Source: Frank Micelotta Archive / Getty

The famous saying “The south has something to say” by André 3000 at the 1995 Source Awards, while OutKast accepted the New Artist Of The Year Award over a chorus of boos from a less than happy audience, has become something of a mantra for southern rappers and those who love it.

Related: Happy Birthday Hip-Hop: No. 1 Rap Songs by Year Since 1989

It is hard to imagine a world where a powerful hip-hop duo would be met with such disdain from any self-proclaimed hip-hop head. To understand the famous statement is to also understand the roots of how in the early years of hip-hop, its newness wasn’t quite accepted yet. The subgenre of Southern rap was completely ostracized as a whole. The Southern hip-hop sound had just been born around the late 1980s, during a time when rappers of the East and West Coast dominated. By the mid-1990s, Atlanta had become a hub for the Southern rap scene, and by the early 2000s, artists in the South began to develop mainstream popularity.

Despite its popularity in recent years in the genre, southern rap is hardly recognized during celebrations of Hip-Hop. Though several artists of today are dominating the rap scene, like Megan Thee Stallion, Big K.R.I.T., GloRilla, BigXthePlug, Doechii, just to name a few, rappers in the dirty south still don’t get the credit that they deserve.

But, as 3 Stacks said with a fire in his belly during a pivotal moment in OutKast’s career, the south will and still has something to say.

For Hip-Hop’s 52nd anniversary today, we have compiled an ultimate Southern rap playlist. Because, despite the erasure of the Dirty South in Hip-Hop celebrations, the South will always be a staple in the past, present and future of hip-hop.

1. Nasty Dancer — Kilo Ali (1997)

2. Make ‘Em Say Uhh — Master P (1997)

3. I Can’t Wait — Sleepy Brown Ft. OutKast (2004)

4. Beep Me 911 — Missy Elliott Ft. 702 and Magoo (1998)

5. Tear Da Club Up ’97 — Three 6 Mafia (1997)

6. Pop That P — The 2 Live Crew (1989)

7. It’s Funky Enough — The D.O.C. (1989)

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9. Tennessee — Arrested Development (1992)

10. I Seen A Man Die — Scarface (1994)

11. Dirty South — Goodie Mob ft. Big Boi (1995)

12. Crooked Booty — Dungeon Family (2001)

13. Up Jumps Da’ Boogie — Timbaland & Magoo Ft. Missy Elliott & Aaliyah (1997)

14. Get Ur Freak On — Missy Elliott (2001)

15. Saturday Oooh! Oooh! — Ludacris (2001)

16. Back That Thang Up — Juvenile Ft. Mannie Fresh & Lil Wayne (1998)

17. Go DJ — Lil Wayne (2004)

18. Int’l Players Anthem (I Choose You) — UGK Ft. OutKast (2007)

19. Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik — OutKast (1994)

20. Raise Up — Petey Pablo (2001)

21. A Milli — Lil Wayne (2008)

22. Still Fly — Big Tymers (2002)

23. Party Like A Rock Star — Shop Boyz (2007)

24. Whistle While You Twurk — Ying Yang Twins (2000)

25. Where Dem Dollas At — Gangsta Boo (1998)

26. Da Baddest B**** — Trina (2000)

27. Roses — OutKast (2003)

28. Throw Some Ds — Rich Boy

29. Top Back Remix — T.I. (2006)

30. Shawty — Plies Ft. T-Pain (2007)

31. All Gold Everything — Trinidad James (2012)

32. Kiss Me Thru The Phone — Soulja Boy Ft. Sammie (2008)

33. No Role Modelz — J. Cole (2014)

34. No Type — Rae Sremmurd (2014)

35. Aston Martin Music — Rick Ross (2010)

36. F*** Up Some Commas — Future (2014)

37. Magnolia — Playboi Carti (2017)

38. Nina — Rapsody (2019)

39. Would It Matter — Big K.R.I.T. (2022)

40. Act Up — City Girls (2018)

41. Bigger In Texas — Megan Thee Stallion (2024)

42. Yeah Glo! — GloRilla (2024)

43. Surround Sound — JID (2022)

44. Denial Is A River — Doechii (2024)

45. The Largest — BigXthaPlug (2024)