a trio by the name of The Shitty Boyz.
Their frontman BabyTron was taking the internet by storm. Tron dabbled in scam rap, and perfected the style.
He had the bars, the wittiness, and the all of the intangibles that made the sub-genre pop.
When his song Jesus Shuttlesworth (named after the character in “He Got Game”) went viral, it put him on the map and ever since, he’s been a staple in Detroit’s new music scene.
Icewear Vezzo
Vezzo is one of the artists in Detroit who’s lineage in the city stretches back into the 2010s.
He was apart of a group known as the Green Guyz — a name that he got from his cousins, who were also hustlers. The group was composed of family and close friends that he rapped with before eventually going solo.
Vezzo’s first solo mixtape, “The Clarity,” help put him on the map, and according to his interview with VladTV, that’s when he changed his name to Icewear Vezzo.
11 years ago, Vezzo dropped the single “Money Phone” which helped his buzz grow inside the city, and eventually get the map on the Hip-hop scene outside of the city.
Since then he’s worked to unify the city, and has worked with everyone from Big Sean to Babyface Ray (who’s from the same neighborhood), and is one of Detroit’s biggest names.
Babyface Ray
Ray is a member of one Detroit’s most prolific groups — Team Eastside. According to Audiomack, He connected with Peezy while in 11th grade, and the rest was history.
He had been steadily dropping music with them, selling mixtapes and more, before releasing his debut mixtape, Young Wavy, followed by MIA. Both tapes became widely acclaimed in the city, and in combination with his persona, Ray became one of Detroit’s favorites.
Since debuting, Ray has been one of the most consistently mentioned names in the city and his EP “For You” was the turning point in his career. The song “Paperwork Party” became one of his biggest records and helped catapult his career to the next level.
Payroll Giovanni
Payroll rose to prominence as a member of the Doughboyz Cashout, and ever since, he’s been a steady presence in Detroit’s music scene and many fans first introduction to what street life in Detroit is like.
Fans revere Payroll, and many, including acclaimed producer Cardo, refer to him as “The Jay-Z of Detroit.”
On top of contributing to the legacy of Detroit hip-hop he’s helped to shape its future, and frequently collaborates with fellow Detroit musicians to help the city continue its wave.
BOLDY JAMES
We can’t talk about street rap in Detroit without mentioning Griselda’s own: Boldy James.
Boldy’s sound is gritty, street, and his beats give you a dose of 90s boom bap nostalgia.
To date, he’s dropped critically acclaimed work with The Alchemist, and fans are patiently waiting for his project “Drug Dilla” — legend has it that he was given the last stash of beats from famed producer J. Dilla & he made a tape with it.
AND, THE CULTURAL EFFECTS OF DETROIT’S RISE ARE CLEAR…
If we look at the trends that are unique to Detroit, you’ll see an uptick in interest as evidenced by search volume, for example.
Take Cartier, for instance.
Cartier is widely associated with Detroit, and general searches for that have doubled since 2015. Could it be due to other things? Sure.
But as the Hip-hop effect has shown us time and time again, as rappers mention brands, they gain interest in culture.
If Detroit is on the map, all the brands they rep are on the map too.
EPILOGUE
First things first — there are a ton of rappers in Detroit’s scene worth checking out. These are just a few dominating the scene that I’m familiar with.
Having so much talent that I couldn’t list everyone is proof that Detroit’s just getting started.
While the wave is with them, I suspect that the next two years are going to be even more massive.
They’ve got all of the momentum, the stars, and Gen Z is definitely gravitating to them.
That said, I can’t wait to see what happens.
Atlanta has had the game for a long time, and while I don’t think we’re finished yet, it’s great to see another largely Black city shine.
Play some Detroit music today. Sh*t, wear a pair of Buffs if you got em.
One.